There are many was to toast the holiday season—scotch, champagne, cognac—and serving a lovely holiday cocktail is certainly one of my favorite ways to welcome guests on a cold, wintry night. If you’re searching for holiday cocktails, here’s a list of our favorites.

Skål!

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In that spirit, I have a final cocktail for your Christmas Eve imbibing. The Hallelujah Cocktail comes from The Gentleman’s Companion, another in the long line of interesting concoctions put to paper by Charles H. Baker, Jr. This one is something like a Manhattan, and it’s great for company because you can adjust the sweet and spicy notes to suit your tastes, or your guests’. I went for a drier drink and used Punt e Mes vermouth, and with it this cocktail pulls on the palette much like an amaro. Whether you make it dry or sweet or spicy, it would make a lovely drink before or after a big holiday meal. (...) Continue reading Hallelujah Cocktail

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Post tags: brandy, cherry, cocktail, cognac, grenadine, lime, rum, rye, vermouth

If you, however, find yourself in the midst of a cold snap and need a warm tipple, look no further. The Winter Hill comes from the pages of Left Coast Libations (which would make a fine holiday gift, if you’re still looking). This dressed-up toddy is the brainchild of James Pierce, bar manager at 50 Plates in lovely (and similarly rain-soaked) Portland, Oregon. It features fresh satsuma mandarins and lemons—which have just recently started flooding the markets—alongside bourbon, for a warming, crowd-pleasing cup. (...) Continue reading Winter Hill

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Post tags: bitters, bourbon, chocolate, clove, cocktail, Cointreau, hot, lemon, mandarin

Enter, then, David Lebovitz’s recipe for absinthe ice cream, which had been eyeballing my Cuisinart ICE-50BC ice cream maker for some time. We are lovers of anise in this house, so absinthe ice cream wasn’t much of a stretch, and we drink a slightly embarrassing number of Death in the Afternoons when we have sparkling wine in the house. Naturally, I couldn’t help myself. After much experimentation, here is the result—and a delicious one, at that! (...) Continue reading Champagne Soyeux

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Post tags: absinthe, champagne, cocktail, Grand Marnier, ice cream, orange, sparkling wine

This oddball gem comes from Charles H. Baker, Jr.’s South American Gentleman’s Companion, the 1951 follow-up to his famous Gentleman’s Companion compendium. It’s hard, when reading about Charles H. Baker, not to envy his life—a wedding in Hong Kong after a whirlwind ship-board romance, traveling the world with his wife on their boat, tramping along the Andes, hosting legendary Christmas Eve parties in his coastal Florida home for guests like Burl Ives and Ernest Hemingway. I’m not entirely sure that you could write that life and make it believable, even if you were F. Scott Fitzgerald.

When I found the Venezuelan Snowball (or Coctel Pelota de Nieve), I made it because I was sure there was absolutely no way it could be good. In fact, I was pretty sure it was going to be so shudderingly awful that I’d never have to mention it here; but in the manner of such things, it actually turned out to be a fairly pleasant little drink that grows on you. Sort of like an avalanche, if an avalanche were made of liquor and didn’t crush you. Of course, that could be the three ounces of liquor talking, but I’m pretty sure it’s not. (...) Continue reading Venezuelan Snowball

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Post tags: cocktail, créme de menthe, cream, gin, Parfait Amour

Most of the cocktail-types I know—be they bartenders or just appreciators of the craft—are also into food to some degree. Many of the best cocktail bars are located in very nice restaurants, so good drinks and good food naturally go hand-in-hand. As such it’s probably no surprise that I have a huge stable of cookbooks that I’m constantly poking around in and cooking from, and one of my absolute favorites is Rick Bayless’ Authentic Mexican. Every single recipe I’ve made has been a winner, and I even spent an entire day making a four-course dinner from its pages: Spicy Jicama and Tangerine Salad, Queso Fundido, Refried Beans and Nuevo León-Style Tamales. It’s was all amazingly delicious, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this on Rick Bayless’ Twitter feed:

I’m gving 10 personalizd ‘Fiesta at Rick’s’ 2 winners of my cocktail contest! Details: http://bit.ly/ij7etC nxt post:recipe ,makes 12 drnks

Translated from Twitter-speak, hopefuls were charged with putting a holiday twist on the classic Topolobampo margarita and submitting the recipe for a chance to win a personalized copy of Bayless’ new cookbook, Fiesta at Rick’s. Naturally, my interest was piqued and I set about digging through the bar and cupboards in search of flavors that I associate with the holidays: cardamom, cloves, ginger, saffron and lingonberries. Slightly unusual, but I’m half Swedish. We eat, um, interesting things. (...) Continue reading Margarita Svenska

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Post tags: cocktail, curaçao, ginger, lime juice, lingonberry, tequila, triple sec

Entertaining has been on my mind recently; I compiled some tips for organizing a cocktail party over on Menuism and I’m busy planning my own dinner party for Saint Lucia Day. It can be a daunting task to get it all done, and I’ve been busily bookmarking recipes since early November with the ultimate goal of making December run smoothly—and hopefully just a little bit tipsy as well.

The East India House Cocktail comes from Charles H. Baker, Jr.’s sadly out-of-print The Gentleman’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book or Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask, a book full of great recipes and formulas gleaned from Baker’s travels around the world. Born on Christmas Day in 1895, Baker was a well-known gourmand and writer who traversed the globe reporting for magazines like Esquire and Gourmet (itself now sadly out-of-print), and the culinary contents of those stories became the basis for his first and second Gentleman’s Companions. This recipe is taken from the 1946 edition—or at least from the transcribed copy that I feel fortunate to possess. (...) Continue reading East India House Cocktail

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Post tags: brandy, cocktail, cognac, curaçao, lemon, maraschino, pineapple

Miraculously, I have managed to entirely avoid hearing any holiday music for the past week—largely, I think, because I don’t go out on Black Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday. In reality, I rarely leave the house to do my holiday shopping, both because of convenience and because large crowds of rabid, deal-crazed shoppers give me flashbacks to Dawn of the Dead. Your average Macy’s also doesn’t carry a lot of the items I go looking for—Japanese mixing glasses or wooden mallets for crushing ice aren’t exactly big sellers.

While I have been researching my own gift-buying online, I compiled some suggestions for the cocktail lovers on your list this year. Cocktail-related items also make lovely hostess gifts, so these are also a good place to start looking for a little something to take along to holiday gatherings. If you’re planning to do some actual shopping, I’ve always been of the houseplant-giving sort; plants make a lovely present even if they are a traditional hostess gift. Potted herbs are a great gift for cocktail lovers and hosts alike; mint and lemon balm are lovely and easy to keep, basil and rosemary are useful for drinks and dinner, and exotics like lemongrass are just fun to have around. Vintage glassware also makes a pretty, elegant gift. I buy all my coupes at thrift shops, and have also stumbled upon glass mixing pitchers and shakers as well. If you’re tenacious and patient you can find some absolutely gorgeous glasses in sets of two or four—usually for under $2 each. If you need more ideas, read on for gifts that any cocktail enthusiast would be thrilled to find under the tree. (...) Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide 2010

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Post tags: gifts

Though the tradition and quality of monastic brewing and distilling is well known, monasteries around the world are also famous for their cheeses, breads, eggs and other fine foods—the Abbey of Gesthemani in Kentucky, where Thomas Merton took vows and lived, is famous for their bourbon fudge. A fine idea which seems to me to be a happy meeting of tradition, local color and chocolate.

There are a number of thoroughly delicious recipes in A Taste of Heaven, among them this lovely Christmas Cocoa starring one of my favorite liqueurs: Chartreuse. Produced at the Grand Chartreuse monastery near Grenoble, France, the Carthusian monks have been producing the famous green liqueur (and its yellow sister spirit) since the eighteenth century. Its secret formula contains 130 herbs which are macerated in liquor to create the color and impart the distinctive, vegetal flavors the spirit is famous for. I find it delicious is pretty much every application I’ve ever found, and it is somehow even more appropriate at this time of year. (...) Continue reading Christmas Cocoa

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Post tags: chartreuse, chocolate, cocktail, cocoa

It was supposed to rain today, but instead it is windy and icy cold—in short, unpleasant without even the beneficial aspects of precipitation. Thus I am inside tending the fire, enjoying a hot beverage and working on finishing up a few more Christmas treats. This particular hot beverage is a personal favorite, being as it is both soothing and warming with the added bonus of holiday spice.

It isn’t complicated to make and has a passing similarity to eggnog, though without the extra fat and extra work. And, though the recipe here calls for rum—taken as it is from Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, Revised—you could easily make this with brandy, whiskey, or even applejack. I’m pretty sure it’d be okay with a little slug of amaretto, Kahlua or créme de noyaux too, but then again when it comes to cocktail variations I’m a rebel and I ain’t no good. (...) Continue reading Hot Rum Cow

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Post tags: cocktail, hot, milk, nutmeg, rum, vanilla

This recipe is so simple that it almost feels like cheating. Two ingredients, no shaking—really, how much easier does it get? Not much, and yet this is one of our favorite winter warmers. It is even Doctor Cocktail-approved, given that the good doctor himself gave us the formula and the impetus to try this delightful beverage over a year ago. Since then I don’t think I could count how many Snowshoes we’ve made, nor how many empty bottles of peppermint schnapps in the recycling bin have caused our neighbors’ eyebrows to arch. If you’re feeling a chill this yuletide, or if perhaps the holiday cheercheercheer has worn you down, read on. A quick Snowshoe is a warm, cozy balm for your cold, weary self. (...) Continue reading Snowshoe

Content © 2009 Marleigh Riggins Miller / Daniel Miller / SLOSHED!. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bourbon, cocktail, mint, peppermint, schnapps

The holidays are upon us again and it appears that cocktails are more popular than ever. There has been a lot of activity on the home bar front this year as many people have, like us, ground frivolous spending to a halt. As such, I’m sure a lot of you out there have friends or significant others who have started building their home bars—or are interested in doing so—and are looking for something thoughtful, useful and reasonably priced to gift this year.

One of my favorite places to shop for glassware, punch bowls and accessories like trays or coasters is at my local thrift shop. I rarely pass a second-hand store that I don’t visit, and have stumbled upon excellent finds like pristine sets of vintage champagne coupes (perfect for a three-ounce cocktail) for $2 or $1 bargain-priced air-tight jars that are perfect for holding homemade brandied cherries. I’ve even found the occasional vintage cocktail manual, but those are fewer and farther between these days. Don’t pass up eBay, either, as that’s where you’re going to find a great buy on a vintage metal ice crusher.

If you’re looking for something a bit less time-intensive, I’ve gone ahead and curated a list of options for cocktail-oriented gifts. I’ve been at this home bar thing for a while now and I can say with quite a bit of confidence that every gift on this list is a winner. I own 99% of the items and have sampled or used the remaining percent and can recommend every single thing. If you have a friend or loved one who is into cocktails, be they newly interested or an old-hat nerd like me, there is something on this list that they will love with all their bourbon-soaked heart. (...) Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide 2009

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Here we have a little tipple from mixologist Junior Merino that is absolutely perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Taken from last year’s Food & Wine cocktails guide, the Sherry Cocktail makes use of sherry and brandy for its base. Combined with some simple homemade pomegranate grenadine, it has a rich flavor that can stand up to the usual decadent holiday spread. (...) Continue reading Sherry Cocktail

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Post tags: brandy, cherry, cocktail, grenadine, lemon, orange, sherry

Some of my favorite holiday memories are of my grandmother’s house. The front yard of cold yellow grass and dog poop where my Uncle Glenn, my brother and I used to rip through beer after beer while the rest of my family sat in the front room and tried to pretend that this year wasn’t at least twice as much of an outstanding failure on every conceivable level as the one before it. We’d knock down a case in the time it took the turkey to die a second time, telling dirty jokes and listening to the big rigs throbbing down the freeway. It wasn’t much, but it was a good way to deal with the predictable cruelty of our familial politics, and an even better excuse to pee in my Grandmother’s yard.

That was the state of my holidays every year since I was twelve, and it happened that way until a rebel backhoe killed my uncle in his backyard and I met the woman I was going to marry (but not at the same time). Though I had always thought my holidays were pretty standard, it turns out that most folks don’t have to deal with listening to their grandmother’s sexual fantasies about the black mailman while washing dishes, and that some families actually enjoy each other’s company. My wife’s family is one of those—most of the time, anyway—and being that she is infinitely charitable and kind, she invited me one year to go with her to a get-together on her mother’s side of the family, who happen to be Swedish. (...) Continue reading Three Aquavits, Two Holiday Traditions

Content © 2009 Marleigh Riggins Miller / Daniel Miller / SLOSHED!. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: akavit, aquavit, reviews

You can click here to test drive the list and pick a few drinks to grace your holiday table.

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