Christmas is right around the corner and that means loads of holiday festivities, gift giving and happy plates! What better way to celebrate the season than with a festive holiday cocktail! While I don’t usually go for sweet and creamy cocktails, I don't mind indulging from time to time, especially around the holidays. This tasty cocktail is the perfect way to finish off an evening of Christmas partying. For this drink, that we're festively calling the Jazzy Mintsletoe Martini (see what I did there???), you’ll need vodka, coffee liquor, brewed coffee, vanilla extract and half & half. Make it festive by rimming the glass with some chocolate syrup and crushed candy canes! A sprinkle of cinnamon on the top will finish off this tasty, holiday cocktail.

The drink packs the perfect punch with equal parts vodka and coffee liquor and you'll get the perfect post-meal, pick-me-up by adding some of your favorite brewed coffee to the mix (bonus points for a double buzz)! I love the subtle sweetness that you get from adding a dash of vanilla. We picked up this delicious natural vanilla on our trip to Mexico, (you can read about the trip here!) so this was the perfect opportunity to put it to good use! 

For the candy coated rim on the martini glass, blend a couple candy canes in a food processor for a few seconds, until they are around the consistency of sea salt. *Side-note* If you don't work with the crushed candy right away, it can start to stick together. If that happens, just give them a few more pulses in the food processor or scrape with a fork and you should be good to go. Dip the rim of a martini glass into chocolate sauce (I like to rim only about half of the glass, but if you're feeling frisky, you can sauce up the entire rim), then coat the chocolate covered rim with your crushed peppermint. From here, I like to pop the glass in the freezer until the drink is ready to be poured. The subtle chill from the freezer works great with the cool peppermint!

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add 2 oz. vodka, 2 oz. coffee liquor, 2 oz. brewed coffee, 1/4 tsp. vanilla and 2 oz. half & half. Close it up and shake, shake, shake for around 10 seconds. Pour the cocktail into your rimmed martini glass and finish it off with a sprinkle of cinnamon. You could even add some more of the crushed peppermint right over the glass, for more minty flavor! Enjoy!

Happy Holidays from The Craft Chew!