PHOTO: Germany's Glühwein is a tasty international alternative to your boring old eggnog. (Courtesy of Thinkstock)

Christmas isn’t just about opening presents surrounded by family, friends and a million pine needles off the tree; it’s about expanding your horizons when it comes to how you drink. After all, is there any reason to drink eggnog other than Christmas?

This year, leave the traditional nog behind and incorporate the following international beverages into your holiday drink list. Who knows, maybe by adding a bit of cultural flair you’ll end your year with a bang.

Jamaica: Sorrel

The bright red color of Sorrel alone exudes the cheerful spirit of Christmas and its taste is just as festive. The drink adopts its bright hue from the petals of the Roselle plant (also known as a hibiscus), which are boiled to a max or until the water turns red, and then mixed with ingredients like cinnamon and ginger, as well as syrup or sugar to enhance the tart flavor of the flower.

Sorrel was first mixed in Jamaica in the 1600s by slaves, and it is traditionally served on the rocks and goes well with any dish. But if you want to add more festivity to this tangy concoction, it mixes well with rum, sherry or wine.

Puerto Rico: Coquito

Consider this a tropical twist on egg nog. In Puerto Rico, the beverage that makes a popular visit during the holidays is coquito, which provides such a frothy, yet creamy taste you’ll be craving a sip even after the holidays.  

Especially once the taste of condensed milk mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, rum and coconut milk hits your palate. But the ingredients of coquito don’t have to end there, because if your sweet tooth still isn’t quite satisfied, vanilla, ginger and cinnamon are combined to kick its flavor up a couple notches.

Germany: Glühwein

Looking for that exotic drink to warm up your white Christmas?  Well you might find exactly you’re your taste buds are craving with a glass of Glühwein.

This German style of mulled wine is made when red wine is blended with various ingredients like sugar, cinnamon, cider and cloves and then brewed to provide that burning sensation as it deliciously slithers across your palate. There’s no need to travel across the globe when you can prepare your own concoction and savor its array of spices, which is intensified with a shot of rum. 

Mexico: Ponche Navidendo

If you’re thinking about bringing international flavor to your Christmas dinner, then you might find ponche navidendo to your liking.  This hearty hot fruit punch is easily distinguished by an aroma infused with local Mexican fruits such as tamarind and guava and mixed with sugar cane, cinnamon as well as walnuts for the ultimate taste. 

However, not only is ponche navidendo imbibed to provide warmth on Christmas, it is a celebratory beverage that is traditionally consumed during Las Posadas, a nine-day re-enactment of the Nativity that culminates on Christmas Eve. 

Sweden: Julmust

Julmust may be hard to find throughout the year, but during the holidays practically no Swedish home is caught without it.  It’s even been said that nationally, consumption of Coca-Cola takes a dive during the annual release of Julmust.

The drink is packaged in a typical soda bottle, but stands out with a Christmas-themed label; perhaps this is why julmust oozes Christmas since “jul” is defined as yule in Swedish.  Nevertheless, the magic is all in the taste and to see if it lives up to America’s greatest thirst-quenchers, stores like IKEA are known for making the Swedish beverage available during the holidays.