While watching the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” a few weeks ago, local nurse Kelly Yascheshyn saw The Grant Grill’s holiday drinks flash across the screen and she said they looked so well-crafted and unique that she had to try them. “I saw it last week, and that’s the reason I’m here,” said Yascheshyn, enjoying a recent Sunday afternoon in the U.S. Grant Hotel lounge and restaurant, located at 326 Broadway. “I always just thought this was a hotel. I didn’t know there was something so worthwhile inside.” Yascheshyn tried The Grant Grill’s seasonal feature “The Smashing Pumpkin,” containing pumpkin and star anise-infused 10-cane rum, and she said it was “delightful — and strong.” Amy Bissell, the Grant Grill’s lounge supervisor, has shaken up a handful of new recipes this season, one of which — the “Harvest Spice” — won first place in a recent San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival competition at the Se San Diego Hotel. Bissell, who has spent almost a decade in the service industry, changes the Grant Grill’s drink menu about four or five times a year to keep up with the seasons, and this year she said she went with drinks that would give lounge guests a “fireside feel.” Her combinations incorporate honey, vanilla and “harvest flavors,” she said, and she got to use one of her favorite ingredients — fortified wine. The Grant Grill 326 Broadway (619) 744-2077 THE?GRANT?GRILL Harvest Spice 1 oz. Barenjager honey liqueur (or honey reduction) 1 oz. Pineau des Charentes (or dessert wine) 1 oz. Hennessey Cognac ½ oz. St. Elizabeth’s allspice dram dash of lemon 1 oz. egg whites putka pods (they come from a pine tree) to garnish cinnamon-sugar for the rim Directions: Coat rim of martini glass with cinnamon-sugar and mix all ingredients well in a shaker or blender. It takes an Indiana Jones-like treasure hunt to find the Noble Experiment, but once you get to the speakeasy-style bar, Anthony Schmidt will mix up quite possibly one of the most intricate and delicious beverages you’ve ever had. To get there, go to Neighborhood, a restaurant and bar located at 777 G. St. in East Village. Then, walk past the bar and through the restaurant to the back hallway where the restrooms are. See that large stack of beer kegs past the ladies’ room at the end of the hall? That’s actually a huge door, which opens to reveal a hostess ready to take you into the Noble Experiment. With its cream leather booths, wall of faux human skulls and 19th century portraits covering the walls and ceiling, the swanky vibe makes the cocktail bar worth a visit. But the drinks are the main attraction. Every ingredient is fresh and of good quality — as in, don’t expect to find a Bud Light or Jagerbomb in this venue. Schmidt said he takes a good hour or two to cut ice by hand before each shift so he can serve drinks with blocks of ice so they don’t lose flavor by getting watered down — a necessity for a true classic cocktail. Schmidt says the bar isn’t exclusive, but it only accepts reservations by text message and can book up as far in advance as a week. The Noble Experiment 777 G. St. (619) 446-0001 Christian Cardnuto, food and beverage director at Little Italy’s Glass Door Restaurant, said the main thing one should consider about holiday cocktails is friends and family. “You always want to have something that is approachable from many palates and not too progressive when serving a group,” said Cardnuto. “To me, the holidays are about spending time with family and friends, and what better way to do it than with a drink that brings everyone together.” Cardnuto said fruity flavors are for the summer, and as the weather cools, it’s time to start thinking of savory flavors like baking spices, brown spirits and ginger. Cardnuto recently offered up the creamy “White Christmas” recipe and a variation of the “Presbyterian,” containing rye whiskey, ginger ale and vichy (sparkling) water, that his grandmother used to make every year on Christmas Eve when he was growing up in New York. This drink is also known as a “press.” “I decided to take Mema’s Christmas Presbyterian and give it a seriously California twist,” he said. “The rye was replaced with blueberry vodka and lemon juice was used to tie it all together.” He calls the result the “Blueberry Press-byterian.” Cardnuto said a great thing about making cocktails this time of year is drinking them as a way to warm up on a chilly day. “Right now, we are having a lot of fun with hot toddys and coffee-based concoctions,” said Cardnuto. “The other way to warm people up — use some spice.” The Glass Door 1835 Columbia St. (619) 564-3755 THE?GLASS?DOOR Blueberry Press-byterian 1 1/4 oz. Stoli Blueberry ½ oz. Stirrings Ginger Liquore 1/4 oz. lemon juice 1 1/2 oz. ginger ale 1 1/2 oz. dry sparkling wine Directions: Mix all ingredients. White Christmas 1 1/4 oz. Absolut Vanilla 3/4 oz. Baileys Irish Crème 1/4 oz. Stirrings Ginger Liquore 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon 1 tbsp. brown sugar Directions: Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and spread the mixture over a small plate. Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Top the glass with a shaker tin and shake the cocktail for a hard 10-count. Then take a champagne flute, wet the rim with a touch of water and spin the rim of the glass in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until the rim is thoroughly coated. Strain the cocktail into the flute and enjoy.