Check out these holiday cocktails and brews at Gardner Ale House, Wachusett Brewing

Emilia Cardona, The Gardner News
Updated ·4 min read

Take a break from the stress of the Holiday season by having a festive beverage at a local bar or cafe.

From candy cane lattes to winter ale beer, a few local places in or around Greater Gardner offer residents drink options either to take the edge off or give a boost of energy in the middle of the day to finish any holiday chores.

Whether you are looking for a festive alcoholic drink to relax with a group of friends or enjoy a large recharging cup of joe with a holiday twist, here are four places in the North Central Massachusetts area that offer festive flavored beverages.

Holiday cocktails at Gardner Ale House

The Gardner Ale House at 74 Park St. is a city staple, and the ale house offers customers five festive flavored cocktails throughout the Winter season. Zack Connors, the Ale House front-of-house manager, said the ale house had done the spiked eggnog for the past few years, and it has always been a customer favorite.

Connors said the ale house gets inspiration from social media and experiments with flavors, and they bounce ideas with each other to create their seasonal cocktails. Below are the seasonal cocktails at the ale house offers through the end of winter.

  • Peppermint Espresso Martini is made with a mix of Van Gogh brand Expresso Vodka, Peppermint RumChata, and Kahlua.

  • Spiked Eggnog is made with Hood Eggnog with the choice of the following spirits: Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, Caramel Vodka, Kahlua, Frangelico, Peppermint Schnapps, and Cinnamon Whiskey.

  • Cranberry Orange-tini is made with 21 Seeds Valencia Orange Tequila, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and squeezed lime.

  • Cranberry Lime Mule is made with Stoli Lime Vodka, cranberry juice, fresh lime juice, and ginger beer.

  • Toasty Coconut Margarita is made with 1800 Coconut Tequila, Gozio Almond Liqueur, fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice.

The Gardner Ale House is offering the Cranberry Lime Mule, the Cranberry Orange-tini, and the Toasty Coconut Margarita along with the Peppermint Espresso Martini, and the Spiked Eggnog until the end of winter.
The Gardner Ale House is offering the Cranberry Lime Mule, the Cranberry Orange-tini, and the Toasty Coconut Margarita along with the Peppermint Espresso Martini, and the Spiked Eggnog until the end of winter.

The head chef at the Gardner Ale House, Greg Smith, said he has suggestions on what pairs well with the following three cocktails: Toasty Coconut Margarita pairs well with the Grilled Ham & Cheese, the Cranberry Lime Mule pairs with the Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza, and Cranberry Orange-tini pairs well with the Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Limited edition brews at Wachusett Brewing

If a cold beer is what you need to blow off some steam during the Holiday season chaos, then head over to the Westminster Brew Yard at 175 State Rd in Westminster. The regionally known brewery, Wachusett Brewing Company, offers two winter brews, the Frosty Day IPA and the Winter Ale, for a limited time until the end of January. The two limited-time brews are also available at the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area.

Brian Meunier from the brewery's sales department said the brewery has partnered with Smokestack Roasters to create the Cold Brew Milk Stout beer that will be available in the New Year. He said the Lunenburg-based coffee shop has supplied the organic coffee beans to brew the new coffee stout beer.

Eggnog lattes at The Spotted Cow Café

The Spotted Cow Café in Barre is known for its uniquely flavored flights, and this holiday season, the cafe has made four new festive flight flavors. The Winter Wonderland Coffee Flight comes with the following beverages:

  • Peppermint Candy Bark Latte is an espresso drink with whole milk and sweetened with dark chocolate and peppermint flavors

  • Winter Spice Iced Coffee is an iced coffee sweetened with the cafe's homemade Winter Spice Simple syrup. It is made with fresh cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and fresh orange zest. Along with the spiced syrup, the iced coffee is sweetened with brown sugar; a splash of cream is added.

  • White Chocolate Mocha is made with melted-down white cocoa and white chocolate and mixed in the cafe's cold brew coffee.

  • Cinnamon Vanilla Chai is made with fresh cinnamon and a shot of vanilla flavor mixed in an iced chai.

If the seasonal flight flavors don't satisfy your festive cravings, then don't worry; the Spotted Cow Café also has three Eggnog Lattes: original iced Eggnog, Salted Carmel Eggnog, and Vanilla Cinnamon Eggnog, which can be hot or iced.

More: Craving comfort food? Check out these restaurants with beef stew, mac n' cheese, sweets

Christmas lattes at Sweets & Java

Sweets & Java, a Holden-based coffee shop, is another place in the area where you can get your festive caffeine fix. The coffee shop also has its own Eggnog Latte and four other new Holiday Specialty Lattes. Here are the four new seasonal flavors:

  • The O' Christmas Tree is a pistachio and sea salt caramel toffee latte

  • The Candy Cane Lane is a peppermint and vanilla latte

  • The Fruitcake is a raspberry and white mocha latte

  • The Rudolph is a butterscotch and hazelnut latte

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Cheery cocktails, lattes, eggnog in keeping with the Christmas season