When the holiday season rolls around, some small companies want to pat their employees on the back with the kind of celebration they deserve. For those with limited budgets, however, that’s not always possible. Luckily, clever properties like Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York, enable multiple small companies to chip in and party together.

“Every year, we set aside three dates in December for corporate holiday parties,” says Mary Underwood, beverage manager. “These are beautiful, elegant receptions with a cocktail hour, dinner, music, and dancing. We can accommodate about 20 small companies, who each reserve tables and pay per person.” Guests find the sprawling, nineteenth-century Victorian hotel bedecked with holiday regalia when they arrive to this anything-but-typical office party. If the décor alone doesn’t get them in the holiday spirit, Underwood’s themed cocktails are just the thing for making merry.

“I created three drinks that have become popular in our Carriage Lounge during the winter months, and we also offer them at the parties. A cocktail hour kicks off the festivities,” says Underwood, “and we showcase the holiday cocktails. People love them.”

The Mohonk Candy Cane is the first Yuletide concoction on the list, and Underwood uses homemade peppermint vodka as its base. She steeps organic peppermint tea bags in vodka to make a large batch, then shakes and serves the vodka with light crème de cacao in a martini glass. The glass, of course, is rimmed with crushed candy canes.

“This cocktail is refreshing and not overwhelmingly sweet,” Underwood adds. “It’s the perfect after-dinner drink during the holidays, since mint is known for settling a full stomach.”

The next conversation-starting cocktail is Mountain Top Magic, made by muddling fresh cranberries and orange segments with Hendrick’s gin. Underwood shakes the gin with apricot brandy and serves it in a martini glass garnished with fresh cranberries and orange rind.

“Hendrick’s gin is distilled with botanicals like coriander seeds and juniper berries, then infused with rose petals and cucumber. Combined with the cranberry and orange, it gives a new twist to traditionally flavored holiday drinks,” Underwood says.

As a food and beverage veteran of 27 years, Underwood knows something about winning flavor combinations, and the last cocktail on the list scores big with Mohonk guests. To make it, Underwood takes fresh pumpkin and soaks it in vodka for one week, then strains the pumpkin out of the vodka with cheesecloth. Next, she shakes amaretto, fresh lemon juice, and fresh apple cider with the vodka and serves it in a martini glass. A long lemon twist is wrapped around a cinnamon stick for garnish, and Pumpkin Perfection is served.

“This is actually a cocktail I developed for our Halloween bash last year, so it’s popular from October through the beginning of January around here,” says Underwood. “You could say it’s the holiday gift that keeps on giving.”