Wolfgang Puck Shares His Go-To Holiday Drink

Renowned chef Wolfgang Puck is no stranger to creating unforgettable culinary experiences, and his holiday traditions are no exception.

This season, he’s sharing his go-to festive drink: a signature Christmas cocktail that’s as aromatic as it is indulgent. Inspired by the warm, heavenly scents of his Austrian childhood, this cocktail combines the rich flavors of gin, allspice, and maple syrup with the festive touch of torched rosemary.

Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or cozying up by the fire, Wolfgang Puck’s cocktail is sure to bring a little extra magic to your celebrations.

Wolfgang Puck’s go-to holiday drink is his signature Christmas Cocktail, a creation inspired by the aromatic paths of his Austrian village where priests burned incense, filling the air with a sacred, heavenly scent.

Featuring rosemary embers and Allspice dram, this cocktail doesn’t just taste festive—it makes your entire home smell like Christmas. Describing this indulgent treat, Wolfgang shared, “There is a sweetness; this is the kind of drink I would have wanted as a young boy when my mother went to church.”

• 8 torched rosemary needles (muddled)
• 1 whole egg white
• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz allspice dram
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz maple syrup
• Pinch of cinnamon

To make Wolfgang Puck’s Christmas Cocktail, start by setting the rosemary on fire, then quickly extinguish the flame and muddle the rosemary in the bottom of a glass.

Add the remaining ingredients and dry shake to incorporate the egg white.

Next, add ice and shake again to chill the mixture. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Wolfgang’s top tip: Be cautious with the maple syrup unless you prefer a sweeter drink.

Austrian-American chef Wolfgang Puck has not only elevated the culinary world but has brought it to the Vatican itself. His iconic first restaurant, Spago, has been a staple of the dining scene for nearly 40 years and continues to be a favorite among Hollywood’s elite.

Today, Wolfgang’s influence spans the globe with his world-renowned restaurants, including The Cut in Mayfair. Recently, the London hotspot welcomed a new executive chef, Jamie Shears, who is ready to serve Londoners with fresh, innovative cuisine as the city emerges from lockdown.

When speaking with Mashed, the celebrity chef opened up about his past and what got him into cooking.

“When my mother was a professional cook in a resort hotel in the summer, we’d both stay in Hotel Linde, and every summer, I used to go there and help her in the kitchen,” he shared. “Or help the pastry chef in the kitchen. So for me, it was a lot of fun, but mainly they gave me ice cream. They gave me the end cut of the cake and that was amazing for me. So that was work even though they didn’t pay me.”

Wolfgang added, “And also, maybe outside, sometimes it was raining for three, four days in — you couldn’t play really. So I played in the kitchen.”

While he may be one of the best-known chefs in today’s world, the journey to his fame now was not an easy one.

“Well, life is a journey,” he said when reflecting on his upbringing. “There are many struggles as you go along, many problems you’ll have to solve. Many adverse things can happen to you. I really believe my hardest part was when I was a kid … from maybe 5 or 4 to when I left the country.”

“You know, when I left Austria at 17. I mean, the first Christmas I remember we were living in a one-room apartment,” he recalled. “The stove was there, the bed was there, a table with two chairs or three chairs. That was it. And the heat in the winter, we had three feet of snow. So my mother used to get up, or my grandmother used to get up and fire up the oven because it was with wood. The toilet was far out. So it was really so different.”

Wolfgang Puck has gone on to win multiple James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Chef of the Year and Lifetime Achievement. In 2017, he became the first chef to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a testament to his impact on both food and pop culture.