What The Kirsh? (Original Recipe)

 

It may look like a Cosmopolitan; it may even taste a little like one, but that pink citrusy drink with a lime wedge is not a vodka a and cranberry served up. 

Kirschwasser is a German cherry brandy that has fruity, ether-like notes of black cherries. It is clear and strong and great as a base for a stiff cocktail. The pink comes from the creme de noyaux, an almond liquor. Creme de cacao rounds out the sweetness of the drink with Tootsie Roll notes. This balances just a kiss of lime acidity. See where this is going? Make it and find out.

• 2 oz. Kammer-Kirsch
• 1 oz. Tempus Fugit creme de noyaux
• 1/4 oz. creme de cacao
• squeeze of 1/8 lime wedge
  
• lime wedge garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.

Winter (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

Allspice, ginger, rich rum--what else do you need to make a cocktail taste like all the flavors we love in winter? I'm a big fan of this drink, mostly because it is another one of the great cocktails I've found on Difford's guide that combine tiki ingredients and a classic cocktail feel. You get the coup presentation with a simple piece of candied ginger garnish. Then there's the dark, colonial style rum and all the burst of the tropics from allspice dram and Angostura bitters. 

I'm showing off George Bowman's small batch rum in this cocktail. The Bowman distillery in Virginia doesn't make their own rum, but they bottle this blend from the Caribbean. It tastes a lot like Jamaican or Guyana, so very spicy and heavy oak and vanilla notes. It is the kind of thing you expect colonial Americans to pay top dollar for during the rum trade.

There's still a few months of winter left, so be sure to make this cocktail and enjoy it. Of course you could do it in the summer, but I'd rather make it a Swizzle with the same ingredients. That would absolutely work. 

• 2 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Bowman's used)
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• 1/6 oz. (2 tsp.) ginger brandy (homemade used)
• 1/6 oz. (2 tsp.) pimento dram/ allspice dram (homemade used)
• dash Angostura bitters
• piece of candied ginger

Combine liquid ingreients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with piece of ginger.

Irish Tea

Black tea is used in many hot winter cocktails. This makes a lot of sense, because it warms whatever liquor you use and often the flavor of the liquor provides a sweetness that makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

But what if the point of the liquor is to taste like the tea? What if it tastes so much like tea that you almost can't tell that the tea is spiked?

MurLarkey makes this really cool three tea whiskey (so new it's not on their website yet) that infuses white whiskey with Darjeeling, Earl Grey and English breakfast teas. It makes a great breakfast cocktail that goes perfectly with toast and jam. The Irish enjoy especially strong black tea, and I recommend it as the namesake of this boozy breakfast drink.

• 5 oz. hot Irish breakfast tea
• 1 oz. MurLarkey three tea whiskey
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 oz. milk (warmed)

Combine all ingredients in a teacup and stir. 

Diana

I know I did this drink back in December, but a recent search for it turned up empty. I found it on one of my Instagram posts, however, and tracked it down from there.

The Diana really is a tingly and strong mint drink that is very suited to winter drinking like when I first tried it. I remember the experience well. It is all about the mint and crushed ice. The cognac float comes through as well. The whole experience is like a snow globe, which I think is the intention. Frosty on the glass, round, and very minty. I don't have white creme de menthe, but a cheap substitute (especially when cheap white creme de menthe is concerned) is peppermint schnapps. The point is that the drink can't be green.

• 2 oz. white creme de menthe (peppermint schnapps used)
• 1/2 oz. cognac
• crushed ice

Pour creme de menthe (peppermint schnapps) into a snifter full of crushed ice. Float cognac on top.

Negus Punch

The term "Negus" is archaic and refers to Ethiopian royalty back at a time in Europe when Ethiopia represented the exotic. And you can see why this royal hot punch is equated with the "Orient" with its use of cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg. It is certainly a treat fit for a king.

The recipe in the New York Bartender's Guide circa 1997 serves 10 to 12, but this is not an especially strong punch and really just extends a single bottle of ruby port into hot water diluted portions. Much better is the mix of spices and the presentation of making the punch in a pitcher as the directions state.

You can, of course make a single serving following a scaled down version of the recipe. Do this with 4 oz. of port, 2 cloves, one lemon twist, 1/2 allspice grated, 1 cinnamon stick and more sugar than you think. Keep the water portion under half a cup.

• 1 bottle ruby port
• zest of one whole lemon
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 8 sugar cubes
• 1 whole crushed nutmeg
• 7 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• boiling water 

Put lemon zest, spices and sugar in a large pitcher. Add enough boiling water to dissolve the sugar while stirring. Add the port and stir well, you may wish to keep the mixture warm to allow for the spices to mull. Just before serving add 2 cups of boiling water. Serve in heat-resistant punch mugs or coffee mugs.

Mulled Cider

This cider drink is the quintessential hot mulled cider cocktail. It is colonial and rich, with gold rum, cider and spices. While you can make it with any brown spirit and cider, there's something about the old world taste of rum that clinches it.

Interestingly enough, "gold rum" does not denote a particular category. It refers vaguely to the color of the rum, which may be lighter or darker depending on age and blending. To prove this point, Cruzan labels all their rums, light, gold and dark as simply aged rum. The color, not the label is the only visible difference between them and is a result of the blending decisions. In fact, gold rum is created by blending light and dark rums--but it also may contain caramel as a cheap way to achieve the color of an aged rum.

I blended Cruzan aged rum with the very dark Pampero Venezuelan rum. Both are aged and contain no added caramel. You can chose to blend yourself, or open a bottle of brownish (not-spiced) rum to go with your home-spiced cider.

• 2 oz. gold (aged blended) rum
• 6 oz. apple cider
• 1 tsp. honey
• cinnamon stick
• grated nutmeg
• lemon peel

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until well heated but do not boil. Pour into a heated coffee mug. 

Rye Flip

Go ahead, flip anything. This time let's do rye. Catoctin Creek rye is very mellow and has no smokiness that will ruin a dessert-like drink like a flip. This recipe has no cream in it like some flips do, which is good. You can taste the rye and it's not to heavy with creaminess. This is a great fall and winter drink.

• 2 oz. rye 
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 whole egg
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake like crazy to break up the egg. (Note: You may want to strain the liquid into another shaker or other container to remove the ice. Then re-shake the liquid to obtain a large egg foam then pour into the glass.) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. 

Hot Toddy / Hot Tot Toddy

Another guest request, this time while snow was falling heavily outside the bar. I had already set up for ingredients and glassware giving the weather conditions. I just knew this one would be a hit.

I didn't have cloves, but that was no bother. Star anise and nutmeg sprinkles did the trick all on their own. It is great seeing this drink served in a clear hot cocktail mug.

After this, I made Hot Tot Toddies (non-alcoholic) for my co-workers because it was so cold standing around the bar while the temperature outside kept dropping. 

Hot Toddy

• 3 oz. chosen liqueur (Bulleit bourbon used)
• 1 oz. honey
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 5 whole cloves
• ground cinnamon to taste
• lemon slice
• boiling water or hot tea (Earl Grey used)
• grated nutmeg
• cinnamon stick

Add all ingredients except cinnamon stick and boiling water to a warmed coffee mug. Add boiling water and garnish with cinnamon stick. (Note: it is fun to toast an end of the cinnamon stick with a torch lighter to get it to smoke as you deliver the drink. The small chimney of smoke curls off the mug in a very welcoming way.)

For the Hot Tot Toddy, leave out the alcohol. Be sure to use tea as a substitute for flavor.

Mulled Cider

I love a good mulled cider in winter, but I've never made one before. When you get a store brand, you never know what ingredients go into them, but there's almost never a decent rum in the mix.

Making your own mulled cider is easier than it looks and requires little prep time. This recipe is for a single serving. If you scale it up, you might want to put the spices in a sachet to prevent them from filling up the last glass you pour with a spicy mud.

• 2 oz. gold rum
• 6 oz. apple cider
• 1 tsp. honey
• cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• lemon twist
• grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except cinnamon stick in a saucepan and warm it on low heat while stirring. Bring it almost to boiling and pour into a warm mug. Garnish with the cinnamon stick.