Fistful of Pears

Credit: St. George Spirits

Ingredients

1 oz St. George Pear Brandy
1 oz St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1 oz Amaro Nonino
Meyer lemon peel

Directions

Build over ice. Squeeze Meyer lemon peel over drink to release oils, then use as a garnish.

Notes

Fantastic enough to get me out of a blogging dry spell after 2 sips! I opened up the bottle of St. George Pear Brandy to enjoy on its own, and went to the website to check spelling, and happened to see this drink listed, so made it for my husband. It called for Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro and grapefruit zest, but worked with what I had and thought the Nonino and Meyer lemon would sub in well. An ode to pear. It’s late so I’m sticking with brandy, but there’s tomorrow and New Year’s Eve…

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Egg Nog

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

2 large eggs
4 tbsp superfine or baker's sugar
2 oz Argonaut Speculator Brandy
2 oz Siesta Key Spiced Rum
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream
grated nutmeg

Directions

Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled glasses, grating nutmeg on top immediately before serving.

Notes

Quite unlike most egg nogs I’ve had, which have been too thick, sweet, or boozy. This is elegant, smooth, drinkable, and can be made in advance! I didn’t have enough of my homemade spiced rum so took a chance on Siesta Key—a worthy alternative for eggnog use. I cut the sugar down to 4 tbsp and it was plenty sweet.

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Piña Colada (Puerto Rican Style)

Ingredients

2 oz Siesta Key Spiced Rum
1 oz heavy cream
1 oz Coco López
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
4 ice cubes
Luxardo cherry garnish

Directions

Blend everything in a blender. Garnish with a cherry.

Notes

The first time I made a piña colada, it was way to watery. Then I got the great idea from Serious Eats to freeze the ingredients! Frozen pineapple to the rescue! I’ve since also frozen heavy cream in 1/2 oz cubes. Use Coco López without question. Also, I switched from coconut to spiced rum as it’s more balanced and interesting. I didn’t have much of my homemade spiced rum left, so I bought Siesta Key—a worthy choice.

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Cereal Milk

Credit: Momofuku

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups Corn Flakes
3 cups cold whole milk
3/4 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Toast the Corn Flakes on parchment paper at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool, then put them in a pitcher with the milk and cream. Let everything steep for 20 minutes at room temperature. Strain out the cereal, gently pressing on it to release any extra liquid, without pushing the cereal through the strainer. Add the brown sugar and salt to the strained milk.

Notes

So, this is so amazing. You make this hoping it meets your expectations, and it surpasses them. The toasted Corn Flakes come through strong, with just enough added sweetness from the brown sugar. I could sip this plain, but look forward to trying it in a milk punch. Turning this into ice cream would be pretty freaking awesome, or using it in eggnog. I made a 1/2 recipe, which yielded about 2 cups of liquid.

Update

I swapped out the cream for all whole milk, and it tastes even better I think. It’s more versatile since people could just have it straight or spiked.

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Monte and Tonic

Credit: Amaro Montenegro website

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
3 oz Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water
orange peel garnish

Directions

Build over ice. Spritz with orange and garnish with the peel.

Notes

A refreshing way to stretch amaro into a long drink!

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Tasting: Jungle Bird 2 Ways

Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz blackstrap rum
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz 2:1 demerara syrup

Directions

Shake and strain over ice.

Notes

Fun to have Campari in a tiki drink! I tried this drink with 2 different rums: Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and Cruzan Black Strap Rum. The Gosling’s Rum led to a more pineapple-forward drink. The Cruzan was much more assertively molasses.

Verdict

My husband preferred the Cruzan version. As much as I love pineapple, I tend to agree!

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Hot Chocolate (European Style)

Credit: Alice Medrich, Fine Cooking

Ingredients

2 1/2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
whipped cream

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine the chocolate, salt, and boiling water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. When it begins to simmer at the edges, whisk in the milk and continue to cook until steaming hot, ideally no more than 180°F. Just before serving, whisk to a froth. Serve in small cups with whipped cream.

Notes

Ok, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to the hot chocolate from Les Deux Magots in Paris. I’ve tried 1 oz chocolate to 1 cup milk and it wasn’t as rich. I’ve also tried adding cornstarch, which certainly thickened it but not in the right way. David Lebovitz’s recipe uses the same ratio of liquid to chocolate, but replaces the water with all milk. I might need to try that next time!

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Montenegro on the Rocks

Ingredients

Amaro Montenegro
orange peel

Directions

Build over ice. Spritz with orange and garnish with the peel.

Notes

Couldn’t be easier—just fantastic. The orange peel is critical, however.

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Brandy Alexander

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula
1 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
1 oz heavy cream
nutmeg

Directions

Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Grate fresh nutmeg on top.

Notes

Classic, indulgent, sophisticated. Perfect for the holidays.

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Spiced Rum Old Fashioned

Ingredients

2 oz spiced rum
1/4 oz cinnamon syrup
2-3 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
orange peel

Directions

Build in a glass and add an ice sphere. Squeeze orange peel over drink to release oils, then use as a garnish.

Notes

This might be my drink. It’s so smooth for being on the boozy side, and the cinnamon, orange, and spices from the rum play so well together. Perfect.

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Cranberry Ginger Highball

Ingredients

3/4 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon
2 oz Ocean Spray cranberry juice
2 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer
lemon wedge and mint garnish

Directions

Build in a collins glass and add ice. Garnish with lemon wedge and mint.

Notes

Festive, refreshing, and pretty. I’ve become a big fan of Elijah Craig. Since I prefer lighter drinks, I cut the bourbon down to 3/4. My husband suggested the mint, which is fabulous. Credit to Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Drinking Distilled for recommending the bourbon and cranberry juice pairing.

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Cream of Coconut

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

13 1/2 oz Thai Kitchen coconut milk
13 1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Blend contents of the can together to combine the coconut cream and liquid. Add the rich syrup, salt, and blend again.

Or…..

Open a can of Coco López cream of coconut. Blend contents together. Enjoy an exceptional Piña Colada.

Notes

So what I’ve learned from many experiments with cream of coconut, including trying different recipes, coconut milk brands, and techniques, is that to me, nothing compares to Coco López. The Smuggler’s Cove version—the best homemade cream of coconut—tastes like fragrant coconut syrup. However, the Coco López has the thicker consistency and richer taste of sweetened condensed coconut milk that’s just irreplaceable in mixed drinks.

Tip: to warm up Coco López from the fridge, place the container in a bowl of hot water for a 5-10 minutes.

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Ramos Gin Fizz

Credit: Cocktail Chemistry

Ingredients

2 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz 2:1 clear syrup
3 dashes Theodule Noirot Orange Flower Water
1 oz heavy cream
1 large egg white
2 oz orange La Croix

Directions

Add gin, citrus, cream, and syrup to a shaker. Shake with 4 ice cubes for 20 seconds. Double strain out ice and add egg white. Dry shake without ice for 40 seconds. Pour into chilled collins glass and let sit for one minute. Slowly pour soda water into the center of the foam until it rises above the rim. Dash orange flower water on top.

Notes

It reminds me of spiked citrus sherbet and it’s worth the shaking. I might try it with 1 1/2 oz gin next time as it was a bit strong, but I still loved it.

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Cinnamon Syrup

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
3 3-inch Penzeys cassia cinnamon sticks

Directions

Put the water in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon sticks to the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar and stir with a whisk until the sugar’s dissolved. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Strain out the cinnamon.

Notes

The cinnamon flavor comes through—looking forward to finding many uses for this.

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Piña Verde

Credit: Erick Castro, Polite Provisions

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz cream of coconut
1/2 oz lime juice
3 chunks frozen pineapple
1/2 cup ice
mint garnish

Directions

Blend everything and garnish with mint.

Notes

Once again, Green Chartreuse in a tiki drink is bright and refreshing! The only catch—it was tough getting any coconut. I’m not sure if it’s the coconut cream itself, or lack of coconut rum, but I’d like to find a way to make the coconut shine through a bit.

Through generosity and lucky circumstances, I came into possession of a KitchenAid blender with a motor that means business. We still love our workhorse NutriBullet, but the KitchenAid nails the perfect texture for a frozen blended drink! There’s a blended drink setting with a cute tiki glass icon—it both crushes ice and aerates the drink.

Lesson learned: for blended drinks, use frozen pineapple instead of pineapple juice for a less diluted drink.

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Campari and Aranciata Rossa

Ingredients

2 oz Campari
6 oz San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa
1-2 sprays Aftelier Blood Orange Essence Spray
orange peel garnish

Directions

Build in a collins glass. Add ice, orange peel, and spray the top.

Notes

Gorgeous color—the blood orange soda is a deep orange/pink, and of course adding the Campari makes the whole thing jewel-toned. The blood orange oil spray is truly the pure essence of blood orange, and adds a marvelous aroma. It’s bitter, sweet, refreshing…and I imagine would be equally fantastic as an apéritif, at brunch, or with pizza.

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Chartreuse Swizzle

Credit: Marcovaldo Dionysos

Ingredients

1 1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
mint and nutmeg garnish

Directions

Add ingredients to a collins glass and fill with crushed ice. Swizzle with a lélé or bar spoon until the outside of the glass frosts. Add more crushed ice, so there’s a layer of ice topping the drink. Serve with a straw. Garnish with a mint sprig and fresh nutmeg.

Notes

Oops, I forgot the garnish! Even so, wow, good ice work just makes this drink so awesome. I crushed the heck out of smaller ice cubes with a wooden mallet and my Lewis bag, and while I’m waiting for my lélê from Cocktail Kingdom, the bar spoon worked fine for swizzling, and it’s so fun seeing the glass frost up. The key is adding that top layer of crushed ice—it looks beautiful with so much ice packing the glass.

Moving on to the taste—herbal and tart—this would be a great drink for summer, but is perfectly fantastic before dinner in November.

…and didn’t note until after drinking this that Green Chartreuse is 55% ABV. So, be careful with this one!

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Hot Toddy

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
1 oz ginger syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
1 tsp allspice or pimento dram
3 oz boiling water
orange peel garnish

Directions

Heat a mug with hot water, then empty it. Add all ingredients in the mug, stir, and give it a final zap in the microwave if needed. Garnish with the orange peel.

Notes

Despite forgetting the garnish, this was great. Quite spiced—an upgrade from bourbon, honey, lemon, and water. I made this after trying 3 different cocktail recipes that I didn’t care for (Batida de Milho Verde, Arbitrary Nature of Time, and Leilani Volcano 2.0), getting tired, and just wanting to collapse on the couch with something warm. This was comforting and easy to drink. I’m curious to try this with spiced rum, or short-cut this with American Honey.

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Ginger Syrup

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler, citing Thad Vogler

Ingredients

8 oz peeled chopped ginger
8 oz granulated sugar
8 oz boiling water

Directions

Mix ingredients together and let sit for a bit, to avoid blending boiling water. Blend, strain through a fine mesh sieve, then through a coffee filter to remove any small particles.

Notes

Finally—a ginger syrup that tastes like ginger! Couldn’t be easier.

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Pimm's Cup

Ingredients

Version 1

1 oz Pimm’s No. 1 Cup
4 oz San Pellegrino Limonata
orange slice

Version 2

1 oz Pimm’s No. 1 Cup
4 oz Fever Tree Ginger Ale
4-5 cucumber slices
lemon slice
several mint leaves

Directions

Build in a collins glass and add ice.

Notes

Verdict: version 2!

I made version 1 of the Pimm’s Cup in travel mugs, as we were walking out the door to go trick-or-treating for Halloween. Refreshing and easy to drink—I make this a bit less strong than the official Pimm’s 1:3 ratio. Limonata is pleasantly bitter.

I made version 2 tonight, and just loved it. The cucumber is essential I realize, as is the mint. I’d like to play around with orange, lemon, and even strawberry as is the official recipe. It’s like a slightly alcoholic iced tea. And when you finish your drink, you can fill the glass with water, and that tastes fantastic too.

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