Holiday Nog and Grog

What are your favs for the season?

I invented a great Christmas cocktail the other night to serve to a group of lady friends over to kick off the festive season. I need to give it a Christmassy name:

one part bourbon
one part pomegranate juice
lime juice
soda water

Served in an Old Fashioned glass with lots of ice.

The pomegranate juice is much less sweet than cranberry, but it's not simply tart. It has a nice mellow flavor that goes well with bourbon. The bourbon gave it more depth than vodka would have.

A nice switch from the typical Cosmo or Cape Codder (although just as likely to stain white carpet or furniture). And now that I think of it, pomegranates are much more Holy Land than the New World cranberry -- therefore, more Christmassy.

Now, for a name?????

How about Mary's Blessing?

That's a good one. Or,

Oh! Holy night!

My sister and I used to throw a big Christmas party every year. We always got them kicked off serving Stingers in little cocktail glasses with a mini peppermint stick as a swizzle. The peppermint schnapps (crème de menthe, whatever) made them Christmassy. The name lacked holiday spirit, though, so we called them something else -- a Peppermint Drop, as I recall. After a couple, no one could remember the name:

2 parts brandy
1 part peppermint schnapps
served on ice in little glasses
peppermint stick stirrer – optional

Mulled spiced wine is a seasonal favorite with me. Served with orange slices and cinnamon sticks.

# 5, I've heard this drink called an Aubergute (sp?).

I personally enjoy egg nog with a nice dark Dominican añejo rum (Virgin Islands rum is good too, I haven't had any great Puerto Rican rum lately to compare). Add some powdered chai and you have a great holiday party punch.

I was in my old university pub last weekend, and they have membership quests for hardened drinkers - knights must drink 64 beers, lords 64 mixed drinks. The 64th drink is really a drink from each bartender on duty that night, meant to be the the grueling finish before admittance into the order. One of the bartenders came up with a little concoction that struck my fancy - he started with 3/4 of a pint of coffee porter (though any good stout or dark porter will do), and added an ounce and a half of gin. Float dashes of blue curacao (or blue food coloring) and yellow food coloring, then mix that up to get green. Add drops of red food coloring for ornaments, and you have your very own Christmas Tree. The gin really makes it smell true.

I don't know that I'd ever actually try one if it weren't forced on me, but damn, was that a nifty drink!

I have a headache just from reading about that Christmas Tree drink.

I am so envious of people who can drink 64 mixed drinks at one sitting. Wow!

Hehe. I took a year and a day to do my knighting. Still working on the lording. The current record for a knight's quest is 3 days, set back when there were only 52 drinks on the quest.

Oh, so you're telling me you don't have to do it all at once.

Pshaw, you young whippersnappers never would have made it in a world of nickel beer and six for one happy hour. If you weren't drinking in the seventies than you don't know drinking.

Best eggnog you'll ever have (good for 2 servings):

2 large eggs
3 oz granulated sugar
.25 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz whiskey or brandy
2 oz spiced rum (I prefer Sailor Jerry’s)
8 oz whole milk
2 oz cream

Beat eggs in blender for two minutes on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, whiskey or brandy, rum, milk and cream. Chill and serve in wine glasses, grating additional nutmeg on top just before serving.

-Recipe courtesy of bartender Jeffrey Morganthaler (jeffreymorgenthaler.com)

geneg: You're right! Especially since average rounds of decent beer in Boston go for $4-6 a pint. I hear NYC is even worse - even the cheap, crap beers cost that much...

It's that time of year again. My sweetie just finished brewing some holiday ale. What will you be imbibing this season?

Yesterday was my birthday and my wife bought me a bottle of Lucid absinthe. UMMMMMMMMMMM Good! It's so good that the Crown Royal she bought for me also, while normally would have been the first bottle tapped had to wait.

I love Lucid! I've already burned through my first bottle and am on my 2nd. There's even a pub over by Harvard University that serves it for $7. Most bars around here, if they even have it, sell it for $12-15 a drink.

I haven't tried many European absinthes, but Lucid certainly is the best of all the ones I've tried so far.

I’ve had family and neighbors in this holiday season and loaded my table with some rather random bottles. For the grands, we had a mocktail party, which ended being just fruit juice smoothies in fancy glassware. My neighbors know to ask for the blackberry cordial that I bottle.
But what am I to do with these other choices?
I plan to modestly experiment while I read an old book or listen to some jazz this quiet week in between.

Citronge with tangerine soda water is something I’ll remember for next summer. But the sun is pouring in the windows now, so it’s fine.

I will return to a mug of cocoa splashed with Irish crème before bed. I am sleeping very well these nights.