If you’re headed to the airport this holiday season, you’re not alone.

A record 8.03 million people will get on a plane in the period around Christmas and New Year’s Day, according to AAA.

Lucky for us, restaurants and bars at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport have teamed up to bring us some holiday cheer in the form of cocktails, wine and beer.

I got to sip on a few of them during a recent visit to Terminal 1, and there’s lots of good stuff available. Make the most of your two or three hours waiting for your flight with these beverages, listed by location.

Another hot tip for chocolate lovers: See’s Candy has a pop-up kiosk on Concourse C!

Main Mall

The Dubai Chocolate Martini at Cook and the Ox in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Ike’s Clubhouse: ‘Tis the season for sweet drinks, and Ike’s is pulling out all the stops here with an Apple Pie Manahattan, a Candy Cane Martini and Clubhouse Coffee, spied with Rumchata and Frangelico.

Stone Arch: This craft-brew-focused eatery is staying true to form, with four special holiday beers on tap. South by Southeasts’s Yulefest winter warmer is brewed with cinnamon, cardamom, spruce tips and orange zest. Summit’s Winter Ale, a sweet and fruity dark ale, is well-known around these parts; and the same with Schell’s Snowstorm, a toasty dark lager infused with baking spices. They’re rounding it out with a Cranberry Lager from Castle Danger.

Lake & Wine: Two limited-time wine pours from the state of Washington are being offered. Lulu Rose 2022 and Bitner Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020.

Cook & the Ox and People’s Organic: Did I mention sweet stuff is on most of the menus? The Dubai Chocolate Martini, offered at both of these spots (they are next door to each other) fits that bill, while also being insanely trendy. It’s chocolate and pistachio in a glass.

Hissho Sushi (And Bottle Rocket in Concourse C): They didn’t have this drink yet when we stopped by, but White Clouds, which includes white cranberry juice, Hendrick’s Gin, St. Germain and mint, sounds delicious.

Concourses C, D and E

The Salted Caramel Espresso Martini at Buffalo Wild Wings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

LoLo/Republic: Lolo in Concourse E and Republic in Concourse D have outdone themselves with four fun holiday drinks. We tried two of them — the Grinch Games, featuring New Amsterdam gin, Midori, St. Germain, lime and pineapple juice, and the Reindeer Ruckus, an apple spice version of an old-fashioned with Buffalo Trace bourbon, and I can highly recommend both. There’s also Wreathing Havoc with Captain Morgan, sweet vermouth and gingerbread syrup, and Mistletoe Mayhem, a Ketel One vodka drink with yuzu, cranberry and lime juices.

Buffalo Wild Wings: If you’re an espresso martini fan who’s looking for dessert in liquid form, the salted caramel espresso martini here is for you. Salty caramel whiskey is the base spirit here, which is a nice twist.

Concourse G

The Pear-fect Margarita is available at the OTG restaurants in the G Concourse of MSP Airport (Shoyu, Mimosa and Mill City Tavern). (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

The OTG restaurants in the G Concourse (Shoyu, Mimosa and Mill City Tavern) have teamed with Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE) and their Serving Up Hope campaign to offer cocktails that help support employees with children when they face life-altering circumstances like a health crisis, death or natural disaster.

We tried the Pear-fect Margarita, a pear-spiked refresher that screams Mexican holiday, and the Compassion Old Fashioned, made with Stranahan’s Colorado Single Malt and Aperol, which gives it a nice herbal kick.

They’re also offering a whole slate of non-alcoholic cocktails, which is a nice option for those of us who prefer to fly sober.

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Today is Thursday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2025. There are 13 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 18, 2011, the last convoy of heavily armored U.S. troops left Iraq in the final moments of a nearly nine-year war.

Also on this date:

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.

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In 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.

In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, World War I’s longest at 10 months, ended between French and German forces; it led to nearly 1 million casualties.

In 1917, Congress proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting alcohol; the 18th Amendment was declared ratified in 1919 (Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment).

In 1957, the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, began supplying electricity to customers. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)

In 1972, with peace talks stalled, the U.S. launched Operation Linebacker II, its heaviest bombing of North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. The operation lasted 11 days (an agreement known as the Paris Peace Accords was signed in January 1973.

In 2019, the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump on two charges, sending his case to the Senate for trial (It was the first of two Trump impeachment trials that would end in acquittal). The articles of impeachment accused him of abuse of power to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden before the 2020 election and obstructing Congress’ investigation of the matter.

In 2022, Argentina beat France 4-2 in a penalty shootout to claim a third World Cup, the first for star Lionel Messi.

In 2023, Pope Francis approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples under certain conditions, a radical shift in policy that aimed to make the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage.

Today’s Birthdays:

Chef Jacques Pépin is 90.
Rock musician Keith Richards is 82.
Filmmaker Alan Rudolph is 82.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is 79.
Filmmaker Gillian Armstrong is 75.
Actor Brad Pitt is 62.
Singer Alejandro Sanz is 57.
Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 54.
Pop singer Sia is 50.
Country singer-songwriter Randy Houser is 50.
Actor Katie Holmes is 47.
Singer Christina Aguilera is 45.
MLB outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is 28.
NFL quarterback Jayden Daniels is 25.
Singer Billie Eilish is 24.

The Timberwolves were halfway to yet another strong offensive showing filled with ball movement and pace Wednesday at Target Center.

Then everything came to a screeching halt, as Minnesota played one of its uglier halves of offense of the season. The final 24 minutes of Minnesota’s 116-110 loss to Memphis featured just eight assists, which were matched by eight turnovers.

Minnesota shot 7 for 23 from the field in the third quarter, then 8 for 23 in the fourth.

“I thought it was a horrendous night offensively,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “Our offensive decision making was awful. From shot selection to turnovers to execution, it was just not very good.”

Which was the continuance of an ongoing issue for Minnesota. Memphis played physical defense Wednesday, and also had former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. to guard Julius Randle 1 on 1 in the middle of the floor.

Those two ingredients generally form the recipe for a concoction that ails Minnesota. Randle went just 9 for 21 in the loss with three assists to four turnovers. The forward has been consistently excellent for the Wolves this season, partially due to his simplicity of approach.

If Randle draws help defense, he kicks to an open teammate. If he is left in a 1 on 1 situation, he looks to score. But the latter wasn’t a successful venture against Jackson, yet Randle continued to hit his head against the wall that was the Memphis forward throughout the evening with little success.

Randle noted “next-action basketball,” where Minnesota continues to move the ball and drive the paint and kick and attack closeouts until a great look presents itself,  is a big driver of his success, and that wasn’t prevalent in the Wolves’ offense against Memphis.

“I felt like there wasn’t as much movement on my part, on everybody’s part,” Randle said.

That was part of the reason Minnesota’s offense stagnated, along with the general resistance the Grizzlies provided on all fronts. Memphis is long and physical. Your cuts and drives against it will face friction. Generally, that means everything you do needs to be quicker and more decisive.

“They don’t let you get by them quick, easily,” Finch said. “So to play off the catch, you got to play with thrust and stay with the dribble and play through the initial point of contact. I don’t think we did a very good job of that tonight.”

Instead, Minnesota started to hold. At that point, the Wolves are easy to guard, and only more so when their top isolation player, Anthony Edwards, is out with foot soreness. Shooting variance didn’t bail the Wolves out Wednesday, as Minnesota went just 13 for 44 from distance.

Everything the Wolves did in the second half Wednesday was slow and difficult. Such has been the case against scrappy defenses all season, including matchups against Portland and Oklahoma City, the latter of which Minnesota will play again Friday. The Wolves will need to be prepared to play fast and with intention if they hope to pull the upset of the Thunder.

“I think it takes five guys to be willing to do it, and I think we are when you look at the big picture. But, sometimes, when there’s frustration, we go back old ways individually. I wouldn’t put myself in that category, but some of us are more 1 on 1 scorers, and I think we’ve got to just give ourselves away to the team,” said Rudy Gobert, who finished 16 points and 16 rebounds. “We need the scorers to be aggressive, but within the flow of the game.

“Making quicker decisions. If you’re going to shoot, pass or drive is pretty much what it is. Having less of dribble, dribble, dribble, because the defense sets and it makes everything harder. The NBA in today’s game, the defense is going to shrink. And even for me, as a guy who’s going to rebound or be open, it’s much easier to rebound when we have an advantage. We have a lot of ways to grab advantages that are better than just playing 1 on 1.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday that it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people on the same day the House rejected efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels.

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U.S. Southern Command stated on social media that the vessel was operated by narco-terrorists along a known trafficking route. The military didn’t provide evidence behind the allegations but posted a video of a boat moving through water before there was an explosion.

The attack brought the total number of known boat strikes to 26 while at least 99 people have been killed, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

The administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign. The first attack in early September involved a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels. They were the first votes in the House on Trump’s military campaign in Central and South America. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had previously voted against similar resolutions, and Trump would almost certainly veto them if they were to pass Congress.