Best of: The 10 best 19th-hole cocktails (and the spirits that make for great holiday gifts)

Bacardi spirits.

Gift your favorite spirit this holiday season.

Courtesy Photos

In golf, one great round calls for another. Bring your A-game with you from the 18th green to the 19th hole armed with the most important arsenal in golf: an understanding of your options. A post-round libation isn’t just a rite of passage, it’s a rite of existence as golfers.

Around the holidays, cocktails take on an even more important role — not just for post-round enjoyment but as gifts that keep on giving to friends, family (and golfers!) in your life.

With the help from the bartenders at Toro, a lively Latin restaurant and rum bar at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, we’ve compiled a list of classic and contemporary cocktails that every golfer should know. Better yet, we included a handy and seamless way for you to buy the bottle of your choice for your favorite golf buddy. (Or, buy it for yourself; we won’t tell.) Without further adieu, here are our 10 favorites for ensuring your days are extra merry and bright this holiday season.

The 10 best 19th-hole cocktails

Gin & Tonic

Simple. Timeless. Beautifully balanced. It’s the cocktail equivalent of Ben Hogan’s swing.

3 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
4 ounce tonic water
Lime wedge
Glass: Rocks glass

Bombay Sapphire

Made from a combination of 10 hand-selected botanicals, this beautifully balanced gin works wonderfully in both classic and contemporary drinks.

Mojito Palmer

A classic rum-based cocktail, topped, in this version, with iced tea, in a tribute to the King.

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Superior
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz mint syrup
Splash soda
Topped with ice tea
Glass: Collins

Bacardi superior

Bacardi Superior

A light, bright and nuanced white rum, it’s been Bacardi’s signature spirit since the distillery was founded in 1862.

Translucent Transfusion

True to its name, this refreshing drink is a clear-colored riff on a Transfusion, made with white grape juice and ginger liqueur to turn it translucent. And, of course, a dose of vitamin V.

1 1/2 oz Grey Goose Vodka
1/2 Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
1/2 lime juice
1 1/2 oz ginger ale
1/2 white grape juice
Glass: Collins

Grey Goose

Distilled from winter wheat and pure spring water, this sublime vodka is a must for any home cocktail bar.

Sandy Shandy

Cold beer made even better with the bright flavors of lemonade and gin.

Wit beer
1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1/2 St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 1/2 oz lemonade
Glass: Pint

Bombay Sapphire

Made from a combination of 10 hand-selected botanicals, this beautifully balanced gin works wonderfully in both classic and contemporary drinks.

Rum Punch

A rum punch, like a punch shot, is a chance to get creative. At Toro, they infuse theirs with a tropical medley of lime, pineapple and banana.

1 oz Bacardi Ocho
1/2 oz Bacardi Superior
1/2 oz Giffard banana liqueur
1 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz lime juice
1/4 grapefruit juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
Glass: Hurricane

Bacardi superior

Bacardi Superior

A light, bright and nuanced white rum, it’s been Bacardi’s signature spirit since the distillery was founded in 1862.

A Little Rusty

When the members of the Rat Pack weren’t playing golf, they often could be found at the clubhouse bar, enjoying a whisky cocktail called the Rusty Nail. This is Toro’s take on Frankie and Dino’s drink.

1 3/4 oz Dewar’s 15 Blended Scotch Whisky
3/4 Drambuie
Splash of lemon juice
Glass: Coupe

Dewar’s 15

A limited-release whisky, blended from sherry and bourbon barrels, then set to age in choice oak barrels.

Old Fashioned

Originally known as the whiskey cocktail, and later, the old-fashioned whiskey cocktail, this classic drink now goes by a suitably classic name. Traditionally, it’s made with rye or bourbon, bitters, sugar and an orange twist. At Toro, they whip up rum-based iteration of the cocktail, which they call On the Stint.

2 oz Bacardi Reserva Ocho
1 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
Glass: Double rocks

Bacardi Reserva Ocho

A smooth, golden-hued spirit, and one of the oldest private rum blends in the world.

Gopher It

The name conjures images of Caddyshack, but you might also know the drink by another title. This is Toro’s version of a whisky sour.

1 1/2 oz Dewar’s 12 Blended Scotch Whisky
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz amaretto
3/4 oz simple syrup
1 egg white
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Dewar's 12 whiskey

Dewar’s 12

Called “The Ancestor” in honor of founder, John Dewar, this impeccable blend is the result of a time-honored process. After its blended, its returned it to vintage oak casks, allowing the whiskies to age together and harmonize to perfection.

Pina Colada

If you like pina coladas, you know that there many ways to riff on the drink. Toro’s version, called Rather be Shopping, gets a boost from Baileys and banana liqueur.

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Superior
1 1/2 oz Baileys
1/2 oz Giffard banana liqueur
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz cream of coconut

Bacardi superior

Bacardi Superior

A light, bright and nuanced white rum, it’s been Bacardi’s signature spirit since the distillery was founded in 1862.

Bloody Mary

A lot of golfers think of Bloodys as a hair-of-the-dog-that-bit-them beverage cart libation. But it’s also a first-rate clubhouse order, especially after a summer morning round.

2 oz Grey Goose vodka
4 oz tomato juice
2 teaspoons horseradish
2 dashes Tabasco
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch smoked paprika
1 pinch celery salt
Garnish: parsley, green olives, celery stalk, lemon wedge, lime wedge

Grey Goose

Distilled from winter wheat and pure spring water, this sublime vodka is a must for any home cocktail bar.
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Josh Sens

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.