Thanksgiving Cocktails 2026: 5 Bourbon & Rye Drinks to Batch — and 8 Bottles from $34.99
Thanksgiving is a long day of cooking, and the drinks are the one thing that should not need your attention once the guests arrive. The good Thanksgiving cocktails are therefore the ones you can mix ahead, pour over ice and leave on a side table: bourbon and rye drinks built on maple, cranberry, cider, orange and warm spice, all flavors that are already on the table. Below are five recipes, how to scale them for a crowd, and the eight bottles we would buy for them, all in stock today at the live prices shown.
If you are planning the whole menu, read our guide to what to pour neat with each course alongside this one, and if you are hosting a big group, our bourbon cider punch for 12 is the easiest way to serve a crowd from one bowl.
The 8 bottles behind these cocktails
1. The Maple Old Fashioned (and how to batch it)
Swap the sugar cube for real maple syrup and you have the Thanksgiving Old Fashioned. For one drink, stir 2 oz bourbon, ¼ oz maple syrup and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters over ice, then strain over a large cube and express an orange peel over the top. For eight drinks, combine 16 oz bourbon, 2 oz maple syrup, 16 dashes of bitters and about 3 oz of cold water in a bottle, which replaces the dilution you would get from stirring. Keep it in the fridge, then pour over ice as guests arrive.
The bourbon matters less than the proof. A 100 proof bottle such as Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond ($38.99) holds up to maple sweetness and ice, and it is one of the best-value bonded bourbons you can buy. If you would rather a softer drink, Four Roses Small Batch ($37.99) is fruity and mellow, and Woodford Reserve ($44.99) adds dried fruit, toffee and baking spice for a richer, rounder drink. See our Old Fashioned guide for the full method.
2. The Cranberry Bourbon Smash
This is the one that looks like a holiday drink. Shake 2 oz bourbon, 1 oz unsweetened cranberry juice, ¾ oz lemon juice and ½ oz maple syrup hard with ice, then strain over fresh ice and garnish with a sage leaf or a few cranberries. The tart cranberry cuts the sweetness, and the sage ties it to the stuffing. Bulleit Bourbon ($37.99) is a good choice here because its high-rye mash adds a peppery edge that stands up to the juice.
3. The Spiced Rye Manhattan
For the guests who want something stirred and serious, build a Manhattan: 2 oz rye, 1 oz sweet vermouth and 2 dashes of aromatic bitters, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled coupe with a cherry. Sazerac 6 Year Rye ($34.99) is a low-rye, spiced-orange whiskey that is made for this drink, and High West Double Rye ($39.99) (46% ABV) is the livelier, more herbal option, with mint and clove notes. A good vermouth matters as much as the whiskey; our vermouth guide explains which bottles to buy, and you can browse the vermouth collection and bitters for the rest. For a darker variation, try the Black Manhattan.
4. The Maple Whiskey Sour
The easiest drink on the list, because the sweetener is already in the bottle. Tomahawk Maple Whiskey ($37.99) blends 8-year-aged rye whisky with pure Canadian maple syrup, so you only need to add acid: shake 2 oz Tomahawk with ¾ oz lemon juice and a dash of bitters over ice, then strain over a fresh cube. Add an egg white if you want the classic foam. It is also good over ice with a splash of sparkling apple cider. Because it is a sweet, flavored whiskey, keep it for cocktails rather than neat sipping.
5. The After-Dinner Sidecar
When the plates are cleared, put away the bourbon and bring out the brandy. A Sidecar is 2 oz cognac, ¾ oz orange liqueur and ¾ oz lemon juice, shaken and strained into a sugar-rimmed or plain coupe. Rémy Martin VSOP ($62.99) has the apricot, vanilla and baked apple that suit it, and it is also good neat after pie. Our Sidecar guide has more bottle options, and you will find orange liqueur in the cordials and liqueurs collection.
A make-ahead timeline
The day before, squeeze the lemon juice, strain it and refrigerate it in a jar, and mix the Old Fashioned batch so the flavors have time to marry. In the morning, set out a bucket of ice, a bowl of orange peels, a few sprigs of sage and a jar of cranberries, then label the batched bottles so guests can serve themselves. An hour before dinner, shake the first round of smashes and sours. Once the meal is on the table, leave the bar to the guests and sit down.
Hosting notes: how much to buy
Plan on one to two cocktails per guest in the first hour and one an hour after that. A 750 mL bottle of spirit makes about 10 two-ounce drinks, so a table of ten drinking two cocktails each needs two bottles, plus one more of whatever you are serving neat. Batch the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan in advance, and shake the sours to order or mix the juice and bourbon in a pitcher without ice and shake in small batches. Use fresh lemon juice on the day, and a large ice cube mold makes every drink look better and dilute more slowly. For something warm after dinner, our hot toddy guide works well with the leftover bourbon, and the apple-season cocktails and fall whiskey cocktails are good for the rest of the weekend.
Shop the Thanksgiving cocktail bottles
Every bottle above is available now. Browse the bourbon collection and the wider whiskey collection for the whiskeys, the cognac collection and brandy collection for the Sidecar, or the best sellers if you want to see what other customers are ordering. If you are bringing a bottle to someone else’s table instead, our Thanksgiving host gift guide picks the right one for each kind of host. Order early, because shipping windows get tight in the week before the holiday.
