...Eight Drinks for Toasting...
One can tell that Christmas is coming from the change in commercials on TV: toys, perfume...and spirits! I try to take advantage of the fact that everyone has time to go for a "holiday drink" in December, even when they normally wouldn't. It's fun to go to a pub or cocktail bar for a drink, but it's also exciting to invite friends over and pour a few of your own. It's budget-friendly (if you do it potluck style), everyone gets what they want, and you can experiment to make new cocktails of your own. I made eight drinks that are great to serve at Christmas; some are traditional favourites and others are new concoctions. I hope you enjoy a few of them over this festive season, as there are so many different flavours and aromas.
The libations I made are: 1) Cosmarita 2) Peppermintini 3) Blue Christmas 4) French 75
5) Baileys on the rocks 6) Whisky Cider 7) Blueberry Tea 8) Rum & Eggnog. If you do want to have a cocktail party during the holidays (or any time) and make each drink, here's your shopping list:
Booze:
Tequila
Orange Liqueur (I use Cointreau; Grand Marnier and Triple Sec would work as well)
Blue Curacao
Peppermint Schnapps
Vodka
Sparkling Wine (you don't have to go crazy and spend a fortune!)
Gin (I like Bombay Sapphire, but whatever)
Irish Cream Liqueur (Baileys)
Whisky
Amaretto
Spiced or Dark Rum
Mix:
Cranberry Juice
Cream
Pineapple Juice
Sprite
Apple Cider
Black Tea
Eggnog
Other Stuff:
Fresh Limes
Fresh Lemons
Pineapple Wedges
An Orange
Ice
Salt
Sugar
Candy Canes
Cinnamon Sticks
Nutmeg
It's a long list, so you certainly don't have to make all of the drinks to have a successful cocktail party. The garnishes are not necessary, of course, but they make the drink more attractive and they're fun, so try to do something fun with your cupful.
The Cosmarita is one that I made up, although the two drinks that inspired it are certainly not new; it's basically a frozen version of a Cosmopolitan but with tequila instead of vodka. It's nice and tart, but if you want a sweeter drink, rim the glass with sugar instead of salt.
Make it: Cut a lime wedge and slice the middle sideways so that it can sit on the rim of the glass. Push the wedge all around the rim and then salt the rim by setting it upside down on a plate covered in salt. Crush some ice in a blender and add an ounce of tequila, half an ounce of orange liqueur, half an ounce of fresh lime juice (or lime cordial if you don't have fresh lime, but fresh is much, much better), and 2-3 ounces of cranberry juice. Pulse with the blender to combine and then pour into the salted glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.
Another cocktail that came about while mixing is a Peppermintini. I suppose that this isn't original, but I didn't reference the recipe anywhere but the ol' noggin. I could have rimmed the glass with crushed candy canes, but I wanted to keep it simple and garnish with just the small cane. A discovery that I had is that the candy cane will dissolve into the drink, making it sweeter and also more pepperminty, which is quite nice. You can see that the red sugar has dissolved in the bottom of the glass above. If you want a sweeter drink, break up a second small candy cane and drop the pieces in the liquid.
Make it: In a cocktail shaker with ice, shake together an ounce of vodka, an ounce of peppermint schnapps and an ounce of cream. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a small candy cane. If you'd like, add a drop or two of green food colouring to the shaker for a festive green potion.
This drink is called Blue Christmas. It would be a great cocktail for a "Christmas in July" party, because it's got a nice tropical flavour. It's a lot like some versions of a Blue Lagoon, and this is the drink with which you can have the most fun with garnishes. I grabbed a Christmas toothpick and stuck it into a pineapple wedge with a cocktail umbrella.
Make it: Fill a hurricane glass with ice, then pour over an ounce of vodka and an ounce of blue curacao (or if you don't have it, use an ounce of orange liqueur and add a couple drops of blue food colouring). Add 3 ounces of pineapple juice and fill the rest of the glass with sprite. Garnish with whatever fruit you have around, the more the merrier!
The French 75 is a drink that was introduced to me at a lovely cocktail bar in Ottawa this fall. It's a strong drink that was created during World War I and named after the French 75 millimetre field cannons that must have been pretty strong themselves. My favourite bit is the sparkling wine, which makes this refreshment, well...refreshing!
Make it: Fill a champagne flute half full with ice. In a cocktail shaker with some ice, mix 1 ounce gin, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice and half an ounce of simple syrup (that's sugar and water boiled down, or if you don't have that prepared use 1 teaspoon of superfine sugar, which can be made by putting normal sugar in a blender for a few pulses). Strain into the flute and top up with sparkling wine. I didn't want to garnish the drink because I find champagne flutes so elegant on their own, but the sugar and lemon tends to stay at the bottom, so a nice glass stir stick is a great idea here.
This one really isn't a cocktail, since there's no mixing involved. It's just straight up Baileys, over ice, but I had to include it here because it is Christmas to me. The creamy smoothness, the wonderful aroma, and the nice but not overpowering hit of alcohol make the drink a present on its own. Looks like Santa thinks so too; I'm sure he'd rather have kiddies leaving this out for him with cookies than boring old milk.
Make it: Put 3-4 ice cubes in a low-ball glass. Pour Baileys over ice. Enjoy.
Another simple drink, but one that requires at least the smallest bit of mixing. It's a drink that I know from my sister and can be enjoyed either hot or cold. It's maybe more of an autumn bevvie, but as long as you have access to apple cider, there's no reason why you can't have it for Christmas too. Apple and cinnamon is a classic combination, so if you don't have cinnamon sticks, make sure to at least sprinkle a pinch of the ground stuff on top. The whisky works well with the sweetness of the apple. I don't know if regular apple juice would work, but I'm sure it wouldn't be horrible.
Make it: Pour 1 and a half ounces of whisky into a low-ball glass, top with apple cider. For the hot version, pour the whisky into a mug and top with warm apple cider (mulled, if you wish). Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
This drink is only served warm, and it's my favourite hot alcoholic beverage (ok, maybe it doesn't top Baileys and hot chocolate, and I do love mulled wine...well it's in the top 5 anyway). Blueberry Tea is an exquisite, silky way to end the night and keep your insides warm. Generally it's made with orange pekoe tea, but if you're a tea nut like me and have so many varieties of tea in your cupboard (you'll know if you are a tea nut like me if you have an entire cupboard devoted to tea), then try it with different flavours. I've got a nice blueberry black tea that I'll have to try next. Also, it's nice to garnish with a slice of orange, but I didn't have any so I left it by itself. In hindsight, I could have used a lemon wedge...yes, that would have been nice en lieu of the orange. Oh well, there's always next time! (Can you tell I've got my Cosmarita here beside me? There are perks to posting about fabulous cocktails ;)
Make it: Pour one ounce of amaretto and one ounce of orange liqueur into a brandy snifter (as you can see, I don't have that either. Geez this post is starting to fall apart). I used a mug, obviously. Lightly brew a cup of black tea and pour about 4 ounces over the alcohol. Garnish with an orange wedge...unless you don't have one. If you haven't got an orange wedge a lemon wedge will do. If you haven't got a lemon wedge then God bless you.
The last one is the most classic Christmas drink that doesn't really need explanation or directions, but I'll include them anyways. I was going to make my own nog this year, but after making all of that ice cream from my earlier post I was running out of milk and eggs. So I decided to just get some from the store, which is a bit of a cop out for me because I don't like buying pre-made things when I could make them myself. Sometimes, however, life gets busy and it's necessary to take a short cut or two, so I'll try better next year. Sadly, it's also cheaper to buy it than make it, so it's sometimes hard to justify the extra work, but I do think that generally it's worth it in the end. Quality is always worth it.
Make it: Pour 1 ounce dark or spiced rum into a goblet and top with eggnog. You can add a bit of brandy too, if you'd like. Top with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Of course you can alter these drinks to include as many or as few spirits as you would like. Each of these thirst quenchers would be a wonderful reason to propose a Christmas toast this year...although what you say is up to you. Cheers!
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