suhrelaw | December 21, 2016 | Criminal Law

See our TSA Tips for traveling with alcoholic beverages on an airplane

Celebrate this season in style by responsibly enjoying some of my favorite cocktails:

Mimosa

  • 1/2 jug of your favorite orange juice (I prefer extra pulp)
  • 1/2 bottle of your favorite champagne

The perfect complement to any holiday breakfast or brunch. Some recipes I found say to mix 3 parts champagne to 1 part orange juice. I prefer the ratio more 1 to 1.

Pumpkin Spice Martini

  • 1.5 oz. Vanilla flavored vodka
  • 1.5 oz. Irish cream liqueur
  • 1.5 oz. Pumpkin flavored liqueur
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg

This should be shaken and poured over ice. If you want to upscale it, use a martini glass and crust the rim with the ground cinnamon and nutmeg mixture.

Eggnog Russian

  • 1.5 oz. jigger spiced rum
  • 1.5 oz. coffee flavored liqueur
  • 3/4 cup eggnog
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg on top

This can be served over ice or shaken and served chilled.

Bourbon Slush

  • 1 46 oz. can of pineapple juice
  • 1 750ml bottle of bourbon
  • 1 10oz. jar maraschino cherries with juice
  • 2 L. bottle lemon-lime soda

Mix pineapple juice, bourbon, and jar of maraschino cherries with their juice in a large freezer-safe container with a lid. Cover container tightly and freeze into slush overnight. It will be ready to serve the next day. Spoon slush into a glass and top with lemon-lime soda.

I prefer Woodford Reserve, but you can get by with Evan Williams or Kentucky Tavern.

Candy Cane Hot Chocolate
(For those of us with children that also want to make the holiday special, I included a non-alcoholic beverage)

  • 4 cups milk
  • 3 1oz. squares semi-sweet chocolate
  • 4 peppermint candy canes, crushed
  • 1 cup whipped cream
  • 4 small peppermint candy canes

Warm milk and chocolate in a pan. DO NOT boil. Mix in the chocolate and the crushed peppermint candies and stir until melted and smooth. Pour hot cocoa into four mugs, and garnish with whipped cream. Serve each with a candy cane stirring stick. Optional, add a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon to the top and/or add a dash of vanilla extract to the mix when heating. Do not be tempted to use milk chocolate because it contains less cocoa and more milk and sugar than semi-sweet. The flavor tends to be a bit milder, which means it can get lost in the cocktail.

TSA Tips for traveling with alcoholic beverages on an airplane

I also happened to come across this blog by TSA and thought it was holiday appropriate. It talks about traveling with alcohol on a plane. If you are planning a cross country trip to see friends and family this season be mindful of the following:

The blog is titled, “TSA Travel Tips Tuesday – Traveling With Alcoholic Beverages.” The full blog can be found here: http://blog.tsa.gov/2014/01/tsa-travel-tips-tuesday-traveling-with.html
Like other liquid restrictions, each passenger can carry on as many mini bottles of alcohol as will fit in a one quart clear plastic zip top bag. TSA restricts the volume of liquids to 3.4 oz. each. A mini bottle of alcohol is typically 50ml or about 1.7oz. Big bottles are permitted on the plane if purchased after going through security. While you can take the alcohol on the plane, you are not supposed to consume any alcohol on the plane unless you buy it from the airline crew that holds the license to serve alcohol for consumption. You can check alcohol in your baggage if you do not want to carry it on. Make sure it is not greater than 70% alcohol content or 140 proof. You can take up to five liters of alcohol with alcohol content between 24% and 70% per person as checked luggage if it’s packaged in a sealable bottle or flask. Alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol content are not subject to hazardous materials regulations.

If you are lucky enough to be traveling outside the US for the holiday, make sure you check with the local host country for their rules and regulations related to bringing alcohol into the country. Regards and happy Holidays!