Christmas with family is a beautiful thing. It’s also a social endurance test disguised as a celebration. There will be love. There will be laughter. There will be at least one unsolicited opinion about your life choices, finances, or the way you cook your turkey. And somewhere between the third retelling of the same story and the sudden appearance of a guitar no one asked for, you’ll realize why bourbon exists.
This is not a guide to drinking irresponsibly. This is a guide to drinking strategically.
Not all bourbons are created equal, especially at Christmas.
This is not the time to crack open your most prized bottle. Holidays are unpredictable. Bottles get passed around. Glasses get set down and forgotten. Someone will pour Diet Coke into something expensive if given the chance.
You want a bourbon that is:
• Good enough to sip
• Affordable enough to share
• Forgiving enough to survive ice cubes of questionable origin
Think mid-proof, well-balanced, and familiar. This is a 90–100 proof moment, not a hazmat situation.
If you bring something too rare, you’ll spend the night guarding it like a mall Santa with trust issues. If you bring something too cheap, you’ll resent every sip and every comment that starts with, “Wow, this is… strong.”
The sweet spot is confidence without stress.
The first pour sets the tone for the entire evening.
If you wait too long, you’ll end up with:
• Someone else’s glass
• Someone else’s bourbon
• Or worse, a cocktail experiment involving peppermint
Pour yourself a modest glass early. Not large. Not performative. Just enough to signal: I am participating, but I am not hosting a tasting.
This does two things:
1. It buys you patience
2. It creates a visual excuse to step away from conversations when needed
Holding a glass gives you something to do with your hands and something to focus on when the conversation veers into dangerous territory.
The Christmas Sip is different from the normal sip.
It is:
• Slower
• Smaller
• More deliberate
This isn’t about consumption—it’s about pace control. You’re not drinking to get somewhere; you’re drinking to stay where you are emotionally.
Let the bourbon do what bourbon does best: slow things down.
One sip during a political comment.
One sip during a passive-aggressive compliment.
One sip when someone says, “Remember when you used to be fun?”
You don’t need a refill. You need a moment.
Bourbon has a magical quality at family gatherings: it gives people something neutral to talk about.
When conversation turns uncomfortable, redirect:
• “This has a really nice oak note.”
• “I love how the spice hits on the finish.”
• “It drinks lower than its proof.”
These statements mean very little to non-bourbon people, but they sound thoughtful enough to pause the conversation. It’s conversational white noise. Use it.
Worst case scenario, someone asks for a pour, and now the attention has shifted away from you entirely.
There’s no shame in adjusting your drink.
Ice is not a weakness. Water is not surrender. They are tools.
Ice buys you time.
Water keeps you present.
If the night is going long, don’t escalate proof to match the energy in the room. That’s how Christmas legends are born—and not the good kind.
The goal is survival, not a story that starts with, “So apparently I said…”
At some point, someone will say:
“Oh! I’ll just make a little cocktail with this.”
This is your cue.
If the bottle matters to you:
• Put it away
• Switch it out
• Or quietly migrate it to a safer location
You are not being rude. You are being realistic.
Christmas cocktails have a way of turning good bourbon into regret. Let the mixers find something else to cling to.
Every gathering has a moment where you should leave—but don’t yet know it.
Watch for these signs:
• The same story starts again
• Someone brings out a phone to show photos from five years ago
• A debate begins that has never once ended well in human history
This is when you take one final sip.
Not a refill.
Not a toast.
A closing sip.
Then you thank everyone, compliment something specific, and go. You leave on a high note. You leave before the bourbon becomes a witness.
If you wake up remembering everything, you did it right.
Good bourbon doesn’t need to be punished by excess. It exists to enhance moments, not erase them. Christmas is loud enough without adding regret.
Hydrate. Eat. Maybe take a walk. Then quietly assess which bottle performed best under pressure.
That’s data.
Bourbon won’t solve family dynamics. It won’t rewrite awkward conversations. It won’t fix that one relative who insists on being exactly who they are.
But it can give you space.
It can slow the night.
It can soften the edges.
And sometimes, that’s all you need to make it through Christmas with your sanity—and your relationships—intact.
Drink well. Drink smart. And remember: the holidays end, but your bottle collection doesn’t.
Merry Christmas from Bourboneur.
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