A Bitter Spirit

Author: Drew

Day 9: Joseph’s Admonition
The event in the Christmas Story that we are focusing our cocktail on today is what we are terming Joseph’s Admonition. Joseph figured out that Mary was pregnant with Jesus and was going to quietly divorce her. In a dream, however, an angel appeared and said to Joseph, “Hold up there, Joseph. Just calm the eff down. The kid Mary is carrying is gonna be the saviour soooo just relax and go with it.” (No really. That’s verbatim.) And Joseph did calm the eff down. Well, after a drink he calmed down…at least in our minds.

For this cocktail, we envisioned a strong drink because after finding out that your new wife is pregnant with the son of god, you’re gonna need a DRINK. So we started first with a manly drink, a Manhattan with Maker’s Mark for the bourbon. We then added a touch of Art in the Age’s Root to give it some bitterness and some complexity and a little Galliano to give some sweetness and accent the vanilla notes. The result is a taste reminiscent of horehound candy, perfect for a guy who’s basically been told, “Shut up and take your medicine.”

The Admonition Cocktail
- 1 part – bourbon (we used Makers Mark)
- 1/2 part – Root
- 1/2 part – Sweet Vermouth
- 1/2 part – Galiano
- 2 dashes – Peychaud Bitters
Combine ingredients except for bitters in shaker. Shake over ice. Pour over rocks in a rocks glass. Swirl in 2 dashes of Peychauds.

Cocktail Notes
- This went really smoothly. We started with Buffalo Trace bourbon, but it wasn’t bite-y enough. So we switched to Makers. Done. Thanks, Joseph.
December 9, 2016
Day 7: Immaculate Conception
With today's cocktail, we say goodbye to the Solstice cocktails and start a group that we're calling the Christmas Story Events. Basically, we chose a few significant events around Jesus's birth, and we're making a drink to celebrate it. (Drew – We might be a little buzzed from some cocktail testing so if some of this post is slightly incoherent, we're hoping you'll forgive us. #RealTalk | Kate – we did not choose the shepherds).

Today's cocktail focuses on the story of the Immaculate Conception. Many people think that the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus's virgin birth. Not so! The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being born without Original Sin. So according to the Bible (well, Catholic tradition), St. Anne and St. Joachim (Mary's parents) totally did it and Mary was the fruit of that union, she was born a pure (sans sin) vessel and could therefore, later in her life, carry and bear the Messiah.

For this drink, we decided we wanted something boozy yet something lady like. Kate had in mind something similar to an American in Paris. We had several of Okanagan Spirits' Fruit Liqueurs lying around and decided to try some of those. Huckleberry seemed to work the best (and such a pretty colour!!). That, mixed with some bourbon and yellow Chartreuse made a delightful sipping cocktail.

The Immaculate Conception Cocktail
- 2 parts – Bourbon (we used Makers Mark)
- 1 part – Yellow Chartreuse
- 1 part – Huckleberry Liqueur from Okanagan Spirits
- few dashes – Dillion's DSB bitters (think artisan Angostura bitters)
Combine ingredients in a shaker. Shake over ice. Serve on the rocks in a rocks glass.

Cocktail Notes
- Tried Aztec Chocolate bitters from Fees Brothers – flattened it
- Tried Heliotrope bitters from Apothecary – good – Drew actually liked this the best
- Tried Latin Lime bitters from Apothecary – flattened it and and takes the good sting out of the Makers
- Tried Lemon bitters from Fees Brothers – takes away the good character
December 7, 2016
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.
December 6, 2016
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.
December 5, 2016
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!).
December 4, 2016
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.
December 3, 2016
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.
December 2, 2016
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.
December 1, 2016
Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming Cocktail
Back at the beginning of December, I was chatting with our Mom and she asked "Are you doing your cocktail calendar again this year?" When I replied in the affirmative, she said "Well maybe you could make a nice punch. I'm always looking for a good punch to serve at parties." Since today is also Twelfth Night (and sadly the last day of this year's cocktail calendar), we thought that today's drink should be that nice punch! So here's one for you, Mom. You can make a glass or a batch.

Oh .. kind of like yesterday, this drink doesn't necessarily tie into drums or drummers .. but it's Twelfth Night, so that's pretty close.

Twelve Drummers Drumming Cocktail
- 4 parts Bourbon (we used Maker's Mark)
- 2 parts St. Germaine
- 2 parts grenadine
- 12 parts brewed tea (we used English Breakfast)
- 6 parts Limonata
Combine liquor, grenadine and tea. If you're serving by the glass, pour into individual glasses over ice and then top up with appropriate amount of Limonata. Garnish with an orange wheel and some loose pomegranate seeds.

If you're serving into a punch bowl, add the Limonata just before guests arrive to keep it bubbly. To fancy it up, add an ice ring to your punch bowl!

Cocktail Notes
- We used English Breakfast tea in this version; it was a smidge bitter. In the summer when we made bourbon slush, we used a bourbon vanilla tea; it was a little smoother and would probably work a little better. If you have some tea options, you can play around.
January 5, 2016
Day 11: Eleven Pipers Piping Cocktail
Hello, fellow cocktail drinkers. Here we are at the penultimate cocktail in our Twelve Days of Christmas cocktail calendar. For the cocktails thus far, we've made some connection to the given verse of the carol, whether it was a literal ingredient or inspired by the words or tone of the verse. With this cocktail, we fully admit that the cocktail we made has nothing to do with the number 11, pipers or piping. We found a recipe that adds olive oil to a brandy sour to make the cocktail a little deeper and richer in flavour. We took that idea and riffed on it, making the sour out of a cherry and fig infused brandy.

Eleven Pipers Piping Cocktail
- 2 parts cherry and fig infused brandy (see cocktail notes below)
- 1/2 part lemon juice
- 3/4 part simple syrup
- 1 tsp good quality olive oil
- 1 tsp egg white
- spritz of Pernod
Combine the brandy, lemon juice, simple syrup, olive oil and egg white in a cocktail shaker. Dry shake for at least 20 seconds. Add ice and shake until the cocktail is chilled. Pour into a coupe glass and mist with Pernod.

Cocktail Notes
- For the brandy infusion, we used 1 cup of brandy, 1/4 a cup of dried cherries and 2 dried figs (roughly cut up). Let that mixture set for at least 2 days to get the full flavour of the fruit in the brandy.
- The original recipe called for a mist of Herbsaint which we didn't have but found that Pernod married nicely with infused brandy.
- Make sure your olive oil is fresh! We found out the hard way that some of the olive oil in the kitchen had turned.
- The dry shake is extremely important to help emulsify the ingredients together. Without that, the cocktail won't taste like an integrated drink.
January 4, 2016

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