We hope you brought two pieces of I.D. with you because to celebrate the coming holiday party season, we thought it would be fitting to feature some cocktail recipes from a few of our favourite food and drink blogs. All three are sure to be a hit at any party!
Hot Spiced Wine
Our first recipe comes from chef, John Besh of Food & Wine. His combination of sexy dark kirash and red wine mixed with the spicy aroma of cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper may get St. Nick into some Weinstein trouble this year.
Ingredients:
2 bottles light-bodied red wine
1 1/4 cups sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
3 black peppercorns, crushed
2 cardamom pods, crushed
One 3-inch cinnamon stick, crushed
1 clove, crushed
1/2 cup kirsch
How to Make:
In a large saucepan, combine the red wine with the sugar and the orange and lemon zests. Put the spices in a tea ball and add to the saucepan. Bring the wine to a very slow simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, discard the tea ball and stir in the kirsch. Ladle the spiced wine into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
Make sure no one leaves a ring on the furniture by handing out our custom leather coasters.
Apple Ginger Shandy
Pro mixer, Ashley Rose Conway of Craft + Cocktails gave a seasonal twist to the shandy by mixing in the sweet flavour of apple and the swift kick of ginger beer. If you want to be a star mixologist, take her cue of garnishing with a burst of apple slices.
Ingredients
8 oz wheat beer or blonde ale, I used
4 oz apple cider or apple juice
2 oz ginger beer
1/2 oz apple jack or apple brandy
squeeze of lemon juice
3 apple slices
How to Make:
Add apple cider, ginger beer, and apple jack/brandy into a glass and stir well. Top with the wheat beer slowly. Stir. Garnish with apple slices on a skewer.
Mountain Pine Gin & Tonic
While on holidays in Colorado, cocktail couple, Jay and Leah of The Gastronom discovered a company that makes a pine syrup. After experimenting with a few flavors and mixes, they came up with this cocktail that immediately makes us think of those mornings after a fresh snowfall has blanketed everything on the mountain with white, powdery snow.
Ingredients:
2 oz Hendrick's Gin
.5 oz Dram Apothecary Pine Syrup
1/4 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
4 oz Tonic
How to make:
Add ice to a glass. Add Gin, Pine Syrup and lemon juice. Mix. Top with Tonic.
However you choose to celebrate this year, make sure you do so responsibly. Download a handy taxi app so you get home safe and keep an eye out for all your pals!
Cheers everyone!
WRITTEN BY: Todd Mitchell
CREDITS: All recipe and photo credits (except for the hot spiced wine) go to the respective blogs. If you like what you see here, make sure to follow their blogs and other social media. You do not want to miss what they'll be serving up next.