Search results for 'twelve cocktails of christmas'

Introducing the Twelve Cocktails of Christmas

19 Dec

Christmas can feel overwhelming at times. Presents to wrap, cards to write, shopping, cooking, school events, family visiting, tree decorating, tantrums, tinsel… That was just today – and there’s no sign of things letting up in the week ahead.

Forget “bells on bobtail ring” – I plan to keep my spirits bright with a cocktail or two over the holidays. Which gave me the idea for the Twelve Cocktails of Christmas. As I reminded myself this evening, if you don’t have time to enjoy a few cocktails at this time of year, you’re working too hard.

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‘Tis the season to be jolly!

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The Blue Christmas

1 Jan

The Blue Christmas

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#12: The Blue Christmas

All things must pass – the holiday season, our friends’ visit, the twelve cocktails of Christmas – and it seems fitting to wrap it all up with a Blue Christmas cocktail. Continue reading →

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Extras

14 Aug

Every now and then, I set myself a cooking challenge to keep things interesting on Ten More Bites. It may be something seasonal or be linked to a sporting event. I also have longer-term ambitions to cook every recipe from my family cookbook Fern’s Food and something from every country in the world.

Challenges completed so far:

 

  • Categories

French 75

19 Dec

french75

We won’t be repeating our twelve cocktails of Christmas extravaganza this year, but we did want to mark the start of the holiday season with something festive.

The French 75 (or Soixante-quinze) is apparently named after a field artillery gun, because of the punch it packs. Adam sees it as a gin and tonic for the Christmas season, a time of year when you do things like substitute champagne for tonic water…;-)

I recognise it as the inspiration for last year’s A Cocktail of Two Cities, which had the same London/Paris-gin/champagne thing going on.

A simple, elegant drink, the magic of a French 75 is in the balance of ingredients: gin, lemon juice, sugar and champagne. I went for a 2 to 1 ratio of the gin/lemon mixture to champagne.

Continue reading →

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A Cocktail of Two Cities

31 Dec

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#11: A Cocktail of Two Cities

This Christmas, our great friends Margo and Aaron travelled from Canada to spend holidays with us. They are both cocktail lovers, and their visit was a big part of my idea to do the twelve cocktails of Christmas.

One of our gifts to Margo was a copy of Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails With a Literary Twist. She thanked us by mixing up a round of A Cocktail of Two Cities. Continue reading →

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The Sazerac

30 Dec

Sazerac

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#10: The Sazerac

I’ve enjoyed listening to my Christmas in New Orleans CD throughout the holidays, which is enough of a reason to make the sazerac my tenth cocktail of Christmas.

The ones we make aren’t as authentic as you’d be served in the Big Easy – we coated the glasses with Pernod instead of absinthe and use Canadian rye whisky, although I have recently got my hands on some Peychauds bitters. Continue reading →

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Sloe gin negroni

29 Dec

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#9: Sloe gin negroni

Sloe gin is delicious, and sipping a little glass of it neat while watching Alastair Sim’s Scrooge discover the spirit of Christmas makes a perfect holiday afternoon.

But a shot of sloe gin isn’t a cocktail. This led to the idea of using sloe gin in a negroni – where it cosied right up with the red vermouth, and stood its ground against the bitterness of the Cinzano.

Continue reading →

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Hot buttered rum

28 Dec

Hot buttered rum

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#8: Hot buttered rum

This delicious, hot buttered rum certainly hit the spot after a cold, wet evening at the football. It’s beyond my photography skills to make this drink  beautiful, but I promise it tastes far better than it looks.

Continue reading →

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The Harvey Wallbanger

27 Dec

Harvey Wallbanger

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#7: The Harvey Wallbanger

Essentially a screwdriver gussied up with an indulgent splash of Galliano, the Harvey Wallbanger is definitely the cocktail of Christmases past for me.

My parents always made Harvey Wallbangers during the holiday season. They probably made them year-round – the Harvey Wallbanger was a happening drink in the 1970s – but in my memory they are associated with our annual Christmas carol singing party. Continue reading →

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Cola de mono

26 Dec

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#6: Cola de mono

Cola de mono (or “tail of the monkey”) is a Christmas drink from Chile. It’s pretty similar to a white Russian (or Kahlua and milk), but tastes cleaner and less cloying than my memory of that drink. Continue reading →

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The Scarlett O’Hara

24 Dec

Scarlett O'Hara

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#5: The Scarlett O’Hara

Cranberry juice is the reason the Scarlett O’Hara makes my Christmas cocktail list – plus it’s very tasty. It’s also a good way to use up any Southern Comfort you may have lurking at the back of your drinks cabinet.

Continue reading →

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The Dandy Shandy

23 Dec

Dandy Shandy

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#4: The Dandy Shandy

Sometimes, a beer-based cocktail hits the spot. Especially, after we’d popped into the pub for a pint after ice skating. And were having sausages and mash for dinner.

Plus the dark colour of the Dandy Shandy goes perfectly with the long, dark nights of December.

Continue reading →

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The Sidecar

22 Dec

sidecar

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#3: The Sidecar

Now that you can buy anything year round, it seems strange to recall that when I was growing up in northern Canada, satsumas were available only during the holiday season. Getting our annual 5lb crate of mandarin oranges, as we called them, was an eagerly awaited Christmas treat.

Each orange was individually wrapped in green tissue paper, like a little present. I imagine there would have been about thirty oranges in the box – or six each – and we were allowed one a day to make them last. Sometimes I’d remove the tough skin from each segment and eat it cell by juicy little cell.

So the citrusy sidecar in its festive, sugar-frosted glass is an easy choice for my Christmas cocktail list. Continue reading →

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The whisky mac

21 Dec

whisky mac

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#2: The whisky mac

The whisky mac is a is a wonderfully warming mix of whisky and green ginger wine. Named after a Colonel Macdonald who invented it while serving in India, the whisky mac is a great antidote to the cold, damp British weather.

I make it with a 1:1 ratio, but some recipes call for up to three times the amount of whisky to wine.

  • a decent blended whisky, such as Famous Grouse
  • green ginger wine (Crabbie’s or Stone’s)
  1. Add equal amounts of whisky and ginger wine to a highball glass and stir to combine.
  2. Ice and shortbread optional.

 

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The Santa-secco

20 Dec

The Santa-secco

The twelve cocktails of Christmas
#1: The Santa-secco

A ruby-bright, festive mix of prosecco, pomegranate juice and fresh pomegranate seeds. I love the way the bubbles cause the seeds to float to the top instead of languishing at the bottom of the glass, the way fruit usually does in a mixed drink. Continue reading →

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Manhattan cocktail

29 Mar

Manhattan cocktail

I’ve been taking things easy on the drinks front since our cocktail-tastic Christmas. But as the end of a busy work week loomed, the thought of a TGIF cocktail was pretty tempting.

The Manhattan has only three ingredients – rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters. As a Canadian, I have a nostalgic fondness for Canadian Club, but there are a lot of rye whiskeys to choose from these days, and bourbon works as well. Continue reading →

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Comté and rosemary crackers

17 Feb

Comté rosemary crackers

Still working my way through the dregs of the Christmas cheese, I decided to make these comté and rosemary crackers. (Why I thought we’d eat our body weight in cheese over the holidays, I now have no idea. Perhaps all those cocktails I was imbibing clouded my judgement…)

The crackers went down a storm with the girls, who had been a bit sniffy about the Comté, despite my efforts to pass it off as “French cheddar”. According to Lyra, they are “even better than Goldfish crackers”, which is high praise indeed coming from her.

Continue reading →

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