Upon having discovered my love of gin, and upon having discovered that I shared that love with my best friend (what don’t we have in common?), I suggested a new, festive, holiday tradition. The 12 Cocktails of Christmas. We usually get together to share a meal and hours of conversation about once a week, so the idea was that we would pick six cocktails each, and we would make one each time we were together throughout the Christmas season. Well, it’s February, and the list has yet to be exhausted, so with snow on the ground we agreed to amend the tradition to the 12 Cocktails of Winter. To that end, here are the best six of those we have made so far:
Sex on a Snowbank
1 1/2 oz Coconut Rum
3 Tbsp Coconut Cream
1 c Ice Cubes
Blend the ingredients together until smooth. You can rim the glass with toasted, unsweetened coconut for a festive look.
We made this one in the Vitamix blender. The key here is to blend it longer than you think. We got it smooth, but we were so worried about it getting too slushy that we did not make it slushy enough and really could have used spoons to drink it. We used Malibu for the first go-round, and the first drink tasted like gasoline, but then, believe it or not, it became quite delicious. (What is it about that first drink when your body warns you that you might be ingesting poison?) Shortly after making these I bought some Cruzan Coconut Rum, and I thought it made a superior drink and made that first taste much more palatable. If you love coconut you will love these. Here we did not have coconut to rim the glass, but toasted unsweetened coconut on the rim is a great addition.
The Last Word
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
Combine the ingredients in a tin on tin shaker over ice and shake 10 seconds (all the time you need to achieve maximum chilling without watering down a drink). Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe, and pretend you are in Paris in the 1920’s… Paris at Christmas if you must.
Another glimpse at the Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur. This sister prohibition era cocktail is strikingly similar to the Aviation. Here the Last Word switches the Creme de Violette for Green Chartreuse and the lemon juice for lime. Who does not want a drink made with a liqueur made by monks who have taken a vow of silence? It’s steeped in mystery. Only three monks know the recipe with its laundry list of ingredients, although I doubt it could be replicated even with the list of all 130 botanicals. As for the drink that results here, its origins date back to the Detroit Athletic Club in 1915. Equally complex and lovely. It quickly earned a spot on my “go-to” list and can often be had in places where there is no Creme de Violette (think Tin 202).
Sidecar
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 oz Cognac
3/4 oz Cointreau
Combine the ingredients in a tin on tin shaker over ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe and enjoy.
Okay, they can’t all be gin drinks. This orange dominated holiday addition, starts with cognac. We chose Martell on the recommendation that it was a better cocktail cognac than Hennessy which we were told by the people at our Pennsylvania Fine Wine and Spirits store would dominate the drink too much. I have since had one made with the Hennessy, and I think the woman at the State store was right. I think the Martell offers a drink with a better balance. (Those lovely individuals who work at the PA State stores are very knowledgeable and willing to help, God bless them.)
This prohibition era drink is often thought to have been served first at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the 20’s. It is often served with a sugared rim which rounds it considerably. When I am looking for a break from gin (who knows why I would be doing that, but it happens) it’s my drink of choice. Consider skipping the sugar rim for those who are bourbon drinkers. If you are a reader you will see abundant references to this drink in Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, which was our first book club book for 2020.
Hendrick’s Cranberry Fizz
2 oz Cranberry Juice
1 oz Sparkling Wine
1 oz Hendrick’s Gin
Build this drink in a highball glass with ice. Stir. Garnish with thin cucumber slices, fresh mint, and cranberry. This drink is all about the garnish.
Cranberry steeps everything in the holidays, and here the impact on the gin is no different. While the drink requires little skill to make, it’s a real masterpiece with the garnish. This drink has the makings of a great every day drink, but the garnish makes the drink, and it is no everyday garnish. Don’t skimp on that. We were so excited to find these metal cocktail picks to up the presentation even more. I also love these square bottomed glasses, and I wish that I owned them myself.
Maple-Bourbon Smash
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Maple Syrup
2 oz Bourbon
Combine the ingredients in a tin on tin shaker over ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into a double old fashioned glass with a singular large cube of ice.
My best friend’s go-to bourbon is the EH Taylor Small Batch. I tend to be a Basil Hayden girl when bourbon is needed, but the EH Taylor made this drink interesting. We both thought the maple made this one a little too round at the edges. This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma which suggests that the drink can be smoked in a Crafthouse Cocktail Smoking Box, which we did not have but are interested in exploring, so look for that experiment in the future when we find $250 hanging around doing nothing.
Charred Lemon, Rosemary, and Coriander Gin and Tonic
We made this drink with Hendricks, largely because, at the time, we had not yet begun our full exploration of the vast world of gins. While Hendrick’s is a great all purpose gin, once we started taste testing, we quickly decided this drink would be great with a more juniper forward gin like Sipsmith or the Botanist. Next time we will change up the gin and be sure to add just a little fresh lemon juice to make the drink a little brighter overall, keeping the charred lemon for the amazing smokey flavor it added to the drink.
The recipe comes to us from a great blog called Sprinkles and Sprouts which is sprinkled liberally (see what I did there) with amazingly innovative recipes for improved gin and tonics that significantly up the game of that beloved, classic cocktail. Check out the recipe for this one, and explore some others as well. From ginger, star anise, and orange to charred grapefruit and basil, these gin and tonics will reinvent your “cash bar” go-to. Claire warns of the narcotic effect of coriander or “dizzy corn.” Easy on both the amount of coriander and the crushing force you deliver to these medicinal aromatics.
Half the fun of these cocktails was in their identification. We loved hours spent researching candidates, reading our favorite blogs (think Kitchen Swagger for me. I think Shawn is a genius.), and flipping through cocktail books and scrolling Pinterest entries. Yet, with winter and the list not over, we are already looking to spring. Will we finish all twelve before moving on to brighter explorations? Well, I just ordered a bottle of rhubarb gin and a Malfy Blood Orange gin if that gives you any indication of my bet. The craft cocktail world is evolving rapidly, and us with it. Hopefully you enjoyed this glimpse at our winter challenge, and hopefully you will consider a similar challenge of your own. Show us your pics of these cocktails or make recommendations for next year’s winter list in the comments. Build your own list, try new things, and rediscover old ones. Up your cocktail game. The craft cocktail world today is too wild and wanderful not to explore.