A tree and some lights may make your space look inviting for a holiday gathering, but nothing lights up your guests like a festive seasonal cocktail. Unfortunately, making individual drinks means you spend more time with a shaker and less with friends and family.

But don't stress. A few of our favorite Bay Area mixologists offered us their recipes for holiday cocktails you can prepare before the party starts.

The list includes updates on classic cocktails as well as a few originals. To further simplify your party prep, the ingredients in each recipe are scaled to make a one-quart batch.

Happy holidays!

Bar Iris’ Diner Coffee

(Ilya Romanov)

Bar manager Ilya Romanov created the perfect beverage to warm up your arriving guests or send them away with a late-night treat.

Ingredients

14 ounces Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur

14 ounces Santa Teresa Rum

4 ounces Green Chartreuse

Zest of 3 oranges

Pinch of salt

Fresh filter coffee

Cocktail Preparation

Combine the coffee liqueur, rum, and Chartreuse. Add a pinch of salt and zest of three oranges. Infuse for eight hours before straining off and discarding the solids. For each cocktail, add two parts fresh coffee to one part diner coffee mix.

// Bar Iris, 2310 Polk St. (Russian Hill), bar-iris.com