Holiday Cocktails

2009 December 7

by Jon Smith

Even Santa needs a little boost this time of year

Like it or not, the holidays are here and that means one thing: Its time to consume alcohol like your life depends on it.

Whether or not it’s a party, a dinner or just a way to survive the insanity of the season, the month of December means cocktails. Certainly these cocktails come in many means and forms and are made with any numbers of various sprits, but Bourbon is without a doubt a fantastic base spirit to use in a holiday cocktail. For starters its “ours” and as a uniquely American spirit, particularly in the South, its aroma surely awakens from some recess of your brain the memory of holidays gone by. You remember: the family’s gathered all around, its nippy outside and your uncle holding a small glass and a bottle of bourbon, sitting in the corner mumbling about “that sum-a-nabitchin Bum Philips” until he drifted off into a peaceful holiday slumber. More important, though (and more seriously), is that the aromas of Bourbon marry perfectly with the spiced and warm flavors of the holidays. Bourbon doesn’t need much added to it to really enhance its warmth and spirit of the Fall and Winter flavors.

We’ve pulled together four really nice Bourbon based holiday cocktails from some of the nation’s top cocktail specialists and we invite you to join us at our bar, Clever, on Tuesday December 8, from 6-8 to sample these four Bourbon based holiday cocktails for free. If you like what you try we’re featuring all of them of only $4 per cocktail that night.

Here’s what we’re serving along with their mixing instructions. Cheers!:

Yuletide Moon Recipe

H. Joseph Ehrmann, Elixir Salon, San Francisco

4 pitted Luxardo Marasca Cherries
A little less than 1 bar spoon of reserved Luxardo Marasca syrup
1.5 oz. domestic Merlot (We use Swanson Vineyards)
1 oz. Benchmark No. 8 Bourbon
1 fresh lemon wheel
Fresh nutmeg to grind

What to do:
In a mixing glass, muddle the cherries a syrup. Add Merlot, Bourbon and lemon slice. Top with ice to two-thirds full and shake lightly. Empty contents into a 10.5-oz. Old Fashioned glass. Top with grated nutmeg to garnish.

General Harrison’s Egg Nog

Dale Degroff, Cocktailian-extraordinare

“This eggnog – based on apple cider instead of cream and fortified with our American heritage whiskey, bourbon – is lighter and easier to prepare than standard eggnog.” Dale DeGroff

½ teaspoons sugar
1 fresh egg
4 ounces fresh cider
1 1/2 ounces Buffalo Trace Bourbon

What to do:
Assemble the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake very well with ice to completely emulsify the egg. For extra agitation, place the spring from a standard cocktail strainer (Hawthorn strainer) into the mixing cup. Strain over into a coupe glass (old Champagne glass).

The Kentucky Pilgrim Recipe (hot or cold)

H. Joseph Ehrmann, Elixir Salon, San Francisco

1.5 oz. Sazerac 6yr Rye Infusion (see below)
1 oz. lemon juice
0.5 oz. Maraschino liqueur
0.5 oz. demerara (raw sugar) syrup

What to do:
Cold cocktail directions: In a mixing glass, add all ingredients, fill with ice and shake well for 10 seconds. Hawthorne strain into a wine glass and garnish with a long lemon twist.

Warm cocktail directions: Mix all ingredients in a mug and add 3 oz. hot water. Stir and garnish with a wide lemon disc twist.

Rye Infusion instructions:
In a wide-mouthed glass infusion jar, place 1 750ml of Sazerac 6yr Rye Whiskey and two barspoons of cardamom seeds. Close and leave in a dark, cool place for one day. Strain out cardamom and add 1.5 cups dried unsweetened cranberries and three sticks of cinnamon. Close and leave for another two days, agitating once per day. Strain solids and store in the original whiskey bottle with proper labeling.

Perfect Harvest

Eben Klemm, Director of Cocktail Development for B.R. Guest Restaurants
(with slight adaptation)

Everything about this cocktail screams holiday season, the sweet richness of the honey instead of simply syrup, the spice of the bourbon and the all too familiar flavor of Amaretto, the Luxardo, however, has a nuttiness and richness above and beyond “standard” amaretto.