5 Ferociously Good Cocktails for Celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year

Gong hei fat choi! Wishing you prosperity and good fortune!

The word auspicious, which means both promising success and favored by fortune, plays an integral part of the customs and symbols that accompany Chinese New Year. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. Boldness, risk taking, adventure and power are characteristics of the tiger that we can all hope to enjoy this year.

Based on the lunar calendar, this year’s festivities begin on the eve of February 1st, with a reunion dinner. All about family, this dinner is not only the most important of the season, but it is the impetus behind the world’s largest annual migration. Also known as the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, Chinese New Year is celebrated by 20 percent of the planet.

Though it is custom to enjoy the reunion dinner with plenty of nianjiu, a type of white wine that differs from household to household, consider serving one of the following cocktails, specifically curated for the Year of the Tiger. Or if you’re feeling bold and adventurous, take a risk and create a cocktail yourself. Here are some auspicious cocktail themes to get you started.

Red symbolizes good luck, fortune and prosperity. It is also the color of happiness. Red is found in the envelopes given to children, in the decorative paper lanterns and also in foods served at the holiday. Consider adding red mixers such as cranberry juice to your cocktail.

Tangerines symbolize good luck and oranges symbolize great wealth – Lyre’s Spirit Co. Italian Orange and Tanqueray Sevilla Orange and Soda, crafted gin cocktail in a can, were both Gold Medal winners at the New York International Spirits Competition. Gold represents wealth and riches and is another auspicious symbol for the new year.

Peanuts symbolize longevity. If you haven’t done so yet, now is the time to give peanutty Skrewball Whiskey a try.

There are many fruits and flowers with special meanings for the holiday. Yong Zhu, lead mixologist from China Live in San Francisco, chose Osmanthus, an aromatic flower with an apricot like scent, for two of the Cold Drinks Bar’s special offerings.

Says Yong Zhu, “Osmanthus is a very common ingredient and garnish for dessert during Chinese New Year, and the color gold is a symbol of prosperity in the Chinese culture. When families gather together making the dessert, the aroma of Osmanthus will spread throughout the house. That was why Osmanthus was a crucial ingredient in these two cocktails.”

Crimson & Gold

2 oz. Kavalan Distillery Select

3/4 oz. Punt E Mes

1/4 oz. Osmanthus Agave Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

Add all ingredients together and stir. Add dry Osmanthus to garnish.

Harry 'Starlite'

This was named in honor of Harry Denton, once considered the king of San Francisco nightlife.

1 1/2 oz. Osmanthus Infused Juniper Grove Gin

¾ oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse

3/4 oz. honey syrup

4 dashes Celery Bitters

Add all ingredients to an ice-filled shaker. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass.

Add a float of ginger beer. Garnish with a twisted celery slice and Osmanthus.

Resorts World Las Vegas is honoring the Year of the Tiger with its first property-wide lunar celebration. In addition to special menus, cocktails, and entertainment, the 50-foot LED Globe at the center of the resort will feature Lunar New Year-themed animations of larger-than-life blossoming money trees with branches that grow gold coins and lucky red envelopes.

While that may be difficult to duplicate at home, you can try The Lucky Tiger Shot, which is being served at RedTail, the resort’s sports and karaoke bar. Made with vodka, crème de cacao, pineapple juice, and lime juice, The Lucky Tiger Shot is priced at $8.88. The number 8 is, after all, considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture.

Lucky Tiger Shot

1 oz. vodka

½ oz. creme de cacao

1 oz. pineapple juice

½ oz. lime juice

Float of grenadine

Utilizing your cocktail shaker, combine vodka, creme de cacao, pineapple juice and lime juice in an ice-filled shaker. Shake well and pour into a shot glass. Once poured, fill to the rim with a floater of grenadine.

Hutong Miami will celebrate Chinese New Year with their Year of the Tiger cocktail and help save wild tigers. Available globally at every Hutong, the cocktails are each topped with a unique design to represent its city and support WWF-UK in saving tigers. Fifty percent of the net sales from the Chinese New Year cocktail will be donated to @WWF during the month of February.

Each location has a different topper available, and the Year of the Tiger cocktail mixes Don Julio Blanco tequila, Nigori Sake, Mandarin puree, lime juice, and pepper honey.

Year of the Tiger

1 ½ oz. (50 ml) Don Julio Blanco

1 oz. (30 ml) Nigori Sake (Any is fine)

2 oz. (60 ml) mandarin puree

1/3 oz. (10 ml) lime juice

2/3 oz. (20 ml) pepper honey

Pour ingredients into an ice filled shaker. Shake. Pour into a chilled glass and enjoy.

Francis Fagin, a mixologist at The Gold Marquess in Pembroke Pines, Florida, likes to take inspiration from classic cocktails such as a Cosmo, using Chinese spirits. In this drink, he uses baijiu, a clear spirit distilled from sorghum. The world’s most-consumed drink, baijiu was once only drunk by royalty and high society. Nowadays its association with being social and festive drinking makes it a fun ingredient for a Chinese New Year cocktail. Learn more about baijiu.