There's no place like home for Christmas. But, unfortunately for some of us, the only way to get there is via air travel. Whether you're afraid of heights or just high ticket prices, flying at the end of the year is one of the more stressful December rituals many of us celebrate. While there are multiple ways to mitigate the hassle of Christmas travel (fuzzy socks, giant Toblerone), one solution is especially simple: booze.
If you need something to relax with (and take your jangly nerves and make them jingle), a stiff drink is like a mini upgrade. But rather than settling for a standard glass of wine, here are seven drinks that kick it up a notch, no fancy equipment required. Best paired with fuzzy socks.
Availability of drinks and alcohol vary from airline to airline. Be very nice to your cabin crew if you can't portion out the mixers yourself, or go with a simpler, two-ingredient option.
Faux-jito
Unless you can get simple syrup on your plane, this might be the closest you can get to a mojito while flying. The lemonade mimics fresh lime juice and sugar, but is cut with club soda to keep it from being too sweet.
Ingredients
Lemonade
Club Soda
Rum
Instructions
Fill up 1/2 the cup with lemonade and club soda on ice (or ask for half of each when you order), then top with rum.
Tequila Slammer
Traditionally a shot, the popularity of the Moscow Mule (and subsequent versions with other spirits) have us mixing everything with ginger ale or beer these days. If there are fresh limes or fruit for garnish, even better.
Ingredients
Ginger Ale
Tequila
Instructions
Mix tequila and ginger ale to taste in a cup with ice.
Michelada(ish)
If you are flying when you would be otherwise boozy brunching, a Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) is an obvious pick. But this one is a bit more fun.
Ingredients
Bloody Mary Mix
Lager or Light Beer
Hot Sauce (optional)
Salt (Optional)
Instructions
Fill your glass 2/3 with beer, then add Bloody Mary mix or tomato juice. Serve on ice. If there are salt packets on board, garnish the cup rim first. Add hot sauce if desired (may have to BYO).
Kalimotxo
A popular drink in Spain, this cocktail is pretty much the same whether you make it on a plane or on land. It also has the added benefit of stretching the wine you just bought to two drinks.
Ingredients
Red Wine
Cola
Instructions
Mix 1/2 cola with 1/2 red wine on ice.
Sorta Sangria
Another way to stretch out some not-so-great plane wine, this is a good one to order with a travel companion. Each of you orders a booze and mixer to keep things simple, then mix away.
Ingredients
Red Wine
Triple Sec or Lemonade
Fruit Juice Of Choice
Soda Water
Instructions
Start with filling the cup with 1/2 wine over ice. Add 1/2 a nip of triple sec, then top with a splash of fruit juice and club soda.
Irish Coffee
Tired AND need a drink? Why choose. If there's no Irish cream for purchase, just go with whatever whiskey they have and add milk.
Ingredients
Coffee
Irish Cream or Whiskey
Milk (optional)
Instructions
Top off a cup of coffee with Irish cream or Whiskey. Add milk if desired.
Baby Bulldog
A Bulldog, or one of those dangerous drinks where a beer empties itself into a margarita, is more or less impossible to create at altitude (with current technology). We have devised the next best thing by making a sorta-margarita that you can top off with the beer of your choice.
Ingredients
Tequila
Orange Juice or Lemonade
Lager Or Light Beer
Instructions
Fill half a glass with ice with tequila and orange juice (or lemonade if you prefer). Top off with a light beer or lager, then continue to add more beer as you keep drinking.
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