First in our advent calendar, we explored some characters who were definitely on Santa’s Naughty list. Next, we had a group of four endearing doofuses (doofusi?) that we dubbed the Loveable Lugs. This next trio of cocktails is based one of the most popular pieces of holiday music and dance, the Nutcracker. In the story, a little girl named Clara is given a nutcracker who eventually comes to life. With her help, he defeats the Mouse King and the pair then whisk away to the Land of Sweets. There they are presented with delicious goodies from around the world as the inhabitants dance for them. Clara falls asleep having been crowned the ruler of the Land of Sweets with her Nutcracker Prince.
We thought that Clara’s cocktail (our first female character in the advent calendar) should be something that invoked a feeling of childhood, but with, you know, booze. One of our favorite memories was getting that sweet and tart cherry limeade soda at the local drive-in so we decided make the adult version of that childhood drink.
Clara Cocktail Recipe:
- 1 oz cherry liqueur
- 1 oz lemon schnapps
- ½ oz lime juice
- 3 drops Napa Valley Strawberry Rhubarb bitters
- sparkling wine or club soda
- champagne flute
Pour the cherry liqueur, lemon schnapps and lime juice into a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain the mixture into a champagne flute, filling approximately a third of the glass. Drop in the bitters. Fill the glass with sparkling wine or club soda.
Cocktail Notes:
The cocktail is pretty straightforward and quite delicious. It’s perfect for a party and requires just a few liquors. The bitters help to bring out the cherry flavour but, if you don’t have them, the drink works perfectly fine.
Inspiration:
Wow. There are a lot of terrible videos with some version of Clara dancing. This is one of the best ones - a trailer from the English Ballet. It's quite nice and you can actually see the dancers.
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