Snowed In? Here, Have a Drink…

Well, it happened.  Snow fell by the centimeter in the Seattle area and, predictably, everyone freaked out.  If you want my advice, which I assume you always do, the first thing you should do is go build a snowman or have a snowball fight with the neighborhood kids.  Enjoy the snow while it lasts.  After you’ve had your fun and pummeled the neighbor’s twelve year old with a snowball attack that could take down an adult grizzly bear, you should treat yourself to a nice warm drink… here are three great suggestions for a cold winter’s night.

Blood Orange Hot Toddy

Blood Orange Hot Toddy

10 oz Blood Orange Rachel’s Ginger Beer

2oz Bourbon

Star anise and clove garnish

—

Heat the ginger beer in a tea kettle pour into a heatproof mug, add whiskey and garnishes to taste.  It’s delicious but, full disclosure, I’ve yet to make to make this one at home (hence the bad photo at the RGB bar in Pike Place).

The Bourbon Furnace

The Bourbon Furnace

5oz hot apple cider

1.5oz Bourbon

0.5oz Allspice Dram

Apple slice (garnish)

—

Combine ingredients in a heatproof mug, sip, enjoy, relax.  Be warm.  See my Cocktail Christmas write up on this delicious drink here.

Never Dry Hot Toddy

4oz Hot Water

2oz Goslings Black Seal Rum

0.5oz Allspice Dram

0.5oz Simple Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Lemon wheel studded with cloves

—

The photo on the right is not my hot toddy.  It’s a fantasy of what this drink should look like.  The Never Dry Hot Toddy is not photogenic, in fact it comes out looking like dark black tea, but it is damn good. Like, really good.

It’s by far the best iteration of a hot toddy that I have ever even heard of.  That’s right, it’s the real deal.  I’m proud enough of this drink to put my name on it and send it out in batches to my friends.  It’s not only a great drink, it’s  a miracle cure.  It will get rid of your flu or cold.  It might even have other magic properties to it that haven’t been discovered yet.  Get on that.

Anyway, I hope you try these three great winter drinks and enjoy them on a cold day like today…preferably by the fire.  Even if that fire is an app on your iPhone.

Cheers!

Cocktail Christmas Day 6: The Curbside Cider

Imagine if you mixed hot spiced cider with cough medicine and a few drops of Listerine… or a sweet, apple-y, menthol cigarette… if you could create a combo of those two tastes and add a dash of camel urine, you’d have the Curbside Cider.

Needless to say, this was not a great success… here’s how you make this monstrosity.

Curbside Cider

1.5oz rye whiskey

3/4oz St. Germaine

1/4oz Fernet Branca

4oz apple cider (hot)

Mix it all together in a heatproof mug.  Sip.  Regret your decision.  Sip again.  Cringe.  Hang head in shame.

This drink is made with an extremely popular ingredient with hipsters and the crowd of bartenders who wear arm garters, ironic mustaches and suspenders and refer to themselves as “mixologists.”  Fernet Branca is made with a secret recipe of at least 40 barks, roots, spices and herbs.  And you all know that I am a big fan of anything made of bark…

I’m willing to try another drink with this ingredient but I am pretty sure that the popularity of this “Italian Digestivo” is strictly hipster nonsense.

I’m going to go have a bologna, pickles and honey sandwich… to get this taste out of my mouth.  Ugh, hipster nonsense.

St. Germaine on the other hand is divine.  It is a super bougie French liqueur made of elderflowers that tastes of delicious fruits like peach, orange, grapefruit and pears.  It’s usually mixed with white wine (sparkling or otherwise).  It’s a bit funky in this drink but overall I like it.

Cheers to another day… another drink.

Cocktail Christmas Day 2: The Bourbon Furnace

Almost by magic, the Seattle skies opened up the moment that I walked in the door this evening.  Of course, I still live in an early 20th century brick apartment building with big single pane windows.  This makes for a FREEZING apartment when I come home.  Drafts are our constant companions and cozy sweaters and slippers are a necessity in our home.  It’s days like today that are perfect for this delicious, warming cocktail.

The 2nd drink in my Cocktail Christmas 2013 is the Bourbon Furnace.  I must admit that I stole this recipe from another great Seattle cocktail blog but it was so great it had to be shared with all of you.

The Bourbon Furnace

Bourbon Furnace

5oz Apple Cider (hot)

1.5oz Bourbon of your choice

0.5oz Allspice Dram

Apple slice (optional garnish)

I was freezing walking in the door today after making the trek up the hill from work… I am now toasty warm and enjoying writing this post sans pants.  This pants-less freedom is brought to you by the Bourbon Furnace.

The apple cider makes up the majority of the drink so I wouldn’t go with anything too sweet.  We used an unfiltered, organic brand and it blended quite nicely.  You can use your favorite bourbon in this drink, I used Willet Pot Still which features some spicy notes on the finish.  It was perfect… but any bourbon will do in this drink.  It’s pretty forgiving.

The exotic ingredient in this drink is Allspice Dram, also known as Pimento Dram, which is an allspice flavored liqueur originally made in Jamaica.  The brand I used is St. Elizabeth’s which is highly spiced and pretty sweet.  It is a strong taste so a little bit (0.5oz in this cocktail) goes a long way.  It adds flavors of allspice, brown sugar and a very nice warming feeling as it goes down.

Love this drink.

I’m going to settle into my couch, relax, and watch the Seahawks game with drink in hand.