POSTS TAGGED : Christmas

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 5: Bijou

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 5: Bijou

Like a sparkling glass Christmas ornament, the Bijou shines bright with little extra adornment. Well put-together, it’s a cocktail that makes use of a combination of spirits with colours representative of precious diamonds and emeralds, immediately putting the drinker in a place of grace and elegance as its gleaming green hue illuminates from the glass.

It’s a polished cocktail for those looking to appreciate sophisticated flavours and aromas  such as juniper, anise, and orange.

Bijou

This jewelled cocktail is traditionally made with three spirits: gin, green chartreuse, and sweet vermouth. I’ve changed the formula for the Crustcrumbs office party because I wanted this cocktail to be completely emerald in colour so as to better embody the unabashed sparkle of Christmas. It’s a joyous alteration. The Lillet Blanc is a little less sweet than the vermouth would be and adds its own pleasant aromas of orange. I’ve opted for no garnish in our version, though a cocktail cherry or orange peel (not both, please) would be a welcome addition.

Bijou

Bijou

makes 1 cocktail

1 oz Plymouth gin
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6

In a mixing glass filled with ice, add the gin, Chartreuse, and Lillet. Stir to chill. In a chilled coupe add a dash of orange bitters to the empty glass then pour the cocktail over top.

The Ladies of Crustcrumbs

That brings us to an end of the 5 Days of Cocktails and we’re feeling completely polluted. Soon it’ll be time to get the turkey in the oven! Thank you to all of our incredible Mad Men models – we obviously couldn’t have made it through the week without you.

Related posts:

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 3: Widow’s Kiss 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 2: Black Manhattan 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 4: Bourbon Sour 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 1: County Nog

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 3: Widow’s Kiss

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 3: Widow’s Kiss

Let things get weird with an old flame at the holiday office party as you sip this one under the mistletoe. The Widow’s Kiss is an old cocktail but those just learning to drink can take comfort in its gentle, supple, and smoothly spiced aromas. What’s old is new again and with its generous doses of herbal liqueurs and French brandy, you’ll feel first-class as you lean in for another nip of this feisty elixir.

Widow's Kiss

Make no mistake, this is a hard edge cocktail but it’s subtle undertones of apple, honey and saffron add the allure of a feminine touch.

Cocktail recipes are regularly adapted depending on the personal preference of the mixer and the drinker, and as such, you may find countless variations for the Widow’s Kiss. The standard from what I can tell, includes Calvados, Yellow Chartreuse, and Bénédictine. Almost always, these three ingredients are represented in different proportions. Though I love herbal liqueurs, Bénédictine included, I thought I’d like to provide a variation that leaves it out and replaces it with Green Chartreuse, partly because I’m on a bit of a Chartreuse tear, but also because I thought it’d be nice to provide an option that doesn’t have you stocking your bar with ingredients you’ll seldom be using. Green Chartreuse is more powerful than the Yellow both in flavour and in alcohol – I love it but sometimes it doesn’t love me back – and thus works as an adequate substitute for the Bénédictine.

The orange peel garnish is another variation and completely optional. In the winter and especially around Christmas, I like the flavour an orange peel provides in my drink and if you wanted to go all out for your party, you could flame it as directed below.

Widow's Kiss

Widow’s Kiss

makes 1 cocktail

2 oz Calvados
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
orange peel, for garnish (optional)

In a mixing glass filled with ice, add the Calvados, Yellow and Green Chartreuse, and bitters. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Rub the orange peel around the rim of the glass before tossing the peel in the drink.

If you wanted to get a bit showy, you could flame the orange peel by pinching the peel above the drink while holding a match close to it, creating a quick and dramatic flame as the orange oils catch fire before hitting the drink.

Mad Men Office Party

Huge thanks to the hilarious Sara Hennessey for taking on the persona of the Widow’s Kiss for us! You can check out Sara’s tour schedule here. Go see her live! She’s a terrific woman!

Sara and the Nutcracker

Related posts:

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 5: Bijou 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 4: Bourbon Sour 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 2: Black Manhattan 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 1: County Nog

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 1: County Nog

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 1: County Nog

In honour of all of those Christmas office parties cluttering up your social calendar this month, we’re celebrating inappropriate boozy get togethers with our ultimate Mad Men-stlye booze fest and the 5 Days of Cocktails! These are our favourite cocktails to celebrate the end of the year. Some drinks we have all year-round and others, like the County Nog, we only bring out for Christmas parties when we’re pining for spiced Christmas flavours.

5 Days of Cocktails

For those not accustomed to especially boozy cocktails (I prefer mine to come in at 3 ounces), here is a little reminder of restraint coming from Dorothy Parker:

“I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.”

With that out of the way, let’s get on to the party!

County Nog

Eggnog enthusiasts have all but ruined eggnog for everyone else. To them it either has to be a heavy custard affair that’s more appropriately eaten with a spoon or it’s the cartons of the prefab stuff, sometimes without booze and even worse, though I admire their greedy-passion for it, steamed into their morning latte.

County Nog

When I think of drinking eggnog, I think it’s got to be cold, boozy and in small doses so that it leaves me wanting more. It’s what to drink when you’re not really feeling like Christmas because of it’s powerful ability to evoke the Christmas spirit. It’s what Clark Griswold pours into his Christmas moose mug in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and is the iconic drink for taking people past the point of Christmas cheer and into something a bit merrier. This Christmas sipper is for the well-intentioned Christmas romantic.

County Nog

This recipe is based almost exactly on a recipe that appeared in the Globe and Mail two years ago and it comes from one of Toronto’s best mixologists, Aja Sax, currently bar manager of The Huntsman Tavern. It was created while she was working at The County General restaurant, hence the name “County Nog”.

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 oz bourbon (I use Bulleit)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz Earl Grey tea, steeped and cooled
1/2 oz cinnamon simple syrup
1 egg yolk
dash of Scrappy’s cardamom bitters (optional)
whole nutmeg for grating

In a shaker add the bourbon, Grand Marnier, Earl Grey tea, cinnamon syrup, egg yolk and bitters. Shake for 10 seconds, then add ice to fill the shaker and shake for an additional 20 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and using a microplane or other fine grater, grate the nutmeg over the top for a garnish.

Cinnamon Simple Syrup

makes 500ml syrup

250ml cold water
250g granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring a little to ensure the sugar dissolves evenly. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, remove from the heat and cover for 20 minutes to allow the cinnamon to further infuse into the syrup. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use within 1 month.

 

Related posts:

5 Days of Cocktails – Day 4: Bourbon Sour 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 2: Black Manhattan 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 5: Bijou 5 Days of Cocktails – Day 3: Widow’s Kiss