The best way to keep warm this holiday season is with a festive twist on the nog and toddy.
Rich, frothy homemade eggnog can be so decadent, you’ll likely forget about dessert.
And hot toddies are so easy — they’re nothing more than booze plus hot water plus sweetener. They’re just with the mixologist ordered!
Eleven pipers piping hot
2ounces apple juice
11/2ounces Gosling’s Black Seal rum
11/2ounces clove water (see note)
1/2teaspoon brown sugar
1/2teaspoon spiced simple syrup
1ounce cream
Stir ingredients, then heat with the cappuccino wand of espresso machine until hot and frothy. Pour into mug or heatproof glass. Garnish with cinnamon.
Note: For clove water, steep 10 cloves in 4 tablespoons hot water for 1 hour.
Makes 1 drink.
Patrice Brault and Oliver Greenlaw, Five
Shades of Grey
11/2ounces bourbon
1/2ounce Aperol
1/4ounce spiced cherry syrup (recipe follows)
1/2ounce lemon juice
21/2ounces hot water
Combine all ingredients except water in a shaker; shake without ice. Add hot water and pour into preheated glass. Garnish with a pinch of Earl Grey tea and a lemon twist.
Makes 1 drink.
Gabriel Lowe, Locanda
Spiced cherry syrup
1pound garnet cherries
1quart honey
12 ounces brandy
2tablespoons cloves
2tablespoons cinnamon
Crush half the cherries, combine all ingredients and let rest for 2-4 weeks. Strain and bottle.
Note: Makes a huge batch. Feel free to divide the recipe as needed.
Southpaw’s Tugboat Egg Nog
1ounce simple syrup
11/2ounces bourbon, whiskey or scotch
1/2ounce spiced rum, such as Sailor Jerry
3/4ounce amaretto (or any nut, coffee or chocolate liquor)
1egg
1ounce whole milk
1coffee bean
To make Southpaw simple syrup, mix equal parts cane sugar and boiling water; stir until sugar dissolves. Add baking spices such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves, allspice and orange peel in small, equal proportions to the mixture. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let cool completely; strain out solids.
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, adjusting the amount of simple syrup to the sweetness of the spirits used. This recipe is built for a 100-proof whiskey and a drier spiced rum. If your spirits are sweeter, decrease the simple syrup to 3/4 ounce.
Dry shake (without ice) vigorously for 10-15 seconds. Take care to secure the shaker with both hands, as the mixture will want to escape as pressure builds.
Add ice and shake vigorously for another 10-15 seconds.
Double strain using a Hawthorne and a mesh strainer into a glass with a 9- to 10-ounce capacity. Grate coffee bean on top.
Makes 1 drink.
Edward Calhoun, Southpaw
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