A Bitter Spirit

Day 4: Yaldā Night

Next up in our Solstice or Festival of Light drinks, a cocktail celebrating Yaldā. What is Yaldā, you ask? To the tape (or, Wikipedia, in this case!) ...

Shab-e Yalda ("Yalda night" Persian: شب یلدا‎‎) is an Iranian festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year," that is, in the night of the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice. The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red colour in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life.

Now, we're not really fans of watermelon. But who doesn't love drinks with pomegranate!?!

Note: no poetry was read during the creation of this cocktail. You can decide for yourself if that is a good thing or a bad thing. 

The Yaldā Night Cocktail

• 1 part - Pomegranate Juice
• 2 parts - Brandy
• 1 part - Sea Buckthorn Liqueur from Okanagan Spirits
• 1/2 bar spoon - Pernod

Combine ingredients in shaker. Shake over ice. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds that Drew REALLY didn't want to dig out of the pomegranate but he did because he loves his sister. Have them immediately sink to the bottom of the glass so you can't see them (pro-tip: pomegranate seeds don't float). Feel secure in knowing that they are there, quietly imbuing the drink with their essence - much like Hafez imbues post-14th century Persian literature with the wisdom found in his poetry.

Cocktail Notes

• We started off thinking about this as a pomegranate sour. That didn't work out as planned. We tried with Poire William as well as another pear brandy plus lime. No.
• Then we thought about a variant on a cosmo. So we tried the Sea Buckthorn (which has a tart note) and East Van Vodka (which is slightly floral). Not enough deep notes.
• So we went with a variant on a sidecar - putting in brandy as the main spirit. Kept the Sea Buckthorn. And added a 1/2 barspoon of Pernod as a slight nod to Persia's anise-flavoured arak liquor. This combo worked quite well. We think it would be very good with grilled meats (and now we're craving kebobs!).

Day 3: Yule Log

Yule or Yuletide is, of course, a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide (of course!). Now, there are about a b'zillion Yule traditions (Yule boar, Yule goat, Yule hunts, Yule singing .. all kinds of Yule). But one of Kate's favourites is the Yule log. And perhaps, not surprisingly, not the Yule log that you burn on Christmas eve and if it goes out and you have to light it again, you're in for a year of bad luck.

Rather, the Yule log that is made of cake (obvi).

A Yule Log cake is a delightful confection made of sponge cake and chocolate buttercream. It is shaped and decorated like an actual log, often including small marzipan mushrooms.

We thought it would be tasty to recreate this flavour in a cocktail. But we also wanted to reference the actual burning Yule log. So how's about a smoky black tea infusion in creme de cacao with a hint of amaretto for the marzipan? 

The Yule Log Cocktail

• 1 part - Toasted Black Tea infused Creme de Cacao
• 1 part - Rum (we used Flor de Caña)
• 1 part - Amaretto (we used Disaronno)
• frothy or whipped cream

For the tea infusion: toast a tablespoon of black tea in cast iron pan until a nice aroma comes up. Maybe 10 minutes periodically tossing. Combine toasted tea with 1 cup of Creme de Cacao. Infuse for 1.5 to 2 hours.

For the cocktail: put ingredients into shaker over ice. Shake. Pour into a sipping glass. Top with frothy or whipped cream. Dust that with cocoa.

Cocktail Notes

• We also did an infusion with toasted black tea and cocoa nibs in the creme de cacao .. there's an extra bit of bitterness to it. Not bad, just a little more bitter - if that's your jam.
• We also considered Kahula (as a reference to the espresso flavour that is often in the icing on a yule log) or Frangelico in place of the Amaretto. We just liked the Amaretto best. 

Day 2: St. Lucy's Day

Continuing with Light Festivals, today's cocktail was inspired by St. Lucy's Day.  Originally associated with the Winter Solstice before all those calendar redos, St. Lucy's Day is celebrated on December 13.  Tradition holds that St. Lucy, wearing a candle-lit wreath, brought food into the catacombs to feed the refuges who were hiding there.  Each year, the celebration of St. Lucy's Day, particular in Scandinavia, marks the beginning of Christmastide. 

One of the traditions on this holiday is the making (and, of course eating!) of saffron buns.  These yeasty lussekatt are made with a little saffron bloomed in brandy and some raisins.   To reflect this, we infused some vodka (Absolut for the Scandinavian connection) with saffron and raisins.  To this infusion, we added some B & B to give some warmth, spice and sweetness.  Instead of making it a full drink, we decided that a shot would A. be something different for our calendar and B. if we flamed it, it would be reflective of the candles on St. Lucy's wreath (Holy imagery, Batman!).  We got the shot, but flamed out on the flaming as the vodka did not have a high enough proof!  Ah well, still a fun festive drink to celebrate with.

The St. Lucy Cocktail

• 1 part - Vodka infused with Saffron and Raisins
• 1 part - B&B

To make infusion: combine about 1/4 cup raisins and 2 tsp saffron strands with 1 cup of vodka. Let it sit for 2 days.

To make cocktail: combine ingredients in shaker over ice. Pour into glass.

If you want to make this a flaming shot, don't shake over ice.

Cocktail Notes

• We thought about trying currants as well as raisins. But we didn't have any and we were running out of time. If you try it with currants, let us know how it goes!
• Don't burn yourself.

Day 1: Diwali

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.

Welcome to our 2016 Advent Calendar

Well .. it's December 1st, fellow booze hounds. And you know what that means? Time for the Trgovac Cocktail Advent Calendar! We're doing full Advent this year - December 1 to 24.

We got off to a bit of a rough start (But it's booze, you say. You love booze!), but we're here, ready and currently 1 day ahead of schedule (oh, yeah, motherfuckers, we've made and photographed 2 DAYS!)

[Psst .. Kate .. this is a family friendly blog .. you might not want to say "motherfuckers". SHUT UP, I had a big sip of today's cocktail.]

Regarding the theme for this year .. Watch this (or at least the first few seconds):

No .. we're not doing only Jewish/Russian cocktails. Though .. tempting.

This year is all about about TRADITIONS!

And, because it's us, we have 4 sub themes:

1. Solstice or Festival of Light celebrations
2. Christmas Story Events
3. The Dark Side of Christmas
4. Christmas Day Around the World

OK, maybe it's a bit of a hodgepodge. But when you think about it .. aren't traditions a bit of a hodgepodge?

Go with it.

Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming Cocktail

Back at the beginning of December, I was chatting with our Mom and she asked "Are you doing your cocktail calendar again this year?" When I replied in the affirmative, she said "Well maybe you could make a nice punch. I'm always looking for a good punch to serve at parties." Since today is also Twelfth Night (and sadly the last day of this year's cocktail calendar), we thought that today's drink should be that nice punch! So here's one for you, Mom. You can make a glass or a batch.

Oh .. kind of like yesterday, this drink doesn't necessarily tie into drums or drummers .. but it's Twelfth Night, so that's pretty close.

 

Twelve Drummers Drumming Cocktail

• 4 parts Bourbon (we used Maker's Mark)
• 2 parts St. Germaine
• 2 parts grenadine
• 12 parts brewed tea (we used English Breakfast)
• 6 parts Limonata

Combine liquor, grenadine and tea. If you're serving by the glass, pour into individual glasses over ice and then top up with appropriate amount of Limonata. Garnish with an orange wheel and some loose pomegranate seeds.

If you're serving into a punch bowl, add the Limonata just before guests arrive to keep it bubbly. To fancy it up, add an ice ring to your punch bowl!

Cocktail Notes

• We used English Breakfast tea in this version; it was a smidge bitter. In the summer when we made bourbon slush, we used a bourbon vanilla tea; it was a little smoother and would probably work a little better. If you have some tea options, you can play around.

Day 11: Eleven Pipers Piping Cocktail

Hello, fellow cocktail drinkers.  Here we are at the penultimate cocktail in our Twelve Days of Christmas cocktail calendar.  For the cocktails thus far, we've made some connection to the given verse of the carol, whether it was a literal ingredient or inspired by the words or tone of the verse.  With this cocktail, we fully admit that the cocktail we made has nothing to do with the number 11, pipers or piping.  We found a recipe that adds olive oil to a brandy sour to make the cocktail a little deeper and richer in flavour.  We took that idea and riffed on it, making the sour out of a cherry and fig infused brandy.

Eleven Pipers Piping Cocktail

• 2 parts cherry and fig infused brandy (see cocktail notes below)
• 1/2 part lemon juice
• 3/4 part simple syrup
• 1 tsp good quality olive oil 
• 1 tsp egg white
• spritz of Pernod

Combine the brandy, lemon juice, simple syrup, olive oil and egg white in a cocktail shaker.  Dry shake for at least 20 seconds.  Add ice and shake until the cocktail is chilled.  Pour into a coupe glass and mist with Pernod.

Cocktail Notes

• For the brandy infusion, we used 1 cup of brandy, 1/4 a cup of dried cherries and 2 dried figs (roughly cut up).  Let that mixture set for at least 2 days to get the full flavour of the fruit in the brandy.
• The original recipe called for a mist of Herbsaint which we didn't have but found that Pernod married nicely with infused brandy.
• Make sure your olive oil is fresh!  We found out the hard way that some of the olive oil in the kitchen had turned.
• The dry shake is extremely important to help emulsify the ingredients together.  Without that, the cocktail won't taste like an integrated drink.

Day 10: Ten Lords a-Leaping Cocktail

“...to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Yep, you guessed it. THIS was our white whale.

It started off simply enough .. we thought "Hey, these lords, they probably want a good stiff drink after all that leaping. Let's give them something strong and (traditionally) manly. Let's start with a Blood and Sand and go from there." Aside from the obvious appeal that the original cocktail is from a bullfighter movie (talk about leaping!), it also uses whisky as a base. We try different booze bases to keep you, gentle reader, interested. After all, not everyone are the ardent bourbon-lovers like we are.

We tried several variations and combinations of Jameson Irish Whiskey (because the only scotch we had was Kate's birthday scotch, Glenmorangie with a Sauternes finish, and she'll be damned if she's putting that in a cocktail) with Lillet (instead of the sweet vermouth), orange juice, Cherry Heering, port (see cocktail note 1), Root, Fernet Branca and cranberry sauce (see cocktail note 2).

After multiple hours, we called it a day and resolved to start fresh on the 'morrow.

With a bourbon base.

Ten Lords a-Leaping Cocktail

• 2 parts bourbon (we used Buffalo Trace)
• 1 part Lillet
• 1 part Cherry Heering
• 1 tsp leftover cranberry sauce
• Apothecary Cherry Cedar Bitters

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake very well. Double strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a light twist of orange.

Cocktail Notes

1. We had a guest bartender attending during our first session. Part of the time we spent trying various ingredients to see if they would go together. One that surprised us was a 1:1 Lillet/port combo. VERY smooth. Our guest bartender, Marni, dubbed it "The Tipsy Mommy".
2. Jam cocktails are quite popular where Drew hails from (you go into a bar, choose a base spirit and a base jam, then they riff on it a bit and make you a tasty cocktail). We'd been wanting to try something like that. We had some cranberry sauce leftover from Christmas dinner, so we incorporated it. The sauce was homemade with real cranberries (hence the double straining); it also had maple syrup and Grand Mariner in it - so that may effect the taste of the cocktail, depending on what kind of cranberry sauce you use.

Day 9: Nine Ladies Dancing Cocktail

Some days, the process is easy. And some days, the process is hard. Once in every calendar, we run into our "white whale" - that cocktail that will just not coalesce into a tasty libation. Sometimes, it's because we don't have a clear idea of what we want (some might say it lacks a strong narrative thread) or sometimes it's because things just don't taste the way we thought they would. So a 20 minute fun exercise turns into a 3-hour, thousand glass-washing, tipsy tirade.

Fortunately, today's cocktail wasn't our white whale this year. This was probably one of the easiest to come together. For our dancing ladies, a pretty pink pomegranate margarita.

 

Nine Ladies Dancing Cocktail

• 2 parts pomegranate tequila
• 1 part amaretto (we used Sons of Vancouver limited edition, barrel-aged amaretto - I have bottle #17!)
• 1/2 part lime
• bar spoon of Campari

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker over ice. Shake well. Strain into cocktail glass. Serve with a cute lime twist.

Cocktail Notes

• We originally tried Tuaca, along with the tequila and amaretto - but it didn't add anything new.
• The Campari is surprisingly delightful.

Day 8: Eight Maids a-Milking Cocktail

Drew has a tendency to store up random bits of trivia much like squirrels stowing away nuts for the coming winter.  Kate has chosen to find it charming.  In researching the Twelve Days of Christmas, he latched on to a few "interesting" bits of knowlege.  Relevant to today's cocktail, eight maids a-milking, is the phrase "smooth as a milk maid's skin."  Prior to vaccines, the general public often had pock marked skin while milk maid's skin frequently remained unblemished.  This is due to the maids being exposed to the cow pox virus. Similar to chicken pox, cow pox doesn't leave the typical pock marks on the skin but does offer some immunity to other pock producing viruses.  Thus, smooth skin!  Fascinating...well, ok...not really, but  you just learned something and by now you're thirsty. (Kate's note - ewww)

For today's cocktail, we knew we wanted to make something creamy but not necessarily use milk or ice cream. Kate had recently seen this recipe from Lauren Mote for a "Chartreuse Milkshake" that she thought was nifty. We modded it into a flip; using the full egg in the cocktail makes it extra rich and velvety.  

Eight Maids a-Milking Cocktail

• 2 parts gin (we used Wallflower gin)
• 1 part creme de cacao
• 1 part green chartreuse
• 1/2 part orange juice
• 1/2 part lime juice
• 1/4 part simple syrup
• 1 egg
• Fee Brother's Black Walnut bitters
• martini glass

Combine all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and dry shake it for at least 20 seconds.  Add ice and shake until cold.  Double strain into a martini glass and top with grated zest and chocolate shavings.

Cocktail Notes

As mentioned above, this drink is a slight riff on a drink by Vancouver bartender and bitter maker, Lauren Mote.  We put in a full egg to up the richness and creaminess and added the black walnut bitters to enhance the chartreuse notes.