A Bitter Spirit

Day 6: Dongzhi Festival

The final festival in this group of cocktails is the Dongzhi Festival.  Celebrated in China and east Asia, Dongzhi is a Winter Solstice festival that celebrates the lengthening of daylight hours and the increase in positive energy.  While not an official holiday, it is a special time for reuniting with family members.

As with many festivals, traditional foods play a pivotal role in Dongzhi. Glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) with various fillings and lamb dumplings are often eaten to recharge energy during the long, cold winter. While lamb is delicious, we decided that a mutton infusion was not the best way to go with this cocktail. Instead, we started off with some Chinese spirits and then added some ginger and orange & summac spirits to come up with a distinct martini that is ready to recharge anyone's failing winter energy.

The Dongzhi Festival Cocktail

• 1 part - Chinese Rice/Grain baijiu (we used Red Star ER GUO TOU)
• 1 part - Ginger Liqueur (we used Giffard's)
• 1 part - Manitou Orange & Sumac Liqueur

Combine ingredients into a shaker. Shake over ice. Pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a mandarin slice.

Cocktail Notes

• We'll be the first to admit that we know next to nothing about Chinese baijiu. We read up a bit on it (there is quite a good blog about baijiu called 300 Shots at Greatness). But the mysteries of baijiu still proved elusive. When we went to look for something appropriate at the liquor store here in BC (where you think there would be some good options), there were several bottles, usually at one of two price points: around $30 and around $200. We like you guys, but not that much. So, this is probably not the best choice if you're serious about getting to know baijiu.
• The Manitou is delightful and the sumac really brings out the sorghum in the baijiu. But I'm guessing that you could use another orange liqueur like Cointreau for a similar effect.
• Baijiu and lemon do not play together well. At least this particular baijiu.
• One of the other ideas we had for this was an infusion of osmanthus flowers or incorporating osmanthus paste or jelly. We couldn't find any in time, but that's something we'd still like to experiment with.

Day 5: Night of the Radishes

Ah regional festivals.  It's in these settings that you truly begin to uncover the traditions and history of a culture. There's mud throwing in Korea, baby jumping in Spain, or even hair freezing in the Yukon.  All a little quirky, all a little fun to be a spectator at.  One such Christmas related festival is the Night of the Radishes in Oaxaca, Mexico.  The radish was introduced to the area by the Spanish missionaries and progressively grew in popularity.  During the colonial period, vendors in the local Christmas markets decided to begin carving radishes into intricate sculptures and scenes in hopes of attracting more and more visitors.  Finally in 1897, the mayor of Oaxaca declared the first radish carving competition and the Night of the Radishes had begun.

For this cocktail, we went in what seems a logical direction: radish infused tequila.  That met with mixed results.  First, the radish actually smooths the tequila and lends a nice peppery finish.  However, there is a distinct, ahem, farty smell that is given off as the radishes infuse.  Mmmmm, tasty.  After kicking around several ideas (see the Cocktail Notes below), we decided to go with a Cadillac style margarita.  The Grand Marnier and St. Germaine fill in the gaps and add a nice grapefruit quality to the pepper radish.

The Night of the Radishes Cocktail

• 2 parts - radish-infused tequila (we used el Jimador)
• 1 part - Grand Marnier
• 1 part - St. Germain
• 1/2 part - Fresh Lime Juice

For the infusion: coarsely chop a small bunch of radishes (6-8) and place in 2 cups of tequila. Wait 2 days. Un-cap the jar. Release the Farts of Doom and Hellfire into the room (be careful not the drop the jar). Wait another day. Farts are less potent. Infusion starts to taste like radishes.

For the drink: combine ingredients into shaker. Shake over ice. Pour into cocktail glass. Garnish with thin wheel of lime.

Cocktail Notes

• In a weird "first crack" at this cocktail, we tried our tequila radish infusion and Bols Melon. It brings out the absolute worst in each of the two.
• We then tried it with Aperol, thinking that the bitter in the Aperol might be a nice boost to the radish with a hint of orange. In reality, no orange ..just lots of bitter. In a rando thought, Kate says "Let's add chocolate .. like a mole". Kate may have done too much tasting at this point. We tried Aztec Chocolate Bitters and Gifards Chocolate Syrup. This was not a good idea.
• Finally .. we brought out the big guns .. Grand Marnier. If anything will smooth this bad boy out and tame those radishes, it's Grand Marnier. Like in a Cadillac margarita.

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.