5 Easy and Boozy Christmas Cocktails From Around the World

Move over Thanksgiving! The real star of the holiday season is here. Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. It gives me the warm fuzzies for all of the right reasons. Food, family, fun...and drinks. These 5 cocktails will steal the show, not only because they're delicious, but because you can bring a piece of the world to your family and friends.

1. Puerto Rico's Coquito

Coquito is Puerto Rico's traditional drink for Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations.

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened coconut cream Cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 3 tsp Ground nutmeg
• 8 Cinnamon sticks
• 750 ml Añejo or spiced rum

Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the rum in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from the heat, let cool and stir in the rum.
4. Transfer to bottles (making sure that at least one cinnamon stick goes into each bottle), seal and store in the refrigerator.
5. Serve over ice in rocks glasses and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

2. Chile's Cola de Mono

Although Chile is better known for its Pisco Sours, Christmastime means a glass of “monkey’s tail.” It's very similar to a White Russian.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk (for non-dairy, use almond milk)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 1 teaspoon good Madagascar vanilla extract, or ¼ vanilla bean, scrapped
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee (I used decaf)
• 1 cup Chilean Aguardiente (or Brandy)

Instructions:

1. Combine the milk, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick, vanilla, and nutmeg in medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.
3. Add the instant coffee and stir to dissolve.
4. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Remove cloves and cinnamon stick.
5. Add Aguardiente (or brandy).
6. Chill for at least four hours, or ideally overnight. Pour into an pitcher and serve.

3. Jamaica's Sorrel Punch

Sorrel punch can be found throughout the Caribbean and in many Latin American countries, but it’s particularly popular in Jamaica as a Christmas cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) dried hibiscus
• Two 1-inch cubes of peeled fresh ginger, chopped fine
• 3 whole cloves
• 5 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups amber rum
• 2 cups ice cubes, or to tast
• Lime and orange slices for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a heat-proof bowl combine the sorrel, the ginger and the cloves. 
2. In a saucepan bring 5 cups of the water to a boil, pour it over the sorrel mixture, and let the mixture steep for 4 hours or overnight.
3. While the mixture is steeping, in a small saucepan bring the remaining 3/4 cup water and the sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and let the syrup cool.
4. Strain the sorrel liquid into a pitcher, discarding the solids, stir in the sugar syrup, the rum and the ice cubes, and garnish the punch with the lime and orange slices.

4. Italy's Bombardino

Literally “the bomb” in Italian, il Bombardino was created in northern Lombardia and is very similar to egg nog. Today, it is beloved across the Italian Alps and is usually served at ski resorts.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces brandy, such as Vecchia Romagna Brandy
• 3 ounces egg liqueur, such as Zabov Zabaglione
• Whipped cream, to taste
• Cinnamon, to taste

Instructions:

1. Warm the egg liqueur in a small saucepan. Pour the brandy in a glass mug.
2. When the egg liqueur is hot (but not yet at boiling point), slowly add it to the brandy. Stir well to combine.
3. Top the cocktail with a generous amount of whipped cream, and finish it with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

5. Martinique's Creole Royale

It's a light cocktail and made with Creole Shrubb, a blend of white rhum agricole married with bitter orange peels and Creole spices. 

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. of Creole Shrubb
• 4 oz. of Brut champagne
• 1 dash of Angostura bitters

Instructions:

1. In a chilled champagne glass, add Creole Shrubb and pour the champagne to top. 
2. Then add the bitters, stir and serve.  

These cocktails are a great way to introduce Christmas traditions around the world to your guests, especially if they love to travel as much as you. Salud!

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10 Lessons I've Learned This Year Through Travel

As 2016 comes to a close, I can't help but to reflect over the highs and lows of this year. I started this year in Zambia on an assignment that was supposed to last two months. Well, two months turned into nine and now I am finding it bittersweet to leave the country where I've spent most of the year. While in Zambia, I've also had opportunities to explore much of South Africa, including Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. In between my trips to Zambia and South Africa, I traveled to Colombia, Curacao, Myrtle Beach, and have taken road trips to Finger Lakes, New York and from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 

As you can see, I've had quite the year for travel! My limits have been tested in many ways over the course of my journeys. I've laughed, I've cried because I was happy, I've cried because I was sad and experienced many emotions in between. So I thought I'd share with you the biggest lessons I've learned along my greatest year in travel thus far.

1.  Be open and openminded. 

This will probably always be on my list of travel pet peeves. The whole reason I travel is to gain perspective and learn about cultures other than my own. If I were closed off or not open to the experience, my travels would be a lot different. I wouldn't have met strangers that I now consider friends, I wouldn't have traveled solo and I wouldn't have gone to many places I now love. Don't let the media, friends or family, or your own ideas prohibit you from exploring all life has to offer.

2. Have patience.

In the U.S., we tend to move with a sense of urgency that other places around the world don't have. Travel can try your patience like little else, so it's imperative to remain calm and be patient. And don't be the ugly American who speaks slower and louder when someone doesn't understand. Relax, take a breath and evaluate the situation again.

3. Travel with likeminded people.

I learned this lesson many years ago and have been pretty good about sticking to it. However, as I took trips with new travel partners this year, this really became a lesson I had to remind myself of. Traveling with likeminded people is just simply easier on everyone involved. Don't set yourself up for failure by traveling with people who aren't on your same wavelength. 

4. Trust your instincts.

When something doesn't seem right, it's most likely not. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, don't second guess your instincts. I can't stress the importance of this lesson enough. 

5. Don't compare destinations to each other.

Before Zambia, the only other African country I had traveled to was Tanzania. I loved Tanzania so I was looking forward to a similar experience. As soon as I arrived in Zambia, I quickly found out that it was not like Tanzania at all. Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam, is essentially a big business hub in Africa. While it still had its challenges, I considered Dar es Salaam to be a bustling city with restaurants, nightlife and tourism. Zambia's capital, Lusaka, isn't quite as developed as Dar es Salaam, so there aren't as many restaurants, bars or nightclubs. I had to learn to appreciate Zambia in a different way than Tanzania, but the lesson I learned here was to not have preconceived ideas about wherever I'm traveling. 

6. Push yourself.

I believe in testing my limits during travel. I swam in Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls and it was a very rewarding experience. Most people in my group chose not to participate because they were scared or thought it would be too difficult. I also paraglided off of Signal Hill in Cape Town and it was nothing short of amazing. I was terrified in both situations, but pushed myself anyway. I will always test my limits because afterwards, I'm always so happy I did.

7. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Along with having patience, I've learned not to worry about things I can not control. This not only applies to travel, but other areas of my life as well. 

8. Keep a routine.

Let's just say my waistline is reminding me of this lesson daily. Sigh.

9. Don't be afraid to share your travels with the world.

This lesson might come as a shock to you since I operate this travel blog and share almost all my travels with my readers. However, sometimes I worry that people, especially on my personal social media pages, may think I'm bragging when in reality, this couldn't be further from the truth. I recently had a conversation with someone I grew up with about my travels and she said how she was so proud of me. She told me how she shares all of the places I go with her teenage daughter to show her that she can do anything or go anywhere she wants in life. It was a reminder to me that people can think whatever they want, but people who truly know me, know that I don't have ulterior motives and that my desire is to simply share and inspire.

10. Book it and worry about the details later!

I've been to London, Iceland, Colombia, UAE and a host of other places because I decided to book first and ask questions later. I realize I have the luxury to do this because I have disposable income, but if you do too, let go of your worries and get out into the world! 

I hope my lessons learned this year have been eye-opening and help you to be a better traveler during your upcoming adventures. If you have any lessons you've learned through travel, please don't hesitate to share!