You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch...For over 50 years, the story of the Grinch has been a part of Christmas. Jealous of the Whos, the Grinch (with his loyal dog Max in tow) set about stealing their Christmas. But Christmas morning, as the presentless Whos joyfully sing, the Grinch realizes that there is more to Christmas than just presents and his heart famously grows three sizes.
Similar to the Cold Miser, you can’t make a Grinch inspired cocktail without it being the same colour as the character. We toyed with the idea of making a variation of a grasshopper, but decided we had enough mint flavoured cocktails. The other green liquor we could think of was...melon! Ugh seriously?!? So we set to the task of redeeming the glowing, green booze, much in the same way that the Grinch himself was redeemed. Each of us came up with our own ideas to test out. Drew thought that cucumber would soften the sweetness of the melon and mellow the flavour. Kate’s first inclination was that prosciutto was delicious with melon, so why not try a little bacon-washed vodka? The results gave us two simple and tasty cocktails that we’d actually order at a bar!
Kate’s Grinch Cocktail Recipe
- 1 ½ oz bacon infused vodka
- 1 ½ oz Bols Melon
- 6 drops Dillon’s DSB bitters
- crumbled bacon
- cocktail glass
Pour the bacon washed vodka and Bols Melon into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the bitters and crumbled bacon.
Drew’s Grinch Cocktail Recipe
- 1 ½ oz vodka
- 1 oz Bols Melon
- 1 inch piece cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 3 drops Victoria Spirits' Black Pepper bitters
- cracked black pepper
- cocktail glass
Cut the cucumber into chucks. Place into a cocktail shaker and muddle with a spoon or mudddler. Add vodka and Bols Melon into the shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the bitters and a grind of fresh cracked pepper.
Cocktail Notes:
The Bols we use may actually be more melony and less sweet than Midori and end up making a better cocktail.
The vodka can be bacon washed in the same way that the bourbon was. The vodka may actually take the bacon flavour better than the bourbon.
Inspiration:
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