A Bitter Spirit

Day 9: Joseph's Admonition

The event in the Christmas Story that we are focusing our cocktail on today is what we are terming Joseph's Admonition.  Joseph figured out that Mary was pregnant with Jesus and was going to quietly divorce her.  In a dream, however, an angel appeared and said to Joseph, "Hold up there, Joseph.  Just calm the eff down.  The kid Mary is carrying is gonna be the saviour soooo just relax and go with it."  (No really.  That's verbatim.)  And Joseph did calm the eff down.  Well, after a drink he calmed down...at least in our minds.

For this cocktail, we envisioned a strong drink because after finding out that your new wife is pregnant with the son of god, you're gonna need a DRINK.  So we started first with a manly drink, a Manhattan with Maker's Mark for the bourbon.  We then added a touch of Art in the Age's Root to give it some bitterness and some complexity and a little Galliano to give some sweetness and accent the vanilla notes.  The result is a taste reminiscent of horehound candy, perfect for a guy who's basically been told, "Shut up and take your medicine."

The Admonition Cocktail

• 1 part - bourbon (we used Makers Mark)
• 1/2 part - Root
• 1/2 part - Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 part - Galiano
• 2 dashes - Peychaud Bitters

Combine ingredients except for bitters in shaker. Shake over ice. Pour over rocks in a rocks glass. Swirl in 2 dashes of Peychauds.

Cocktail Notes

• This went really smoothly. We started with Buffalo Trace bourbon, but it wasn't bite-y enough. So we switched to Makers. Done. Thanks, Joseph.

Day 8: The Annunciation

Our next cocktail in the Christmas Story Events series is the Annunciation. In biblical lore, the Annunciation is when the angel Gabriel visits Mary and breaks the news that she'll be carrying the Messiah. I know pregnant ladies aren't supposed to drink, but you tell me that if Gabriel showed up at the foot of your bed with that kind of news, you wouldn't have a good stiff drink? Jesus can handle it.

We wanted something celebratory (bubbles, anyone?) and also thought that the huckleberry we used in yesterday's drink, the Immaculate Conception, would provide a nice thru-line with the Christmas Story events that featured Mary. So, we've made a riff on a Kir Royale and a French 75. Think of this as a Nazareth 75.

The Annunciation Cocktail

• 1 part - Huckleberry Liqueur (we used Okanagan Spirits)
• 1 part - gin (we used Dillon's Unfiltered 22 - many thanks to Deuce who gave this to Kate as a birthday present this year!)
• Prosecco

Mix huckleberry and gin in a shaker over ice. Strain into a flute glass. Top with prosecco.

Cocktail Notes

• We originally had lemon bitters in the huckleberry/gin mix, but then when we added the prosecco, it flattened it out something fierce. We tried club soda - also terrible. And by this time, we'd had a lot of booze. And I suggested simple syrup. And then Drew called me an AMERICAN FOOD PRODUCER (implying that I think we should just add sugar and salt to everything). And then Rosemary started tweeting our drunken fight. And then Drew popped the top on the Cava (which was semi-sweet vs the brut prosecco). So we had to try that and it was so much better. But we didn't want to use Cava b/c we're using Cava in something later in this series. So we removed the bitters and tried it again with the prosecco. So much better.
• No more notes.

Day 7: Immaculate Conception

With today's cocktail, we say goodbye to the Solstice cocktails and start a group that we're calling the Christmas Story Events.  Basically, we chose a few significant events around Jesus's birth, and we're making a drink to celebrate it. (Drew - We might be a little buzzed from some cocktail testing so if some of this post is slightly incoherent, we're hoping you'll forgive us. #RealTalk | Kate - we did not choose the shepherds).

Today's cocktail focuses on the story of the Immaculate Conception. Many people think that the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus's virgin birth. Not so! The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being born without Original Sin. So according to the Bible (well, Catholic tradition), St. Anne and St. Joachim (Mary's parents) totally did it and Mary was the fruit of that union, she was born a pure (sans sin) vessel and could therefore, later in her life, carry and bear the Messiah.

For this drink, we decided we wanted something boozy yet something lady like. Kate had in mind something similar to an American in Paris. We had several of Okanagan Spirits' Fruit Liqueurs lying around and decided to try some of those. Huckleberry seemed to work the best (and such a pretty colour!!). That, mixed with some bourbon and yellow Chartreuse made a delightful sipping cocktail.

The Immaculate Conception Cocktail

• 2 parts - Bourbon (we used Makers Mark)
• 1 part - Yellow Chartreuse
• 1 part - Huckleberry Liqueur from Okanagan Spirits
• few dashes - Dillion's DSB bitters (think artisan Angostura bitters)

Combine ingredients in a shaker. Shake over ice. Serve on the rocks in a rocks glass.

Cocktail Notes

• Tried Aztec Chocolate bitters from Fees Brothers - flattened it
• Tried Heliotrope bitters from Apothecary - good - Drew actually liked this the best
• Tried Latin Lime bitters from Apothecary - flattened it and and takes the good sting out of the Makers
• Tried Lemon bitters from Fees Brothers - takes away the good character