Advent Calendar - Mimosa

Sparking wine in a can.  Changed my life!  I love a mimosa but unless my sister visits it's not worth opening a bottle of sparking wine or champagne so I rarely have one.  But this worked out so well.  

I filled the glass about half way with ice, then added equal parts sparkling wine and OJ.  That's it.  No fuss.  Merry Christmas! 

Advent Calendar - Wassail Brandy Punch

We've done a few with Wassail this advent but this one was inspired by our guests.  We 3 oz wassail, 1 ounce of Brandy, and filled the glass with a Ginger Beer.  Topped it off with a heavy squeeze of orange, a couple cranberries and a sprig of scorched rosemary.   

Advent Calendar - Another Bloody Mary

"He met another Mary for a reasonable fee, less than
Reputable as known to be..."

Another bloody mary!

I like them. A lot.

This one was vodka that I had infused. In a quart ball jar I placed 1 cucumber and filled to the top with Tito's vodka. After about 3 days I removed the cucumber and left the vodka in the freezer for use. Mixed 2 oz of that same vodka, about 4 oz Zing Zang and was blessed with the drink you see here.

Advent Calendar - Balls

Well, tonight we were busy.  Joel and I both had separate holiday gatherings we had to attend and when we got home, no one had the energy to make a drink. But we had balls!  Rum and Bourbon balls.  These are the same balls everyone makes, and delicious!

I weigh out 12 oz of vanilla wafers because the recipe calls for 12 but the box only has 11 (which is annoying), and crush them in a food processor.  The recipe also calls for a cup and a half of chopped nuts, so vague.  I used 2 cups of walnuts and further chop them in the food processor.  Then mix this with 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, 3 tablespoons corn syrup, 1/2 booze.  I did a batch with Captain Morgan and one with Bulleit Bourbon.  

Mix this all together and form into balls.  Roll the balls in powdered sugar and let them rest in the refrigerator for a few days.  Before serving roll them in powdered sugar again.  These cookies will not get you drunk, but they taste like they will!

Advent Calendar - Warsaw Cocktail

Returning to the Mr. Boston's book I came upon a Warsaw Cocktail.  This lovely little beverage sounded just right for a winter's night and for testing out the new dining room table.  

The Warsaw Cocktail requires 1 1/2 oz. Titos Vodka, 1/2 oz Polish Style Blackberry Brandy, 1/2 Oz dry vermouth, and 1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  The liquids are shaken and poured, and for fun I threw a frozen blackberry into the glass.  Nostrovia!

Advent Calendar - Fair and Warmer Cocktail

This appears to be play on the trademarked Dark and Stormy.  It could be a new favorite.  I found it in the Mr. Boston's Deluxe Official Bartender's Guide,  New World Edition $2.50.

The recipe called for Mr. Boston's Rum, and I don't even know if they still make that or if it is light, dark, spiced, or something else.  So I mixed 1-1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth, 3 oz Pyrat Rum, and 2 nice splashes of triple sec over ice.  I stirred and poured into these lovely glasses.

Advent Calendar - Paul's Eggnog

I have no idea what's in Paul's eggnog.  It was homemade and good.  He had two kinds, one aged for a year and one just made.  I was wary of the year old eggnog but not only was it good, it was better than the this year version and I didn't get sick!

I am in a home brewer's club and tonight was our monthly meeting, which is where I tried the eggnog.  And a few beers!

 

Advent Calendar - Wassailtini

Still working on that bottle of Trader Joe's Wassail, I decided to make something like a cosmo, but with wassail!

Mixing 6 oz Tito's Vodka, 2 oz Gran Gala Orange Liquor, and 4 oz wassail into a shaker with ice.  I still have those lovely plastic ornaments so I figured, why not!?  We'll pour these into the chilled martini glasses in just a moment!

Advent Calendar - A Manhattan Wassail

I love a manhattan.  And I love the remade wassail at Trader Joe's.  To make Sunday's night's drink I mixed 1-1/2 oz Bulliet Bourbon, 3/4 oz Maurin Sweet Vermouth, and 1 oz wassail. Served over ice, garnished with a cinnamon stick, perfection!  

No really, it's good!  The fruit and spice pair really well with the bourbon and vermouth.  A little on the sweet side but I would serve this to guests.

Advent Calendar - A very Merry Mary!

The bloody mary... the best damn drink in the world (after beer and coffee).  In our house there is an enthusiasm for the bloody mary.  This summer we hosted a housewarming type party with a full, and impressive bloody mary bar, including an absurd selection of mixes, vodkas that I infused with basil, cucumber, peppers, and lemongrass, and about 15 jars of homemade lacto-fermented vegetables, in addition to vegetables, meats, hot sauces, and cheese that were purchased.  It was absurd, and a good time was had by all.

 

Today's bloody mary was a little more specific.  Since it is Advent, I wanted to stick to traditional Christmassy colors.  So, I started by frying 2 pieces (cut in half) of Appleton Farms Hickory Bacon (from Aldi - great value!).  Then I put two cubes each of white cheddar and havarti on these fancy tree skewers, and filled a wooden skewer with grape tomatoes, green olives, and a basil leaf.  Now the drink!  In a ball jar I added about 6 oz Savor and Salt Mexican Bloody Mary Mix (we're usually ZingZang fans, but we try different brands and make our own from time to time), 2 oz Tito's Vodka, and topped off with ice.  The bacon and skewers were added to the jar, and a Miller High Life and Coffee served on the side.  After the photos were taken Joel comes into the room with a plate full of pickled asparagus, green bean, and green tomatoes, a Claussen Hot & Spicy Kosher Dill, and some additional hot salami.  A perfect winter morning breakfast for a day dedicated to chores!

Advent Calendar - Wassail Punch

When invited to a dish to pass event during Advent, I often bring this tasty beverage.  It's one bottle Trader Joe's Wassail, one bottle Trader Joe's Ginger Brew, one bag Trader Joe's Fancy Berry Medley, and some ice in a punch bowl.  When I'm feeling fancy I might mix in some other fruits or cinnamon sticks.  

 

But wait! Where's the booze?! Well you serve this with the booze on the side and let people add their own.  A spicy red wine mixes nicely into this punch, as does a shot of rum or whiskey.  I'm sure just about anything that sounds good might just taste good. 

Advent Calendar - Pickle Shots

On a recent vacation we were introduced to pickle shots.  Basically, a shot of bourbon followed by a shot of pickle juice or a chunk of boozy pickle.  Tonight I went to see the Santaland Diaries with some friends, proceeded by dinner at a Russian creperie, and followed by drinks at my favorite dive bar.  Meanwhile, Joel was at work late and I thought, pickles.  Let's do pickles.

This is simple.   The santas in front are room temp Bulliet bourbon, the back santas are the juice from Claussen dill pickle spears.  Shoot the bourbon, then the pickle juice.  Boom.  Done.

Its weird because I like bourbon and don't want to drown out the flavor, but this actually tastes really good together.  These santas are my inheritance from a friend who passed away last year.  Connie was  an amazing woman and I know she would get a kick out of the way I'm using her little santas.

Advent Calendar - Breckinridge Manhattan

There is so much going on in this photo.  First, the Magi.  Anyone familiar with the story of Jesus knows that the Magi don't arrive until Epiphany, so until then they travel about my house, sipping drinks and chatting up the locals.  Then we have a collection of Christmas themed books, some of them of the novelty sort, some classics.  And finally, the Manhattan.

We are a Manhattan family.  They are the go-to drink in this house, though usually I like mine with sweet vermouth and rye.

We had a bottle of Breckenridge Bitters (Joel loves bitters) so I googled recipes that used it.  I found a Breckenridge Manhattan made with the bitters, and Breckenridge Bourbon.  We didn't have that so Bulliet sufficed.

The drink was 2 oz Bourbon, 1 oz Breckenridge Bitters, and 2 shakes of Whiskey Barrel Bitters in a shaker with ice.  In a rocks glass I placed 1 large square ice cube and an amarena cherry.  After shaking the heck out of the drink it was super cold and the subtle bitterness paired nicely with the sweet bourbon.

Advent Calendar - Sidecar

I've had this bottle of Armagnac for about a year now, and I've used it a few times in place of vermouth for a manhattan, but I really didn't know what else to do with it.  So, thanks google, tonight we tried a sidecar.

I mixed 3 oz Armagnac, 1-1/2 oz Gran Gala Orange Liquor, and 1-1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice in a shaker.  Shook the heck out of it, and poured into chilled coupe glasses with a twist of lemon.

Joel and I agreed it was tasty but, a little tart.  Honestly I never get heartburn and stated, this tastes like heartburn.  So, it's not going to be our new favorite drink but we both agree it was worth a try.

Advent Calendar - Eggnog with Rum

Egg nog can go so many ways, but tonight the Captain made it happen.  For each eggnog we took 2 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and 3 oz Oberweiss Eggnog.  Shook the heck out of it and strained into a pretty glass with freshly grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick.  

First thing you need to know, I have every intention of a homemade eggnog before this is over, but with my cousin visiting I had to get the Oberweiss.  It simply is the best eggnog I've ever had and I don't even love eggnog.  It's so good, that when I visit my family in Michigan (where they don't have Oberweiss) I fill a cooler with glass bottles for my brother.  Sure, anyone in Illinois knows that we shouldn't give Oberweiss our money - bad politics and whatnot.  But the dairy is SO GOOD.  I try to vote with my dollars so I only splurge on this guilty pleasure in the month of December.  

Next thing you need to know is that grated nutmeg is greater than ground nutmeg.  Get yourself a nutmeg grinder and buy whole nutmeg.  It makes your cookies and oatmeal and eggnog all so much better.  

Advent Calendar - Guava Margarita

Well, with the out of town guests still here, we decided to go out for Tacos.  Lisa and I split a pitcher of Guava Margaritas and they were fantastic.  I have no idea what the recipe was but I assume it was:

1 part Tequila

1/2 part triple sec 

2 parts Guava nectar

or something like that.  

Anyway, my new favorite frozen margarita.  I'm usually a fresh lime juice on the rocks kinda gal, but these were good.  

Advent Calendar - All Day IPA

"You can't drink All Day if you don't start in the morning."  - My brother in law after our first beer of the day, every time I see him.  

Well, I didn't start in the morning.  I had out of town guests and by the time dinner was done and we were relaxing, a cold beer sounded right.  All Day IPA is my go-to beer because it has a great hoppy flavor that is just a little like pineapple, but not so "juicy" as the east coast IPAs that are so popular these days.  Additionally the rather low alcohol content means I'm not going to get tipsy after one beer!  Win/win!

Advent Calendar - Cranberry Margarita

Lotta cranberries this week!  We had guests so I had to make three cocktails, rather than the usual two, so don't be alarmed by the measurements!

A couple months back we had a party and I froze about 16 oz of leftover cranberry juice. This made for an easy frozen margarita.

The 16 oz of cranberry cubes went into the blender with 6 oz of Gran Centenario Azul Tequila Reposado, 3 oz Gran Gala, and 3 oz orange juice.  Blended the heck out of that and poured into 3 salt rimmed margarita glasses and garnished with our ever present candied cranberries.    

Absolutely perfect.  I'm going to have to freeze more cranberry juice!

Advent - Cranberry Crush

Monday was long and soul crushing for everyone in the house.  We were not feeling the Christmas!  However, I did finish getting the decorations up in the front window and the tree looks fabulous.

Tonight's drink was rather simple.  2 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, 2 oz cranberry juice, 3 oz Bundaberg Ginger Beer over ice.  Perfect and simple. 

Advent Calendar - Cranberry Gin Crush

Cocktail Secret Unlocked: Any drink can be made "Christmas" by adding cranberry and rosemary.  Tonight I made a Cranberry Gin Smash, based on a recipe from 117 Milk Street.  The recipe calls for sugar but I figured that since I'm using candied cranberry and rosemary, I could leave the extra sugar out.

So, chilled the martini glasses because it just looks so pretty!

I put 4 oz Bluecoat Gin and 3 oz cranberry juice in a shaker filled with ice.  Shake the heck out of it and poured it into the chilled martini glasses with 5 candied cranberries and a small sprig of candied rosemary.

This one is delightful, folks!

Advent Calendar - Ornamentini

This recipe came from the internets, and I followed it pretty close, but reduced the amount because there are just two of us.  I found these ornaments at the Dollar Tree, and they are HUGE and have a huge mouth.

Here's the deal: 4 oz Tito's Vodka, 2 Oz Gran Gala Orange Liquor, 2 oz juice from Tilden Farm's Merry Maraschino Cherries (the recipe called for cherry juice but I didn't have any so I improvised), 1 oz each orange and cranberry juice.  Shake the heck out of it over ice and pour into ornaments for serving.  We actually poured them into the martini glasses to drink and added a couple of last night's candied cranberries and a piece of candied rosemary for pretty.

I filtered the photo to look a little "Mad Men".  Not as sweet as you might expect, like a christmasy cosmo.  Enjoyed while listening to a friend's rather jazzy Spotify playlist for Hanukkah.

Advent Calendar - Old Fashioned Christmas

Today, I mailed out my first batch of Christmas cards.  Mixed and froze my first two batches of cookie dough.  And found time to invent this variation on an Old Fashioned.

Last night I candied a bunch of cranberries and rosemary for inclusion in advent cocktails.  It's pretty simple - heat up some simple syrup (not boil) coat the berries and rosemary in warm simple syrup, then a layer of cane sugar, and let them dry out on a cookie rack.  I found several recipes on the internet and didn't follow a single one,  but sort of followed all of them. So if you want specifics get to googling!

Anyway, they look really pretty and taste good!

Ok, the old fashioned:

I took a clementine orange and cut two thick slices from the edge, placed  each in the bottom of a rocks glass with 3 candied cranberries and about 2 dashes aromatic bitters.   Muddle* the heck out of that. Then I added a big, square ice cube, about 2 oz Bourbon, and a splash of lime seltzer (it's what I had).  I made pretty skewers out of two of the  candied rosemary and a couple more candied cranberries.  

I did not add any extra sugar, assuming that the sugar from the cranberries and rosemary, in addition to the juice from the orange would be enough.  I was right.  

* an actual bar muddle is a great thing, but when in need, improvise.  

A wooden spoon does a nice job.

Advent Calendar - Sazarac

Rye whiskey wraps your troubles up into a bright blue package
Ties a bow around it, oh, boy
Just throw it on the pile in the corner
See, you're not alone in not being alone tonight, but...

I love a sazarac, and I've never successfully made one.  So I scoured the internet and found a recipe that sounded good and altered it a bit!  It was good!

Fill a shaker with ice, and place 2 demerara sugar cubes on top.  Then add 3 oz Bulleit Rye, 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters, 2 dashes Aromatic Bitters, and about 2 teaspoons Absinthe.  Let that sit while you clean the dust off your favorite stemless cocktail glasses and cut 2 piece of lemon peel (with a potato peeler).  Shake the heck out of it and serve.

We chose to enjoy these with an old broadway record of Christmas songs, and a lunch of cheese and hummus.  

Cocktail Advent Calendar - Introduction

Hello Friends and Readers!

I am a very infrequent blogger but I have a project that I am challenging myself to complete over the weeks of Advent.

At this time of year, I traditionally look for some sort of thing to cause myself to take a break for at least a few minutes every night.  Between work, school, family, and personal obligations, it gives me a minute to stop, think about the joys and challenges in my life, and consider what this season means to me.  I encourage you to do the same.  And I find that a little tool, like an advent calendar, helps.

This year I really wanted that Aldi Wine Advent Calendar, but anyone who likes Aldi knows they sold out within minutes of stores opening.  Oh well.  Joel and I keep a well stocked bar and lately it's gotten too well stocked.  We have a habit of saying "I want to try..." buying a bottle, trying it, and letting it sit.  So, I am going to create my own cocktail advent calendar.  Each night I will make a cocktail - classic, modern, or made up on the spot - and document it for you all.

Any publishers who want to pay me to write this book - my email is rene paquin at gmail - with no spaces.  :)

Please enjoy!  I know I will!

This is a tea towel, available on Etsy.