New Year's Eve Cocktails

What better night to enjoy some Champagne or sparkling wine than New Year's? Should you be in a cocktail mood, here are some delicious drinks containing sparkling wine perfect for celebrating the arrival of 2013. We'll start with some classics and move on to more contemporary sippers.

The best choice of sparkling wine for mixing is always dry. In fact, the best wine for any use is almost always dry. Also, be aware of the acidity you're adding to the drink when you top with sparkling wine. The carbonic acid will affect the sweetness of your drink, despite the sugar content in the wine itself, which is one of the reasons to choose something dry. When mixing your other ingredients, balance things on the sweeter side, and likewise don't be surprised if you find your drink too sweet before topping with the wine as it will be dried out. French 75's, for example, should be a little sweet before you top them.

A great choice for any use is cava, as these tend to be great quality for how much you pay. Prosecco is great for the same reason, and they also tend to be dry so are excellent choices. Should you choose a North American sparkling wine or a Champagne, look for a "Brut" or "extra Brut", which means the wine is dry (i.e. not sweet). "Sec" refers to high levels of sugar, which is something you want to avoid if mixing (and in my opinion, something you should avoid altogether).

The Champagne Cocktail
1 raw sugar cube
Several dashes of Angostura or other aromatic bitters
Top with Champagne or sparkling wine

Drop the sugar cube into a Champagne flute and soak with the bitters. Top with sparkling wine. 
Garnish with a lemon twist.

This drink dates back to the 1850's and is the first recorded variation on the "cock-tail," a combination of spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. Later variations included the addition of Cognac or brandy, which is in my opinion an excellent choice and I suggest going with 1/2oz. Should you have no sugar cubes on-hand, the original recipes call for 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, or 1 teaspoon of 1:1 simple syrup. Twist as always means just the peel of the lemon with the pith cut off, which you squeeze over the top of the drink to extract the oil.

French 75
1oz gin
1/2oz lemon juice
1 teaspoon of sugar
Sparkling wine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe or Champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine.

This drink originated at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1915, created by American bar owner Harry MacElhone. The drink was said to "pack a punch like the French 75mm field gun," hence the name. The above recipe is from Harry Craddock's seminal cocktail tome, "The Savoy Cocktail Book," though more modern recipes contain up to 2oz of gin (which I must be honest I prefer). In David Embury's equally as influential cocktail book, "The Art of Mixing Drinks," the recipe claims that Cognac is the true spirit of choice here, lest the drink not be called the "French" 75. However, considering that earlier recipes call for gin and that earlier accounts claim the name comes from the French rifle and not from the spirit, the general consensus is that the drink be made with gin, which in my opinion makes a better drink anyway. Dropping a real cherry into the bottom of the glass adds a nice touch.

Buck and Breck
1.5oz Cognac or brandy
Dash of absinthe
2 dashes Angostura or other aromatic bitters
Sparkling wine

Rinse a small glass or Champagne flute with water. Fill the glass with powdered sugar and throw it out, leaving the glass frosted inside. Pour in the brandy, bitters, and absinthe, then top the glass with cold sparkling wine.

This drink is supposedly created by the grandfather of the cocktail, Jerry Thomas, in the mid 1800's. It is not only a fancy-looking drink, but a more obscure one and very tasty. Should you be without absinthe, absente, pastis, Herbsaint, or pernod will suffice, but be aware of their shortcomings in flavour and complexity in comparison to actual absinthe.

Seelbach Cocktail
1oz bourbon
1/2oz Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Sparkling wine

Stir bourbon, Cointreau, and bitters with ice. Strain into a cocktail coupe or Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This was a favourite of mine for a time, and one that I brought to Pourhouse in Vancouver where we included it on our fall menu this year. It comes from the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1917. During Prohibition, the cocktail was lost until the mid-1990's when it was found in the basement of the hotel during renovations. The infamous Gary Regan convinced the hotel management to share their recipe for this spicy drink and now it is available for us all to enjoy. Should you be using other bitters, be aware of their bitterness and adjust accordingly. Bitter Truth Creole Bitters, for example, is more complex and interesting than Peychaud's, but are much more bitters and only require 2-3 dashes.

Death In The Afternoon
1.5oz absinthe
Sparkling wine

Pour absinthe into a Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine (at least 4oz). 

This one was invented by Hernest Hemingway, who was by all accounts a heavy and creative drinker. It was named after his novel published in 1932. This was not the only drink he created, another one of note being the Hemingway Daquiri or Papa Doble, with rum, grapefruit, lime, and maraschino liqueur, which is by all means worth making in the summer. 

Moving on to more modern cocktails, here is a French 75 variation by Dale Degroff using bourbon instead of gin.

French 95
1oz fresh orange juice
3/4oz bourbon
3/4oz simple syrup
1/2oz fresh lemon juice
Sparkling wine. 

Shake the first four ingredients with ice and strain over rocks into a fizz glass. Top with sparkling wine. 

And here are three great original sparkling wine cocktails contributed to this site for previous series.

Jones' Bitter Aperitif (Evelyn Chick, Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver)
1/2oz Amaro Averna

1/4oz Cynar
1/4oz Taylor 10 Tawny Port
Barspoon All-Spice Syrup
Sparkling wine

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into champagne flute & top with dry cava

All-Spice Syrup:
Boil a tablespoon of crushed allspice berries, one stick of cinnamon, and three cloves in one litre of water. Simmer for 15 minutes on low, then add two litres of sugar. Stir until dissolved, then let cool before bottling. 

The Shibuya Crusta (Shaun Layton, L'Abattoir, Vancouver)

20 ml Hennessy VS Cognac

15 ml Maraschino

30 ml fresh lemon juice

10 ml orgeat syrup

7 dashes Angostura bitters

Cava

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin minus the Cava. Shake, fine strain into sugar decked flute. Top with Cava. Garnish with a long orange peel around the inside of the flute. 

 

And a personal favourite of mine that we still serve by request at Pourhouse, The Bittercup. Two bitter amari along with fresh juices and sparkling wine combine to create a very complex cocktail tasting like bitter strawberry.

 

The Bittercup
1 oz  Campari
1/2oz Fernet Branca
1/2oz real cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail)
3/4oz fresh grapefruit juice
1/4oz simple syrup
2 oz dry prosecco

Pour all ingredients except prosecco into a shaker. Shake. Taste and balance bitterness with simple syrup (the taste of bitter strawberries is the goal). Double strain into a cocktail glass. Finish with prosecco. 

 

Happy New Year's!

Christmas Cocktails!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Here are the Christmas and winter cocktails and drinks we've seen this month:

French 75 in New Orleans
Winter Waltz: rye whiskey, Averna, allspice dram, Angostura bitters, star anise garnish

Dickens Toddy: bourbon, maple syrup, Angostura bitters, orange peel & cherry garnish

Contessa: gin, Aperol, grapefruit, cranberry, orange bitters

Charante Hessian: Cognac brandy, pumpkin butter, allspice dram, hot water, nutmeg & cinnamon garnish

L'Abattoir in Vancouver
Strathcona: candy cap mushroom-infused rye whiskey, Punt e Mes, Becherovka, chocolate bitters, cherry garnish

Teardrop Lounge in Portland
Boogie Street: bourbon, cachaca, orange juice, creme de cacao, pear butter, pear garnish

Moon on the Rain: calvados, quince-pecan gastrique, Dubonnet, whiskey barrel-aged bitters

Long Time Coming: pisco, cherry digestif, port reduction, truffle bitters

Humble Pie: applejack, blended Scotch, ginger syrup, pimento dram, Angostura bitters, peppercorn, candied ginger

Veneto Tapa Lounge in Victoria

Yukon Cornelius: chai spice-infused rye whiskey, chestnut syrup, menthe pastille, egg, nutmeg & cinnamon garnish

Rockefeller: chai spice-infused rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, aromatic bitters, cherry & orange oil garnish

Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Spiced Manhattan: spiced rum, dark rum, sweet vermouth, Tiki bitters

Wilford Brimley: hot buttered rum batter, coconut cream, high-proof rum

The Refinery in Vancouver

Bear Skin: aged rum, chocolate vermouth, Punt e mes, orange-cinnamon syrup, coffee bitters

The Violet Hour in Chicago

Cold & Delicious: Cognac brandy, port, Spice Trader syrup, walnut liqueur, apple bitters, egg, cinnamon garnish

Historical Drinks (History & Recipes)
Eggnog

Mulled Wine & Cider

The Flip

Hot Buttered Rum

The Hot Toddy

Trevor Kallies in Vancouver
Gold: Irish whiskey, Benedictine, peach-jalapeno preserves, plum & rootbeer bitters

Frankencense: gin, grapefruit juice, yellow Chartreuse, orange & juniper bitters

Myrrh: Scotch whisky, sherry, Lillet, Moondog bitters

Shea Hogan in Vancouver

Old Saint Juan: mezcal, Angostura bitters, lime juice, mint garnish

Slanted Door in San Francisco

Hot Buttered Rhum Cider: dark rum, compound butter, mulled cider, orange peel, star anise, cinnamon

Winter Cocktails: French 75 in New Orleans

It is with great appreciation and honour that I present a whopping total of four Christmas cocktails from the historic New Orleans bar, the French 75. The bar itself was built in the late 1800's, but was renovated in the 1970's, and reinvented in 2003 with an emphasis on premium spirits and cigars, and of course the new renaissance in cocktails. This award-winning bar is the first in New Orleans to grace this site, and they have graciously contributed a handful of recipes.

"The Winter Waltz," a rye, amaro, and Christmas spice mix, is named after head bartender Chris Hannah's favourite Frank Sinatra Christmas Carol. "The Contessa" is a nod to the character in Tennesse Williams' novel, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone." Contessa was the swindler in the book who introduced the Negroni to the characters in tho novel.

Winter Waltz
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Averna Amaro
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
2 dashes Angostura bitters
 
Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with star anise.

Dicken's Toddy
2 oz Wild Turkey bourbon
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
 
Build like and Old-Fashioned in a rocks glass with ice, garnish with an orange peel and a cherry.

Contessa
3/4 oz London Dry Gin or Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit juice
1/2 oz Cranberry Cordial
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an orange peel.

(We make the Cranberry cordial similar to making Cranberry Sauce)

A fairly simple alternative to making a cordial is making an infused simple syrup. By adding equal parts water to sugar (usually 1 cup) and adding fresh cranberries to the mix once the sugar dissolves over low heat, you can make a cranberry syrup to use in this and other similar Christmas cocktails).  

Charante Hessian
1 1/2 oz Cognac
1 1/2 oz Pumpkin Butter
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
4 oz boiling hot water
 
Build in a tempered glass or mug, stir and garnish with grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pumpkin butter is a compound butter with added pumpkin puree.

Cheers to the French 75 team and their amazing bar in such a historically exciting city.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter Cocktails: "Strathcona" from L'Abattoir

It's so close to Christmas! There are still a handful of recipes to share. If you're like me, you'll be drinking holiday drinks throughout the rest of winter, so while these recipes are late at least they'll still be usable.

Today, Shaun Layton at L'Abattoir in Vancouver is sharing one of his holiday drinks using Rittenhouse rye that's been infused with candy cap mushrooms, ones they use in desserts at the restaurant. Chocolate bitters and Becherovka supply a good amount of spice to this Red Hook variation.

Strathcona

45 ml Candy cap mushroom-infused Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey

25 ml Punt E Mes

10 ml Becherovka

3 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a cherry.

Also stop by L'Abattoir this month for the festive "Slaughternog."

See you very soon for the final cocktails of the season from the French 75 bar in New Orleans.


More Holiday Drinks!
[[ Teardrop Lounge Part 1 ]]

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Teardrop Lounge in Portland Part 2

Daniel Shoemaker at the Teardrop Lounge in Portland is kindly sharing two more winter cocktails with us. "Boogie Street" is a rare combination of bourbon and cachaça with the added flavours of fruit and chocolate. Daniel is also sharing Teardrop's house-made crèmede cacao recipe should you feel adventurous enough to make your own. After that is "Moon on the Rain," a cider-like cocktail using a house-made gastrique, for which there are again instructions for the adventurous.

Thank you again to Daniel and the Teardrop team for running such a great establishment and for contributing their holiday recipes. Cheers!

Boogie Street

1 ½ oz. Maker’s 46 bourbon

¾ oz. Novo Fogo silver cachaça

¾ oz. blood orange juice

½ oz. crème de cacao*

Barspoon pear butter

Shake, double-strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. 
Garnish with a fan of Bosc pear slices.  

*Crème de Cacao:

3 ½ cups Theo Cacao nibs

1 cup Cane Sugar

1 cup Distilled Water

4-750 ml Lemonhart 151 rum

Dissolve sugar in water at slow simmer.  Add cacao nibs & stir constantly.  Sugar will re-granulate, smoking, until it begins to slowly caramelize & coat the cacao nibs. The entire process should take no more than 20 minutes. Remove from heat, lay out cacao nibs on parchment sheet. Let cool, then break up with spoon into container, topping off with rum. Let steep for 1 week, strain through cheesecloth. Cut to proof with equal parts distilled water.

Moon on the Rain

2 oz. Daron Calvados

¾ oz. Quince-Pecan Gastrique*

¾ oz. Dubonnet Rouge

2 dashes Fee’s Whiskey-Barrel bitters

Stir, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an orange zest.  

*Quince-Pecan Gastrique:

6 cups cane sugar

3 cups balsamic vinegar

1 cups brandy

3 cups Quince, coarsely chopped

1 cups pecans

Caramelize sugar on medium, then slowly add vinegar, stirring to incorporate. Add quince & brandy, simmer for 10 minutes. Add pecans, simmer for another 10 minutes. Steep for 2 hours, strain & bottle.

(NOTE: this is good with American Dubonnet, but AWESOME with Canadian)

More Holiday Drinks!
[[ Teardrop Lounge Part 1 ]]

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Teardrop Lounge in Portland

Portland will be making its first appearance on this site today! Having finally been able to visit for my first time this year, I was blown away by the amount of great food and drink available (and also by the number of strip clubs, but that's not really relevant). The cocktails were consistently great, as was the coffee, and of course the prices (no tax is as fun as you think). Taking a tour down Distillery Road and seeing the impressive number of great spirits being made in one city was also exciting. House Spirits Distillery stood out to me in particular, with Krogstad aquavit and Aviation gin, and their delicious and fresh-tasting coffee liqueur. The number of high quality bars in the city is exciting as well, with Clyde Common, Kask, Rum Club, Beaker & Flask, The Driftwood Room, and Teardrop Lounge - just to name a few. It is with great pleasure that I am able to share some holiday drink recipes from the most latter of these names, one of the best bars in the U.S., the Teardrop Lounge.

Teardrop has an amazing program with a focus on fresh and high-quality ingredients, adopting as they say the "Golden Rule of the kitchen: the finished product relies entirely upon the quality of source ingredients." Their
diverse menu has a nice collection of original drinks, obscure classics, and those made by friends in other renowned bars. Each of the three menus offer a punch for the table, an excellent and fun way to start your drinking evening.

Bartender and co-owner Daniel Shoemaker has graciously contributed a total of four holiday drinks along with recipes. I will separate these into two separate posts for easier absorption.

First up is the Long Time Coming, a pisco-based cocktail with three house-made ingredients: a cherry digestif, a port redux, and truffle bitters. Daniel shares his recipes for each of these ingredients below, and I hope you find them as creatively inspiring as I do!
Following that is the Humble Pie, a mix of blended Scotch and applejack with Christmas spice flavours like pimento, ginger, and peppercorn.

Long Time Coming

2 oz Campo de Encanto pisco

¾ oz Cherry Digestif*

½ oz Port Reduction*

8 drops Truffle bitters*

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  

No garnish.  

*Cherry Digestif

8 Quart cherry pits, topped with GNS, stored in cool place for 1 month, agitated daily.  Strain, add:

40 g dandelion root, toasted                                                

15 g gentian, toasted

40 g cedar chips, toasted                                    

8 g rhubarb root, toasted

40 g dong quoi                                                            

3 g horehound

15 g Cherry Bark                   

Steep all ingredients for an additional 24-36 hours.  

Strain, bottle.

*Port Redux

750ml Ruby port

1/4 oz cane sugar

6 cloves

2 star anise

15 green cardamom pods

1 Indonesian cinnamon sticks, crushed

Bring all ingredients to a light simmer, stirring occasionally until total liquid has reduced by 1/3.  

Allow to cool to room temperature, strain & bottle.

*Truffle Bitters

1 lb unsalted butter

½ oz Oregon black truffles

2 – 750 ml high-proof rye

½ cup toasted quassia

1/8 cup rose hips

1/8 cup sweet orange peel

1 tablespoon grains of paradise

1 tablespoon angelica

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

Clarify butter in heavy-bottomed saucepan at low heat for 1 hour.  Remove from heat, pour over thinly sliced truffles.  Let steep for 1 hour.  Strain through sieve into large, non-reactive container.  Pour rye in with butter, let steep airtight for 6 weeks. Freeze overnight to let separate. Strain off butter & all solids, returning rye to container. Add rose hips, orange peel, & qussia. Let steep for 10 days.  Add remaining spices & seasonings, let steep for 3 more days. Strain, add 1 tablespoon caramelized sugar syrup. Pour through funnel into oak barrel (treated with fine sherry for previous 6 weeks). Let age for 3 months. Strain, filter through brita filter & bottle.

Humble Pie

1 oz Laird's bonded applejack

1 oz Famous Grouse blended scotch

1/4 oz ginger syrup (2:1)

1 teaspoon rich demerara syrup (2:1)

4 dashes pimento dram

1 dash Angostura bitters

2 grinds black peppercorn

Candied ginger

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain over a large ice cube in a  rocks glass.  
Garnish with a piece of candied ginger on a small skewer. 


Stay tuned later tonight for two more holiday recipes from the Teardrop Lounge!


More Holiday Drinks!
[[ Teardrop Lounge Part 2 ]]

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "The Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria

Last week Veneto shared their "Rockefeller" - a Manhattan with chai-spiced whiskey. Bar manager Simon Ogden has contributed another tasty winter drink, again employing the infused rye. This nog finds its name from the 1964 holiday stop-motion classic, "Rudolph: The Red-Nosed Reindeer." In the film, Rudolph meets the self-proclaimed "greatest prospector in the north," Yukon Cornelius, who eventually finds what he's spent his whole life seeking: the legendary peppermint mine. This drink is brimming with Christmas flavours, and is an excellent reason to make a chestnut syrup, which makes for some festive baking as well as cocktails.

The Yukon Cornelius

2 oz Chai spice-infused rye whiskey

1/2oz chestnut-infused syrup

A whisper of Menthe Pastille mint liqueur

1 whole egg

Dry shake all ingredients together, then shake briskly with ice and strain. 

Finish with a little fresh-grated nutmeg and cinnamon bark.

More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Today we get to try some Christmas rum drinks courtesy of one of the greatest rum bars there is: Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco. This is one of the coolest bars I've ever seen, and has the biggest rum selection I've ever seen. The bartenders here, headed by Martin Cate, are Tiki masters, and the menu boasts some ancient, classic, and contemporary drinks with complicated and secret recipes. You can see a little more information on Smuggler's Cove here in a post during Amaro April.

Martin has kindly donated recipes for two of their delicious winter cocktails - the Spiced Manhattan and the Wilford Brimley. The former is familiar but uses both a Jamaican rum and a spiced one from St. Lucia that brings Christmas flavours like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla, and citrus. The latter cocktail employs a hot buttered rum batter, the recipe for which Smuggler's Cove keeps secret, but there are plenty of variations online that you can try. (Here is Zig Zag's recipe on the Small Screen Network, for example.) The finished product, as Martin puts it, "should look like a cappuccino. It gives you a white milk mustache when you drink it, hence the name. It's the ultimate caloric death bomb."

Cheers to Smuggler's Cove for the holiday recipes and for being an amazing bar! If you're anywhere near San Francisco, this has to be your next bar visit.


Spiced Manhattan – by Justin Oliver
1 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross rum
1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Bittermens Tiki Bitters

Stirred over ice and served with an orange twist.


Wilford Brimley - by Dane Barca
1 heaping barspoon of hot buttered rum batter
1 oz Coco Lopez coconut cream
1 oz  Lemon Hart 151 rum

Cream ingredients together in 6 oz irish coffee glass. 
Fill with hot water.
Float 1 oz lightly beaten and sweetened cream on top.
Top with grated cinnamon.

[ A note to Canadian drinkers: unfortunately we can't get Dolin vermouth nor Smith & Cross rum up here, so you'll have to substitute as you see fit. Of the sweet vermouths available, Cinzano Rosso and Carpano Antica are the only ones worth using. As lovely as Carpano is, it has a tendency to overpower certain drinks, so keep that in mind. For the rum, Chairman's is available though likely only through independent stores, and the Smith & Cross can be substituted by another Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate (the 12 year is my favourite for the price). ]


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver

Today's cocktail comes from Vancouver's downtown Granville Street. Hidden amongst the nightclubs is the delicious tapas menu from chef Kirk Morrison and the cuisine-inspired bar program of Graham Racich and Joel Virginillo. The cocktails here focus on local and house-made ingredients, including a wide array of bitters, vermouths, and even fermented sodas.
(You can see an old review of The Refinery here,
as well as "The Lucky Lady" from Fernet February,
"Primer Beso" from Maraschino March,
and "The Fellini" along with an interview with Joel).

This month, Graham has contributed a recipe for a winter cocktail employing one of the aforementioned house-made vermouths, an infused simple syrup, and some of The Refinery's coffee bitters. Should you be adventurous enough to experiment at home, the idea behind both making your own vermouth and bitters is steeping herbs in an alcoholic base. In the case of vermouth, start with a wine or fortified wine (Darcy O'Neil offers some good advice here on his site), and in the case of bitters start with a high-proof spirit and be sure not to skimp on the bittering agents (like gentian, wormwood, cinchona, etc). I won't get into the specifics yet, but I am planning a series on home-made bitters in the future.

Should you choose to take an easier route, coffee bitters are available from some brands commercially, such as Cocktail Kingdom and Masters of Malt. Steeping a store-bought dry vermouth in both chocolate (perhaps cocoa nibs) and roasted nutmeg is an approximation of The Refinery's vermouth, as those are the two main flavours Graham has mentioned to me. For the syrup, as with any, steeping orange peel and cinnamon sticks in your simple syrup solution as it's simmering will extract the flavours you want.

All that is fine and dandy, but perhaps the best and easiest way to try this drink is to head down to The Refinery and try one the way it's meant to be made.

Bear Skin

1.5oz 15-year aged rum

0.5oz homemade chocolate vermouth

0.5oz Punt e Mes

0.25oz orange-cinnamon simple syrup

Dash of coffee bitters

Stir ingredients with ice, strain into a coupe.  


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago

Now that we've seen some history on eggnog, we can try some modern variations. Today's contribution is from a new bar and a new city to the site: The Violet Hour in Chicago. Touting not only a sophisticated and solid cocktail menu and program, the design of the place itself is designed to showcase a partitioned bar and the bartenders themselves. As they explain on their site, "the early 19th century English club and French salon were the beginning of the modern venue for socializing and drinking" and the space takes inspiration from this era. It uses partitions and high wing back furniture to "create places of intimacy conducive to the art of conversation."

The house rules include not only wearing proper attire, but refraining from cell-phone use and serving Jager-bombs, Grey Goose, and light beer. Drinks for the most part showcase the flavours of the spirits, while using interesting bitters (like Root Beer), amari (like Abano), and the occasional fruit syrup and preserves.

I'm excited to have such a great establishment from such a beautiful city contributing to the site this winter. Bar manager Robert Haynes has passed along The Violet Hour recipe for their "easy and fun alternative to the bad eggnog that permeates the holiday season." Sticking with a more English-style, they adopt Cognac and port but also add Christmas spices, walnut, and apple flavours to the mix.

Cold & Delicious
2oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
3/4oz Dow's Ruby Port
1/2oz Spice Trader Syrup
1/4oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur
9 drops House-made Apple Bitters
1 whole egg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. 
Shake vigorously to incorporate egg. 
Add ice, shake and strain into a rocks glass. 
Top with grated cinnamon. 

Spice Trader syrup: 2:1 demerara syrup. While heating the sugar/water add a small handful of blade mace, cardamom, and vanilla. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then strain and cool. 

As for the apple bitters, there are some available, but making bitters at home is not as complicated as one might think. I'm currently tweaking my own apple bitters recipe, which I plan on sharing here in the near future. The idea behind any bitters recipe is simply to steep herbs and bittering agents in a high-proof alcohol. That makes it sound a lot easier than it is, but experimentation is the fun of the process.

Thanks to Robert and The Violet Hour! Cheers!

More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Eggnog

Eggnog, the most popular of seasonal drinks, has a clouded history likely due to its old age. It is believed to have derived from the English "posset," a mixture of hot milk curdled with wine or ale and usually spiced that dates back to the fourteenth century. It was prescribed as a cold remedy, and over time became more a drink of leisure, adding egg to the mix and often consumed for breakfast. Milk and eggs, however, were not always easy to come by, and the drink was eventually most popular amongst the higher class. When it was brought to the American colonies where most had their own chickens and cows the drink gained a new popularity. However, the sherry, Madeira wine, or brandy that were traditionally added were scarce or highly taxed, so naturally the Americans added rum instead, which was about as easy and cheap to find as water at the time.

The name "eggnog" has several possible origins, one being simply a simplification of "egg and grog," or "egg'n'grog." Grog was a watered-down rum consumed by sailors in the 17th century. The water taken on-board ships at the time spoiled over time in the sea-soaked barrels, and the rum rations (and earlier ale or wine) were used to mask the terrible taste and conversely to reduce the sailors' intoxication levels. Citrus juice was often added to the mix to combat scurvy. Adding egg to a rum and water mixture could be described as "egg and grog," leading eventually to the drink's modern name.

The suffix "nog," at one point also referred to a strong ale, which could have benefited from the addition of an egg at mealtime or wintertime, leading to "egg and nog."

The more accepted origin of the name is from the word "noggin," referring to a small wooden mug that was often used in taverns to serve drinks at tables (while drinks served near the fire used "tankards"). An egg drink served in a noggin could easily be compounded to "eggnog."

Regardless of the origins, eggnog as we know it today became a staple of American drinking culture, particularly in the colder months likely due to the drink's hearty nature. It was often consumed in a punch style, with copious amounts of sugar, cream, and booze, while being left out at room temperature for days. Making such a drink in warmer weather would have made for faster (or more unbearable) spoilage, which is likely another reason it became a winter drink. Everyone had a good recipe, including George Washington (a particularly boozy one), and by the mid 19th century when Jerry Thomas published his fundamental cocktail book, "How To Mix Drinks," eggnog had become optionally a single-glass drink. Below are two of the most classic of nog recipes, Thomas' single serving Egg Nogg, and his recipe for the drink he claims to have created (though it was later proved actually preceded his birth), Tom & Jerry. I have also included the recipe we use at Pourhouse, where we try to approximate as many drinks as possible to the style and mentality of the Golden Age (1850's-1920's). This recipe is essentially the same, but with less milk and slightly less liquor.

In the coming weeks I will be sharing some modern nog recipes as well, so stay tuned.

Egg Nogg (Jerry Thomas, 1862)
1 table-spoonful of fine white sugar, dissolved with
1 table-spoonful cold water
1 egg
1 wine-glass of Cognac brandy [2oz]
1/2 wine-glass of Santa Cruz rum [1oz]
1/2 tumblerfull of milk [3oz]

Fill the tumbler 1/4 full with shaved ice, shake the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed together, and grate a little nutmeg on top. Every well ordered bar has a tin egg-nogg "shaker" which is a great aid in mixing this beverage. 

Tom & Jerry (Jerry Thomas, 1862)
5lbs sugar  
12 eggs
1/2 small glass of Jamaica rum [1oz]
1&1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cinnamon
1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cloves
1/2 tea-spoonful of ground allspice

Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and the tolks until they are thin as water, then mix together and add the spice and rum; thicken with sugar until the mixture attains the consistence of a light batter. A tea-spoonful of cream of tartar, or about as much carbonate of soa as you can get on a dime, will prevent the sugar from settling to the bottom of the mixture. 

To serve: Take a small bar-glass, and to one table-spoonful of the above mixture, add one wine-glass [2oz] of brandy, and fill the glass with boiling water; grate a little nutmeg on top. 

In David Wondrich's "Imbibe," where he lists so many of these classic Jerry Thomas recipes, 2lbs of sugar is suggested instead of 5, because that's a "crazy amount of sugar." Also, he suggests substituting the hot water for hot milk, "as they often did at the turn of the century." My lady is lactose-intolerant, so I make a fair share of this just with water and enjoy it all the same. If you suffer a similar affliction, I also suggest using almond milk, which has a thicker consistency so will give you that nog texture you want. Also, Thomas himself suggests using a mixture of 1/2 brandy, 1/4 Jamaica rum, and 1/4 Santa Cruz rum instead of just straight brandy. I love making my egg nog with a mix of brandy and rum, anywhere from 3:1 to 1:1.
A final note is that this mixture is easily scaled down. I have made some for small parties of 4 by dividing by 6, for example. Experiment and taste as you go along.

Traditional Eggnog (Pourhouse, Vancouver)
2oz rum
1oz 1:1 simple syrup
1oz whipping cream
1 whole egg

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake hard to thoroughly mix. Strain into an old-fashioned glass and grate some fresh nutmeg over top.  


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" by Trevor Kallies in Vancouver

There are a lot of newcomers to the site this month, and today I have the pleasure of sharing three drinks from a Vancouver veteran. Trevor Kallies is currently the bar and beverage director for the Donnelly Group, owners of sixteen bars, nightclubs, pubs, and barber shops in the city. He is an award-winning bartender and also a director and founding member of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association. 

Trevor is graciously sharing recipes for three holiday drinks he's been working on, all festively named and all using a Kale & Nori Bittered Sling Extract, a line of bitters created by local chef and mixologist team Jonathan Chovancek and Lauren Mote.

Gold

1oz Jameson Irish Whiskey

1oz Benedictine

1 barspoon peach-jalapeño preserves

3 dashes Bittered Sling Plum & Rootbeer bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with gold flakes. 

Frankincense

1.5oz Beefeater 24

1oz white grapefruit juice

0.5oz Yellow Chartreuse

3 dashes Bittered Sling Orange & Juniper bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a spruce tip.

 
Myrrh

1oz Glenlivet Scotch Whisky

1oz Tio Pepe dry sherry

0.5oz Lillet

3 dashes Bittered Sling Moondog bitters

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with mandarin orange zest layered with cranberries on a pick.  

[[ Photography by Fred Fung ]]


More Holiday Drinks!
[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria

Today Katie McDonald from Veneto Tapa Lounge in Victoria gives us her Christmas Manhattan. It's named in honour of the plaza dead-centre of the city where the lighting of New York's giant Christmas tree is an annual tradition: The Rockefeller.

She infuses a Canadian whisky with a Chai tea, which employs the usual Christmas suspects: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom.

The Rockefeller

2oz Chai spice-infused Alberta Premium Rye Whisky

1oz Cinzano Rosso

2 dashes Aromatic Bitters

Gently stir all ingredients together and strain into a chilled coupe, 

garnish with a brandied cherry and some torched orange oil.

Bar manager Simon Ogden explains the Chai: "We infuse ours with Silk Road Chai, made by a Victoria-based tea company, but it's fun to make your own as well from winter spices. It doesn't take much to infuse, maybe an hour, and it can definitely overpower the whiskey if you're not careful."

Searching online for homemade Chai brings an array of recipes and is fun to do during this season anyway, so give it a try!

Click below to see other drinks from Veneto:

Pandemonium from Fernet February

Cherry Bob-omb from Maraschino March

The Barjonesing

The Satchmo from the Fall Cocktails series

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Old Saint Juan by Shea Hogan in Vancouver

Today we have a change of pace in terms of style. Shea Hogan from Vancouver's West and Bitter brings us a mezcal cocktail simple in ingredients but dense and robust in flavour. A cocktail that makes me really think of winter is the Trinidad Sour, employing a full ounce of Angostura bitters to give heavy hits of cinnamon, clove, and other Christmas-like spices (something only possible by balancing with orgeat). Here, Shea uses 3/4oz along with the mezcal for a very spicy and smoky winter drink.
He explains it himself:

"It's rather simple, but that's my style. I like to create drinks that almost anyone can make almost anywhere and that are still delicious while holding true to the theme I'm tasked with. Inspired from the aromas of Christmas, mezcal conjures up memories of sitting around the fireplace, watching the flames dance late at night all season long. Sombra mezcal comes from a little village called San Juan, 100 kilometers or so south of Oaxaca. San Juan means Saint John, Santa is Old Saint Nick... you get the idea."

Old Saint Juan
1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Sombra preferred, though Fidencio works nicely as well)
3/4 oz Angostura Bitters
3/4 oz simple syrup (1:1)
1/2 oz lime juice

Shake ingredients with ice and double strain into couple glass, 
garnish with one decent sized mint leaf.


You can see Shea's drink from last month's Halloween series here





[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco

Today we see the first of our many modern holiday drinks, beginning first with a simple mix of classics from Slanted Door in San Francisco. While a renowned restaurant in the city for its Vietnamese cuisine, it also has a sophisticated bar program, using plenty of fresh fruit ingredients for a bright and refreshing cocktail list full of exciting flavours. You'll find well-crafted punch and Tiki-style classics here, like true Singapore Slings and Mai Tais, as well as more spirit-forward ones like Remember the Maine and the Hotel Nacional (which they make with house-made apricot brandy). In the winter, they also make a wonderful hot drink made to order combining Hot Buttered Rum with Mulled Cider that they (not surprisingly) call "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider." They again use fresh and high quality ingredients, a practice all should adopt and is usually the first indication of a great bar program.

Pick up some rum, cider, and butter if you haven't already and try this recipe, or if you want to do it true justice, juice your own Fuji apples like they do at Slanted Door. Bar Director Erik Adkins explains that they use a hydrolic press to make their own apple juice, and compound their own butter as well (recipe included below). The cider is kept hot in a crock pot and the butter and rum are added to order. Here is his recipe: 

Hot Buttered Rhum Cider
1.5oz Barbancourt 8 Year Rum
1 heaping rounded tablespoon of compound butter
Mulled cider
Garnish with a clove-studded orange peel,
Star anise, 
And a cinnamon stick

Compound Butter: 3/4 part unsalted butter to 1/4 part brown sugar. Dashes of cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger, and a pinch of salt to taste. Combine ingredients at room temperature, using the back of a fork to soften the butter and mix. 

Mulled Cider: steep apple juice with whole cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and orange peel.
 

[[ Photo from www.slanteddoor.com ]]

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: Mulled Wine & Cider (Glögg, Glühwein, & Wassail)

Opening the door to a discussion of mulled wine would result in hours of debate and anecdote, (made all the more difficult if simultaneously consuming said wine). This can be proved simply by listing even a handful of its names and variations: Glühwein, Glögg/Gløgg, vin chaud, greyano vino, izvar, Glintwein, Caribou, Hippocras, Negus, and Feuerzangenbowle. It can have different bases, such as port (called a "Smoking Bishop"), ginger wine and raisins ("Smoking Beadle"), or Champagne ("Smoking Cardinal"). Then there are the mulled ciders, ales, and meads, and the close relation to punch, bringing with it further wealth of history and variation. The number of cultures with a version of this theme is mind-boggling, but the purpose behind the practice is consistently the same.

Before proper storage techniques were invented, food and drink spoiled fairly quickly. One had to be creative to keep food fresh longer or at least to make stale and spoiling food more tolerable (practices that also masked poor-quality products). In Roman times, spices and sugars or honey were added to wines to delay spoilage or mask flavours, typically a practice done in the early winter once the wines harvested in early fall began to stale. This practice dates back to Greece as well, where a wine, spice, and honey mixture called "Hippocras" or "Hypocrace" (supposedly created by Hippocrates as a health tonic) was used and later became popular England for the next thousand years. Other cultures figured out similar strategies for wines and juices and as years passed practical process became tradition.

In Southern England where apples and cider (fermented fruit juice) were an important part of agriculture, a yearly autumn ritual was created sometime before the 11th century called "Wassailing." This was a ceremony celebrated in early January involving drink and song that blessed the health of the trees, scared away evil spirits, and ensured a good harvest for the following autumn. (Wassailing was also a traditional exchange between lords and peasants in the middle ages that encouraged charity, which is the origin of what we consider Christmas Caroling, but has no direct relation to drinking). The drink for this ceremony was aptly named the "Wassail," a heated ale (and later cider) mulled with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes fruit, brandy, sherry, and even bread.

By the 18th century, most cultures had a solid tradition and recipe for mulled wine. We will only look at a few of the most popular here: Glühwein and Glögg (pronounced "gloo-vine" and "gluig"). While similar, the differences in alcohol, spice, and garnish are very important to those who carry the tradition. Every town has its own secret recipe, so I am amalgamating the ones I've come across as there are several consistencies. The one thing I don't like in my mulled wine is fruit juice, and this doesn't show up very often save for more modern North American versions. It's not necessary and mutes the spice.

Glühwein (German Mulled Wine, dating to early 15th century)
1 bottle of dry red wine (750ml)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 lemon or orange, sliced
10 whole cloves
3-5 cinnamon sticks

Pour the wine into a large pot and add other ingredients. Simmer at low heat (do not boil) for 30-60 minutes and serve.
There are MANY options here, including adding some allspice berries, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and adding some water should you simmer the wine too long or too hot, which will make it thick and syrupy.
Serve in warmed mugs, and optionally add an ounce of brandy to make things interesting. Do not add the brandy to the heated mixture as the alcohol will boil off.
(Feuerzangenbowle is a Glühwein that leaves a sugarloaf soaked in rum then set aflame sitting atop the wine, slowly dripping sugar into the mix.)

Glögg (Nordic Mulled Wine dating to early 17th century)
1 bottle of dry red wine
1 bottle of port
[2 cups brandy (optionally akvavit or vodka)]
2 cups water
1 peel of orange (the whole orange), cut into strips
10 cardamom pods or about 1/2 tsp of cardamom seeds
10 whole cloves
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup sugar (or less to taste)
2 cinnamon sticks
3-5 slices of peeled ginger (optional)

Processes consistently differ, with some boiling the brandy with sugar to create a syrup with which to sweeten the mulled wine and port mixture. Myself, I prefer the highest alcohol content and flavour possible in my drinks, so I prefer to add the brandy last to each mug before serving, as with the Glühwein. The 2 cups of brandy above is a measurement if combining it to the wine mixture while heating, but if you choose not to do this as I have, just measure 1-2oz of brandy per mug before serving. Having said that, here the best process:
Combine wine, port, water, orange peel, cardamom, cloves, sugar (start with 1/2 cup), cinnamon, and ginger in a pot and simmer at low heat for 10 minutes. Add more sugar to taste. At this point you can optionally let the mixture cool and have it steep in the fridge overnight before reheating to maximize the flavour. For those of you like me who are less patient, keep the mixture at low heat for another 20 minutes or so, being careful not to boil. Prepare 10 mugs by warming them and dishing out about 1tsp of almonds and raisins to each, along with the brandy if not used in the first step. Strain mulled wine into each mug and garnish optionally with a fresh orange zest or whole clove (or better yet, an orange zest with a whole clove stabbed into it).
To be further adventurous, you can soak the almonds and raisins beforehand in a mixture of spice and akvavit. Leave them in a sealed bag or container for at least 24 hours with some cardamom seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, and enough akvavit to ensure they're covered. Even just soaking in the akvavit will extract a surprising amount of flavour from the spirit, which includes caraway, cardamom, cumin, anise, fennel, and citrus. For anyone not accustomed the flavour of this spirit, soaking the raisins and nuts and adding them to the mug when served is a subtle and fancy addition of the flavour.

Mulled cider is another very common and fitting winter drink (and is synonymous with Wassail today). I feel it would be redundant to list a recipe here. Following either of the above mulled wine recipes or variations thereof would work just fine if cider is substituted for the wine and the sugar is omitted. For all three drinks, other spices that would make great additions include a little nutmeg, whole star anise, allspice berries, and a few slices of citrus. Broken cinnamon bark can be used in place of cinnamon sticks, though use it more sparingly as it has higher surface area. I again stress that adding the spirit while serving and not while steeping is a better option to ensure full flavour and alcohol.

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]

Winter Cocktails: The Flip

"The Flip" is one of the earliest recorded mixed drinks, dating back to at least the late 17th century in colonial American taverns. Sugar or molasses, spices, and rum were added to a large bowl of beer, a practice likely derived from masking or delaying spoilage similar to mulling wine. A red hot loggerhead, or fire poker, was inserted into the mixture, causing it to froth and the sugar to caramelize - a process called "flipping." As far as is known the recipe remained unchanged until the mid-19th century, listed in Jerry Thomas' seminal tome "How To Mix Drinks" (1862). Here warmed ale and a mixture of eggs, sugar, rum or brandy, and ground nutmeg, ginger, and lemon peel are tossed between pitchers until smooth (perhaps another origin of the name "flip"). Likely due to the streamlining of this time-intensive process, the Flip (like the Punch before it) evolved into a single-glass drink and the hot temperature became optional. In Thomas' 1887 revision of his book he included seven cold and six hot Flips, each listed simply as a liquor with egg, sugar, and water (hot or ice), topped with freshly ground nutmeg.

(A note here that while the modern [meaning 19th century] Flip seems similar to Egg Nog, they differ in one important aspect: milk. Nog contains milk or cream while the Flip does not. It  was often made in a punch bowl, but like the Flip it did have a by-the-glass recipe as well. More on Nog later this month.)  

Flips have evolved into a whole range of uniquely satisfying drinks, and I will be sharing some modern ones soon. For now I'll share Jerry Thomas' 1887 recipes for both a Hot and Cold Flip, and then his Hot English Flip of old.

Hot Flip (Jerry Thomas, 1887)
1 tsp sugar 

1 wine-glass liquor (2oz) 

Yolk of one egg

Dissolve the sugar in a little hot water, add the brandy and egg, shake up thoroughly. Pour into a
medium bar-glass and fill it one-half full of boiling water. Grate a little nutmeg on top, and serve.

Here, many liquors are possible. Thomas listed brandy, rum, Holland gin, and whiskey, but feel free to experiment. For the sugar, you can replace it with the same amount of 2:1 simple syrup, or twice the amount of 1:1.

Cold Flip (Jerry Thomas, 1887)

1 tsp powdered sugar 

1 wine-glass of liquor (2oz)

A little water
1 fresh egg
2-3 lumps of ice

Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the liquor, egg, and ice, shake up thoroughly. Strain into a small bar-glass. Grate a little nutmeg on top, serve. 

Thomas here listed brandy, rum, Holland gin, whiskey, port, and sherry. When shaking a Cold Flip, ensure you shake long and hard to really emulsify the egg. See above for replacing sugar with simple syrup.

Lastly, here is the original Flip using ale and rum.

Hot English Rum Flip (Jerry Thomas, 1887)

1 quart of ale
1 gill of old rum (4oz)
4 raw fresh eggs
4oz of moist sugar
1 tsp of grated nutmeg (or ginger)

Heat the ale in a saucepan ; beat up the eggs and sugar, add the nutmeg and rum, and put it all in a pitcher. When the ale is near to a boil, put it in another pitcher, pour it very gradually in the pitcher containing the eggs, etc, stirring all the while very briskly to prevent the eggs from curdling, then pour the contents of the two pitchers from one to the other until the mixture is as smooth as cream.

To make a "Hot English Ale Flip," simply omit the rum and two of the eggs. 

[[Photograph from "Stagecoach and Tavern Days" by Alice Morse Earle, 1900]]

[["Yukon Cornelius" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ "The Rockefeller" from Veneto in Victoria ]]
[[ The Hot Toddy ]]
[[ Winter drinks from Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco ]]
[[ "Bear Skin" from The Refinery in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Cold & Delicious" from The Violet Hour in Chicago ]]
[[ The history of Eggnog ]]
[[ "Gold," "Frankincense," and "Myrrh" from Trevor Kallies in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Old Saint Juan" from Shea Hogan in Vancouver ]]
[[ "Hot Buttered Rhum Cider" from Slanted Door in San Francisco ]]
[[ The history of mulled wine ]]
[[ The history of The Flip ]]
[[ Hot Buttered Rum ]]