The carol for Day Eight of our calendar is the British carol, The Holly and the Ivy. Holly and ivy have played a large role in English Christmases since at least the fifteenth century. Since both plants stay green throughout the winter, they were frequently used to decorate the inside of country churches during Christmastide. When the carol was published as part of the New Oxford Book of Carols, it gained world-wide notoriety.
Holly and ivy hold a large amount of cultural significance in Europe and England. The druids commonly associated holly with the winter solstice and Romans considered holly to be the sacred plant of the god Saturn. Additionally in Victorian England, men associated themselves with holly for its "masculine" qualities while women affiliated themselves with ivy because of its "feminine" qualities. At least one recorded song has a "contest" between the two plants with men and women extolling the virtues of their identified botanicals while denigrating the other.
The greenness of the titular plants got us thinking about herbs; we focused on mint and making a julep-type drink for the winter months. So some bourbon, mint and a couple of other liqueurs round out the cocktail. Like the Coventry Carol cocktail, this one can be served either cold or hot. Also worth noting, this cocktail moves us from a week of celebrating the Christ Child to a week of celebrating Mary with cocktails inspired by carols associated with our favourite virgin mother.
The Holly & the Ivy Cocktail
2 oz bourbon (we used Maker's Mark)
1 oz Galliano
1/2 oz brown sugar syrup
1 bar spoon of Fernet Branca infused with mint
2 oz hot water (for the hot version, obvi)
Julep cup or rocks glass/mug
Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and stir until chilled. Pour into glass of choice. Add hot water if desired as a hot drink.
Cocktail Notes
We made the mint-infused Ferent Branca by placing a generous tablespoon of fresh torn mint into a container with a half cup of Fernet Branca. The infusion should be ready after a day but can sit longer, if desired.
We tried infusing some sweet and white vermouth with the mint to test in the cocktail. The mint flavour did not (read DID NOT) go with either vermouth.
This cocktail was originally inspired by the Winter Julep cocktail.
Listen Along
There's a little skip in the video about 1:45 .. but you can still enjoy Lennox's fantastic performance of this carol.
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