A Bitter Spirit

Day 2: Two Turtle Doves Cocktail

Today is Boxing Day - it's an official holiday in Canada. It's a big shopping day, but also a good day to do fun outdoorsy things. And also a good day, depending on the weather, to stay inside and cozy up with your new book, game, movie, etc that you got for Christmas. So, we wanted to make something warm and comforting to drink - whether you're enjoying it after a day on the slopes or after the emotional fuckery of a Muriel Barbery novel (ok, so Kate STILL hasn't gotten over Elegance of the Hedgehog).

We were having a family brainstorming session about what a Turtle Dove cocktail might be like .. and Rose shouted out "Make a Turtles cocktail, like the candy!" And so, our cocktail was born.

Two Turtle Doves Cocktail

• 1 part Frangelico
• 1 part creme de cacao
• bar spoon absinthe
• drop of thai green chili cocktail spice
• hot chocolate

Combine all ingredients except for hot chocolate and stir gently. Pour into mug. Top with hot chocolate. Stir and serve.

Cocktail Notes

• tried Apothecary The Darkness bitters - didn't emphasize the right things
• tried an infusion of the creme de cacao with red pepper flakes - flavour wasn't very deep, and not even much heat on the end
• tried green chartreuse in place of the absinthe - was weird with the Frangelico

 

Day 1: Partridge in a Pear Tree Cocktail

Well, it's that time of year again (finally!). As we mentioned in the previous post, instead of an advent calendar (24 days prior to Christmas), we're doing a 12 Days of Christmas cocktail series - the days between Christmas and Epiphany. We're using the 12 Days of Christmas carol lyrics as a jumping off point (we also considered Bob and Doug's alternative 12 Days lyrics as well), but aren't sticking TOO closely to them (except for Day 1, funnily enough) - there won't be any foie gras cocktails on Day 6 (or will there ...). Anyhoo .. welcome to Day 1!

Day 1 is also Christmas Day. So we wanted something light to sip while opening presents, snacking on Chex Mix and looking up the Nick Offerman version of the Yule Log on YouTube. Kate also has a pleasant memory of friends making a fruit-based cocktail on Christmas morning. Kate's idea was too much fruit for Drew .. so we decided to go with something a little lighter, but still fruit-oriented. And since the gift on Day 1 is a partridge in a pear tree - we went with .. PEAR! Using prosecco made this kind of like a pear mimosa!

Partridge in a Pear Tree Cocktail

• 2 parts pear juice concentrate (You probably could muddle your own pear here and add some simple syrup, but you can also just use some pear concentrate - to save time, so you can spend more of it drinking with your family). We used Ceres (but forgot to include it in the picture).
• 1 part rum
• 1/2 part pear brandy (we used one from a local (British Columbia) distillery, but you could put any crisp pear liqueur in here)
• 1 tsp fresh lime (even though we used pear concentrate, we will never skimp on fresh lemon or lime juice - nothing beats fresh citrus)
• 1 tsp cherry heering
• 1 tsp simple syrup
• few dashes chocolate bitters
• prosecco (or other sparkling wine)

Combine all ingredients except for sparkling wine and stir gently. Pour into champagne flute. Just before serving, top with sparkling wine.

Cocktail Notes

• If your pear brandy is too sharp or alcohol-y, the chocolate bitters will round it out nicely.
• We also tried Apothecary's Mystic Caravan bitters (smokey pear) which were quite nice as well.
• We used Myers's Rum Planters Punch version. This was nice and dark, but may not be to your liking. Feel free to sub in your favourite rum :)

Day 16: Clarice

Elizabeth has Mr. Darcy.  Ron has Hermoine.  Katniss has both Peeta and Gale.  And Rudolph has Clarice (and we're not talking about Jody Foster in Silence of the Lambs either!). Clarice is the fetching doe who doesn’t care that Rudolph’s honker is bright red beacon. She even defies her parents' orders and joins the search party for her crimson-beaked beau. For that,  she definitely earns a place on Santa’s Nice List and a spot on our advent calendar.

Day 14: Prancer

Prancer, in our minds, is Santa’s gayest reindeer. He’s there, working the sleigh like a champ, holding his own with all those straight reindeer. That’s just one of the reasons he’s on Santa’s Nice list. In fact, he’s beyond Nice. He’s Fabulous.

Day 10: Clara

First in our advent calendar, we explored some characters who were definitely on Santa’s Naughty list. Next, we had a group of four endearing doofuses (doofusi?) that we dubbed the Loveable Lugs. This next trio of cocktails is based one of the most popular pieces of holiday music and dance, the Nutcracker. In the story, a little girl named Clara is given a nutcracker who eventually comes to life. With her help, he defeats the Mouse King and the pair then whisk away to the Land of Sweets. There they are presented with delicious goodies from around the world as the inhabitants dance for them. Clara falls asleep having been crowned the ruler of the Land of Sweets with her Nutcracker Prince.

Day 7: The Griswold

National Lampoon’s Vacation movies introduced the world to the Griswolds, a typical American family lead by their bumbling father, Clark. Nearly everyone knows a guy like Clark (if they aren't a Clark themselves). He tries...so hard...to be the best father he can.  But whether it's planning a family vacation at an amusement park when the park is closed or putting the downpayment on a pool before getting his Christmas bonus, his best laid plans usually end up backfiring.

Day 2: The Cold Miser

The Cold Miser is usually one cool cucumber. While generally an affable chap, his archnemesis and brother, Heat Miser, definitely knows how to push his buttons and bring out his icy side. For centuries, according to The Year without Santa, the two brothers have been at war. Eventually, the two reconcile at the insistence of their mom, Mother Nature. But for their years of neverending hostilities (not to mention shooting at a pair of Santa’s elves!), both siblings get a well deserved timeout in the NAUGHTY category.