So here it is, our fourth (FOURTH!) cocktail calendar for the holiday season. Who knew so many cocktails could be made? Who knew so many drinks could be tested? Who knew so much booze could be hounded???
As mentioned in the intro post, this year's theme focuses on traditions around the holiday season. First up, traditions/celebrations focused around the Winter Solstice. While many cultures have a specific mid-winter celebration, some often focus on the general idea of Light defeating Darkness. One such celebration is the holiday of Diwali or Deepavali.
The name Deepavali stems from the rows (avali) of clay lanterns (deepa) that are traditionally used to decorate homes during the festival. While officially a holiday in countries throughout Asia, Africa and South America, Diwali is celebrated the world over by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. And even though there is regional variation over the interpretation Diwali, the central tenet remains the same: the triumph of light over dark, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil and hope over despair [Amen! -Kate].
We recognize that most who celebrate Diwali do not drink alcohol, but we felt that it was an important Light festival to mark in our calendar. Our cocktail includes the flavours traditionally found in the treats consumed around Diwali such as apricot, sesame and rosewater.
The Diwali Cocktail
- 1 part - Hendrick's Gin
- 1 part - Bombay Sapphire East Gin
- 1 part - Apricot Liqueur (we used Giffard)
- 1 part - Orgeat
- 1/4 tsp - Tahini
- 2 dashes - Rosewater (not pictured)
Combine ingredients in a shaker. Dry shake til combined. Add ice. Shake some more. Strain to get any remaining tahini solids out. Pour into coupe glass. Garnish with sesame square or light sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Cocktail Notes
- We originally tried this with 1/2 Hendrick's and 1/2 Beefeater. But the Beefeater was too clean - needed some other botanicals in the gin to appear. So we switched to Bombay East. The lemongrass is really picked up.
- Rosewater is mighty - only a couple of dashes will do.
- Tried a 1/2 bar spoon of Cointreau, but made it a little heavy.
- Before we tried the tahini, we put in a few salt flakes. That got us onto the right path with the tahini.
Comments