A Bitter Spirit

Day 23: Balthazar

Tradition holds that Balthazar was the name of one of the Biblical wise men.  Thought to be a Arabian scholar, Balthazar presented Jesus and his family with a gift of myrrh, a tree resin traditionally used in the embalming of the dead.   But enough of that depressing crap...let's make a drink!

Myrrh has a very complex scent, described by some as smelling of earth and anise.  This informed our creation of Balthazar's cocktail. One liquor that has a prominent anise flavour as well as a strong tie to the earth (wormwood) is absinthe. And, of course, absinthe factors prominently into the classic Sazerac cocktail.  We decided to do a variation of the Sazerac by introducing a little chocolate flavour. 

Day 21: Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

The final spirit to visit Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.  Hooded and mute, the ghost arrives in a phantasmal mist and shows Scrooge a number of individuals rejoicing and pilfering belongings from a recently deceased individual.  The revelation that the man who died and of whom the others spoke so unkindly was, in fact, Scrooge himself causes his change in character.

Day 18: Bob Cratchit

Bob Cratchit doesn’t have the easiest life. He’s poor, his kid is sick and his boss is a jerk. Like the jerkiest jerk in Jerktown. But somehow, he pushes through. And if anyone needs a drink after work, it’s him!

Day 15: Virginia

Meet Virginia. A young girl with a question. A question for a newspaper. (Remember newspapers?) Virginia O'Hanlon asked her father if Santa Claus really existed. He famously replied, “if you see it in the [New York] Sun, it's so.” Taking her father at his word, she wrote a letter to the editor of The Sun. And a few days laters, one of the most famous editorials, assuring the young girl that there was a Santa, appeared in the paper. And a Christmas classic was born.

Day 12: Nutcracker Prince

The premise of The Nutcracker has got to be every child’s fantasy. What kid doesn’t want their favorite toy to come to life? Of course, today it would be Transformers, Barbie and He-Man action figures. Wait, do kids still play with action figures? Does anyone out there know what Transformers are? Hmmm...maybe we’re showing our age. Regardless, the Prince is the last character from The Nutcracker in our calendar.

Day 8: The Randy

One of our newest family Christmas traditions is the viewing of A Christmas Story, a story about nine year old Ralphie and the Christmas he longs for a Red Ryder BB Gun.  Like many of us, Ralphie has an annoying younger sibling, Randy.  Dressed in a red, overstuffed snowsuit, Randy tags along after his brother in his adventures to and from school.  Endearing but seemingly not too bright, Randy is the quintessential kid brother we get annoyed with but ultimately love (ahem says Kate).

Day 6: Yukon Cornelius

The first few days of our calendar highlighted some holiday characters who, in our opinion, made Santa's Naughty List. To varying degrees, their actions had negative consequences in each of their stories. But, it being Christmas, each character was eventually redeemed.

Now we move into our next group: the Loveable Lugs. These are guys who just can't seem to catch a break but are ultimately endearing for the way they keep plodding through life. Whether they're buffoonish, bumbling or not all together bright, we usually see some part of ourselves in them and really want them to win.

The holiday special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was rife with memorable supporting characters who, like Rudolph himself, felt like misfits. One such character was the boisterous prospector, Yukon Cornelius, who rescues Rudolph and his merry band. This peppermint-loving galoot helps to save the day (and the Abominable Snowman) while delivering some memorable lines (“Now I'm off to get my life-sustaining supplies: cornmeal and gun powder and hamhocks and guitar strings.”) How could you not help but love this lug of a guy?