Peppermint Bark (Original Recipe)

 

This cocktail took several tries to get right. The first mistake I made was using any citrus juice. It was unnecessary--it made a good drink but not the drink I was going for. 

I guess I should explain that this original cocktail was an attempt at making peppermint bark in liquid form that can get you drunk. I imagined not only a dry-tasting, spirits-forward cocktail, but one that had the flavor of milk chocolate, mint and holiday sweets without using cream like so many dessert drinks tend to do. I wanted this drink to be an anytime of the day sipper, but especially on holidays. 

I came up with the solution of adding just a tsp. of simple syrup and several drops of Fernet Branca for a sweet and bitter balance that made this peppermint bark cocktail taste more adult than other candy-like versions. 

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. MurLarkey cocoa whiskey
• 1/4 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1 tsp. Fernet Branca

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe.

Grape Spirit Cold Toddy (Original Recipe)

The idea behind this drink was to make the classic holiday hot cocktail with all of its fruity and spicy flavors in a cold form so it is easier to drink quickly. Unusually, I stuck with mostly grape spirits for the base and additional flavors, the one exception being MurLarkey orange whiskey, which comes across like a fruity orange peel and vanilla spice spirit.

But a neutral pisco, ginger brandy and Porto Morgado made this holiday cocktail as much about the juice of the grape as it was about apples and citrus. The spice combination on top was very important, including grated cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and anise.

• 1 oz. MurLarkey orange whiskey
• 1 oz. Capel pisco
• 1 oz. apple cider
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
  
• 1/2 oz. ginger brandy
• 1/2 oz. honey syrup
• 1/4 oz. Porto Morgado
• cinnamon stick
• anise pod
• lemon twist
• grated nutmeg, clove and cinnamon

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of crushed ice. twist lemon zest over the glass and drop it in. Grate spices and garnish with the cinnamon stic and the anise pod.

 

Christmas Morning Coffee

 

I've been doing a lot of coffee and hot cocktails since making my own liqueurs this fall season. The Christmas morning idea came to me when I considered all the things that you find in holiday spiced coffee blends: cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, and chocolate. These ingredients spice up your coffee and make for a holiday treat, but the real rewards come from treating yourself.

I used two spirits to flavor the coffee and add alcoholic punch. The first is MurLarkey's cinnamon whiskey, which is unsweetened cinnamon-infused white whiskey. The cinnamon flavor is natural and very intense. For sweetness and natural ginger rounded out in American brandy, I used my homemade ginger syrup with Korbel brandy. Together, these spirits make up the base of this coffee drink.

Next, grating chocolate and orange zest on top of whipped cream transforms this ordinary cup of coffee into the scents and flavors you find in stocking-stuffer delicacies. It's all part of the holiday experience and a great way to greet the morning on a day of celebration.

• hot black coffee
• 1 oz. ginger brandy (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey
• grated dark chocolate
• grated orange zest
• whipped cream

Add spirits to a cup of black coffee. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle chocolate and orange zest on top. 

Red Top

 

Like Santa's red stocking cap rimmed with white fur, this cocktail is an emblem of holiday celebrations. The recipe is a simple and well-tested one--ordinarily known as the New York Sour back in the days when only New Yorkers floated red wine on top of their egg white Whiskey Sours. 

The difference here is that New York Sours are often on the rocks, while the red top really shows off its two-tone color shift in a Sour glass. The whiskey is rye, and I'm putting my bottle of Rittenhouse to good use. Cheers!

• 1 1/2 oz. rye (Rittenhouse used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 egg white
• 1/2 oz. claret or cabernet sauvignon

Combine all ingredients except red wine in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill and remove the ice. Shake again to aerate and create foam and pour into a chilled Whiskey Sour glass. Using the back of a bar spoon, pour the red win so that it floats on top of the Sour.

Flavored Holiday Coffees

 

Mocha mint and eggnog coffee are a rich treat on cold days. We spend a boatload on these concoctions as soon as the holiday season comes around because they fill us with nostalgia. The thing is, we can make them at home very cheaply.

It's easy to flavor your coffee with liqueurs that give them a holiday flair. Just like syrups you find at coffee shops, liqueurs add  and create interesting flavors, but they also add alcohol. Whipped cream and sprinkled toppings are actually easiest of all the steps and create the feeling of escape from your daily coffee routine.

Advocaat Eggnog Coffee (top)

• 1 oz. advocaat (homemade advocaat used)
• coffee 
• whipped cream
• fresh ground nutmeg

Add advocaat to a cup of regular coffee and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle the whipped cream with nutmeg. 

Mocha Mint Coffee

• 1 oz. white creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps
• 1 oz. creme de cacao (white pictured)
• whipped cream
• grated dark chocolate

Add liqueurs to a cup of regular coffee and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle the whipped cream with chocolate. 

Amsterdamer (Original Cocktial)

I picked up this bottle of barrel-aged Bol's Genever. It is one of a few precursors to modern gin. The difference is that it is a spirit that is distilled from maltwine and infused with botanicals. That is to say, unlike gin, genever has a malted barley base and the flavors are not added during distillation but after.

All of this makes Bol's very rich with darker malty flavors with a body closer to whiskey since it is barrel aged for eighteen months. It lends itself well to a boozy, whiskey-like drink like this one.

• 2 oz. Bol's Barrel Aged Genever
• 1 oz. benedictine
• maraschino cherry 

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry. 

Sherry Eggnog

This is one of the mildest and probably most classic versions of Eggnog that you can make. Unlike distilled spirits Eggnogs that need cream and a lot of sugar to carry off the sweet thickness we expect from this holiday cocktail. Cream sherry, Lustau Capataz Andres in this case, is a dessert sherry that has a sugary thickness that tastes creamy. It is good enough of a substitute for cream in itself. And using it cuts down on the amount of sugar the drink needs because the proportion of sherry you can use to other ingredients is like fifty-percent more than if you used a distilled spirit like rum or brandy.

Capataz Andres is a Lustau blend of Palomino and Pedro Ximenez grapes from Jerez. It is super creamy and sweet with notes of figs, prunes, walnuts and cinnamon and it really lasts long in the finish. It is dark and will color your Eggnog more than the darkest rum!

• 3 oz. cream sherry (Lustau Capataz Andres used)
• 1 egg
• milk 
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• grated nutmeg

Combine sherry, egg and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass and fill to the top with cold milk. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. 

Bull's Milk

This is a funny nightcap cocktail with both brandy and dark rum, and a ton of milk. There's a ton of rich "Milk" or "Cow" named drinks that all have this same rich profile. See the Tiger's Milk and Mother's Milk as examples--the Irish Cow and Liebfraumilch for others. Most of them are pretty bad--just saying. This one is at least strong and cold, though I could see it done hot. The nutmeg sprinkles are really a feature of most of these "Milk" drinks, which also makes them suitable for winter drinking as well as nightcaps.

• 2 1/2 oz. brandy
• 1 1/2 oz. dark rum (Appleton Estate special blend used)
• 5 oz. milk
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass and sprinkle with fresh ground nutmeg.

Brandy Flip

A flip is a dessert drink that takes any spirit and shakes it up with a whole egg, sugar, and cream and is topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg. The Brandy Flip, by nature of its being a primogenitor of early Industrial Era spirits, is likely to be the first kind of flip--unless you count sherry or porto. Let's say that this drink goes way back to the first mixing of distilled spirits with eggs, sometime in the early 1700s.

• 2 oz. brandy (Copper and Kings used)
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tbsp. half-and-half
• 1 tsp. sugar
• fresh ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. Garnish with sprinkles of nutmeg.

(Whiskey) Milk Punch / Gin Milk Punch

Today I wanted to tackle several milk punch recipes at once. They are all very similar in that they require sugar, milk, nutmeg and a spirit. Strangely the New York Bartender's Guide differentiates between a classic milk punch and a whiskey milk punch with separate titles and measurements (parts as opposed to ounces) but the recipes are pretty much the same.

The Whiskey Milk Punch and Milk Punch both call for three ounces of blended whiskey. Now I have rye and bourbon blends, but I think that when a recipe calls for blended whiskey, it means Irish or Canadian whiskey. Why? The smoothness makes it less of a flavor factor. Otherwise you can make a Bourbon Milk Punch (This one oddly served neat in an Old Fashioned glass) with that flavor profile. These drinks are subtler than that.

Then there's the Gin Milk Punch. I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone like milk and gin? Actually I've found this combination to be great in other dessert drinks, and actually the nutmeg helps with the spice profile a lot. It's less important that gin has spicy flavors and more noticeable that this is a holiday drink with hints of juniper.

That said, pick your gin carefully. I prefer a prohibition style gin over dry gin for dessert drinks. They have funky sweet notes that go well with creaminess. Filibuster Gin (Not Available outside the distillery) is aged in two barrels and flavored with only four botanicals. It is close to whiskey in that way and makes a great milk punch.

(Whiskey) Milk Punch

• 3 oz. blended whiskey (Tullimore Dew used)
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Dust with nutmeg.

Gin Milk Punch

• 3 oz. gin (Filibuster dual cask used) 
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled Collins glass . Dust with nutmeg.

Night Cap

The original home remedy for sleeplessness is warm milk. The Night Cap (probably originating as a home remedy given its name) suggests how much better this drink would work with a little rum. Of course you could use any light rum for this drink since nutmeg and milk are the primary flavors, but this is a colonial drink. It stands to reason that a colonial rum is the best and most classic option.

I love how the funky and sweet Buzzard Point colonial rum from District Distilling Co. makes this drink taste more old fashioned. The colonial rum is made with panela sugar, which tastes a little woody because it comes from fresh pressed sugarcane. Made this way, the Night Cap a great holiday warmer of a cocktail and a joy to sip on by the fireside.

• 2 oz. light rum 
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• warm milk 
• freshly grated nutmeg

 Pour rum and syrup into a heated coffee mug. Fill with warm milk and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Locomotive

The Locomotive is an old world hot cocktail in the style of English mulled wine or the Rumfustian, which is a hot dark beer and egg drink with a similar texture. This drink is really savory with a rich red wine like a Zinfandel. The heated egg adds a thickness that the liqueurs and cinnamon seem to cling to. I wanted to show that the lemon slice, if it remains on the surface keeps the cinnamon close to the drinker's nose, which is a great effect when sipping this hot holiday-style mulled wine.

This drink was the perfect opportunity to showcase Luxardo spirits, which are of better quality than those bargain liqueurs. Here are the maraschino cherry and triple sec.

• 6 oz. dry red wine
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur (Luxardo used)
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. honey
• whole egg
• lemon slice
• powdered cinnamon

Warm red wine, liqueurs and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the honey dissolves, but do not boil. In a separate container, beat the egg and add it to the heated mixture stirring quickly for about a minute. Pour into a warm coffee mug, add the lemon slice on top and sprinkle it with cinnamon.

General Harrison's Eggnog

At first I thought of this drink as a low-ABV eggnog cocktail. I considered that this cocktail named for President and U.S. Army general William Henry Harrison took into account the man's penchant for sobriety by using less potent liquors like wine and hard cider over brandy and rum. Then I looked at the glass size, the fact that there's no ice in this eggnog, and the directions saying to top up with either cider or dry red wine.

Any way you cut it, that's a lot of wine or cider in one drink when there's only an egg and a bit of sugar in the drink. So my guess is that General Harrison made his eggnog with what he had available in an army camp. Cider or wine? Check. Eggs and sugar? Check.

This was an easy nog to make considering. I chose Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple cider because cinnamon would only go along with the winter spices in this drink. I also wanted to avoid a bruit cider that would be awkwardly dry in such a rich cocktail.

The effect was pretty awesome! The bubbles in the cider forced the egg foam to rise half way up the glass and force cinnamon and nutmeg scents toward your nose. Underneath is a silky but not overly rich cider nectar.

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. sugar
• dry red wine or hard cider (Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple used)
• grated nutmeg

Combine egg and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass. Fill with wine or cider and grate nutmeg on top. 

Hot Milk Punch

There are lots of Milk Punches: from bourbon, to brandy, to gin. But there is only one Hot Milk Punch, and this one calls for blended whiskey. I like how the whiskey adds vanilla to an already sweetened milk drink. Then there's that thing that happens when the fat from the milk solidifies into a sweetly spiced skin as you drink down into the mug.

This is a great bedtime cocktail that is soothing in winter. It is also a great way to try a whiskey that maybe lacks character when had on ice. Warm booze is easier to taste, and a very vibrant whiskey when it is cold can be overpowering when it is hot. Stick with bargain blends for this hot punch.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar
• cinnamon stick
• grated nutmeg

Warm all ingredients except nutmeg and cinnamon stick in a saucepan on medium heat. Do not boil, but stir until well heated and pour into a warm coffee mug. Dust with nutmeg and stir with cinnamon stick. 

Gluhwein

Gluhwein is a traditional German drink made in large batches and served at those popular Christmas market squares during the holiday season. Many an Alpine skier can receive this warming beverage in the slopeside lodges.

This is a milder hot wine drink, the Germans would say fit for children and adults. Compared with British mulled wine with brandy and the Swedish Glogg with fiery akvavit, it is pretty tame. But it does warm you in more than one way.

This recipe is designed for a single serving, but make a bottle or two of it by increasing the proportions. 

• 6 oz. dry red wine
• lemon peel
• orange peel
• cinnamon stick broken in pieces
• 5 whole cloves
• pinch grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp. honey

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat and stir until honey is dissolved. Do not boil. Serve in a heated coffee mug. 

Canadian Pineapple

This is a strangely Christmas-like tropical drink. I guess it has to do with the whiskey being the spirit of America's cold north country, Canada.

Pineapple, like most tropical things, is also associated with the holiday celebrations that are marked by their excess--both in drinking and in consumption of distant and exotic things like fruits and spices. Do this any time of the year, but a smooth whiskey and pineapple drink seem especially decadent for a pool cocktail.

• 2 oz. Canadian whiskey (Black Velvet Special Reserve used)
• 1 tbsp. pineapple juice
• 2 tsp. maraschino liqueur
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• pineapple spear

Combine all ingredients except pineapple spear in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the pineapple spear. 

Glogg

Glogg is a Swedish hot wine drink with lots of booze and tasty roasted snacks served in it. It differs from English mulled wines in having akvavit in it, as well as port, and the raisins and nuts that are cooked in it are left in the mug to be eaten with a small spoon. 

This recipe is strong and meant to serve 10, but feel free to make an individual portion. One tricky thing about the large recipe is how to scorch a pound of sugar cubes over a steaming pot of potentially combustible liquor. It is logistically hard to do over such a large surface (using a mesh screen of some kind, the recipe says.) It is also dangerous, as lighting a bottle of high test akvavit is likely to blow you right out of the kitchen and burn your house down. I'm not kidding!

Better and safer to put sugar cubes on spoons over individual servings. That way the fire is small in size and can be enjoyed by each person who gets a glass of Glogg.

• 2 bottles of dry red wine
• 1 bottle of brandy (cognac please)
• 1 pint or 16 oz. akvavit (also spelled aquavit)
• 25 cloves
• 20 crushed cardamom seeds
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 2 oz. dried orange peel
• 2 cups blackened almonds
• 2 cups of raisins 
• 1 pound or 16 oz. of sugar cubes 

Braise almonds in a large kettle for several minutes and allow to cool Add all other ingredients with brandy being the last to prevent fire. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a mesh strainer over the kettle, spread the sugar cubes over the liquid and coat them with akvavit. Ignite and let the sugar and allow it to melt into the kettle. Stir again and serve in heated mugs. (Alternatively, ignite several sugar cubes over each individual mug with a good helping of akvavit.)

Hot Brick Toddy

The Hot Brick Toddy is a soothing warm cocktail made with whiskey. It resembles the Hot Toddy except that there is butter in it, which makes it more like a buttered whiskey hot drink.

There's something special about enjoying this drink by the fire or Christmas tree in winter. Black Velvet special reserve is my go-to smooth whiskey for these kinds of drinks where a funny, smokey flavor would be out of place. This should taste more like a butterscotch candy than actual scotch.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Black Velvet Special Reserve used)
• 1 tsp. sugar (light brown used)
• 1 tsp. butter
• boiling water
• cinnamon to taste

Add all whiskey, sugar, butter and cinnamon to a coffee mug. Top with boiling water and stir gently.

Claret Cup

Claret is a rich red wine that can be made into a punch with the addition of liquors, fruits and soda. There's a good bit of liquor in this punch all around: the recipe calls for a pitcher that serves four people. I used Copper and Kings brandy, Vitae orange liqueur, and Airfield Cabernet for the spirits.

Add orange slices and mint leaves to each individual glass and top with soda, don't try to mix the soda into the punch where it will go flat. 

• 16 oz. of Claret or Cabernet wine
• 2 oz. brandy or cognac (Copper and Kings brandy used)
• 1 oz. Cointreau (Vitae orange liqueur used)
• 3 tsp. sugar
• 8 oz. sparkling water
• mint sprigs
• orange slices

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher with ice and stir (leaving out the sparkling water is recommended, though.) Garnish with fruit and mint and serve in wine glasses. 

Coffee Flip

If you can "Flip" anything, why not coffee, and port and cognac all at once. That's the idea behind the Coffee Flip. These creamy drinks taste mostly of spirits and nutmeg, but you pretty much only notice the coffee in this one. In fact, the directions produce enough Flip for two glasses, so feel free to use less coffee (2 1/2 oz.) if you are drinking alone.

• 2 oz. cognac
• 1 oz. ruby port
• 5 oz. cold coffee
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• freshly ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a blender with ice. Blend until slushy and pour into a chilled wine glass. Dust nutmeg on top.