The carol for today's cocktail is Mary's Boy Child written by the great composer and somtime actor, Jester Hairston. He originally wrote the melody of this calypso-tinged carol for a party that was attended by people mostly from the West Indies. Years later, when asked to compose a Christmas carol for the Hollywood Choir, Hairston returned to this melody and changed the lyrics to what we now know as Mary's Boy Child. The song became even more popular when the likes of Harry Belafonte and Mahalia Jackson recorded it.
The melody's original title was He Pone and Chocolate Tea. He pone is a type of cornbread (mmmm ... corn pone!) After some research, we learned that there is a drink from the West Indies called St. Lucia Tea that is made from steeping grated pure cocoa. We used the tea as a base and added some booze to make it a little more festive.
Mary's Boy Child Cocktail
2 cups water
1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
1 cup cocoa nibs
1 stick of cinnamon
5 cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/2 cup brown sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp vanila
1/2 cup rum
5 oz Galliano
5 Tbsp coconut cream
mug or heat-resistant glass
This recipe is a little more involved than most of the ones we do, so we're breaking down the steps:
- Tie the cloves and cinnamon into a piece of cheesecloth.
- Add it, the rest of the spices, the water, almond milk and cocoa nibs to a heavy pot. Simmer the mixture over a medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
- Add the brown sugar and stir to dissolve.
- Remove the cheesecloth containing the cloves and cinnamon from the pot.
- Pour the mixture into a high-quality blender. Pulse on high until the cocoa nibs are broken down.
- Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and return it to blender.
- Add the vanilla, rum, Galliano and coconut cream.
- Pulse until well blended and frothy.
- Adjust sweetness as desired.
- Serve hot, room temperature or chilled.
Cocktail Notes
As we were making this, we kept wondering if this was going to turn out to be any good. Surprisingly, it's delcious. It is definitely NOT hot chocolate but very much a tea-like drink. And the great thing is that everything can be adjusted to personal taste. The ratio of liquid to cocoa nibs (3:1) seems to work, but the quantities or types of spices, sugar or booze could easily be changed.
For a creamier drink, switch out more milk for the water. We added the coconut cream to give it a creamier texture and help emulsify the drink but isn't vital to the drink if you don't like coconut. The drink also gets better as it sits and the flavours mingle togther.
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