A Bitter Spirit

Author: Kate

  • Day 8: The Annunciation

    Our next cocktail in the Christmas Story Events series is the Annunciation. In biblical lore, the Annunciation is when the angel Gabriel visits Mary and breaks the news that she'll be carrying the Messiah. I know pregnant ladies aren't supposed to drink, but you tell me that if Gabriel showed up at the foot of your bed with that kind of news, you wouldn't have a good stiff drink? Jesus can handle it.

    We wanted something celebratory (bubbles, anyone?) and also thought that the huckleberry we used in yesterday's drink, the Immaculate Conception, would provide a nice thru-line with the Christmas Story events that featured Mary. So, we've made a riff on a Kir Royale and a French 75. Think of this as a Nazareth 75.

    The 'Annunciation' Cocktail - ABitterSpirit.com

    The Annunciation Cocktail

    Mix huckleberry and gin in a shaker over ice. Strain into a flute glass. Top with prosecco.

    The 'Annunciation' Cocktail Ingredients - ABitterSpirit.com

    Cocktail Notes

    • We originally had lemon bitters in the huckleberry/gin mix, but then when we added the prosecco, it flattened it out something fierce. We tried club soda – also terrible. And by this time, we'd had a lot of booze. And I suggested simple syrup. And then Drew called me an AMERICAN FOOD PRODUCER (implying that I think we should just add sugar and salt to everything). And then Rosemary started tweeting our drunken fight. And then Drew popped the top on the Cava (which was semi-sweet vs the brut prosecco). So we had to try that and it was so much better. But we didn't want to use Cava b/c we're using Cava in something later in this series. So we removed the bitters and tried it again with the prosecco. So much better.
    • No more notes.

  • Welcome to our 2016 Advent Calendar

    Day00-IntroImage-SMWell .. it's December 1st, fellow booze hounds. And you know what that means? Time for the Trgovac Cocktail Advent Calendar! We're doing full Advent this year – December 1 to 24.

    We got off to a bit of a rough start (But it's booze, you say. You love booze!), but we're here, ready and currently 1 day ahead of schedule (oh, yeah, motherfuckers, we've made and photographed 2 DAYS!)

    [Psst .. Kate .. this is a family friendly blog .. you might not want to say "motherfuckers". SHUT UP, I had a big sip of today's cocktail.]

    Regarding the theme for this year .. Watch this (or at least the first few seconds):

    No .. we're not doing only Jewish/Russian cocktails. Though .. tempting.

    This year is all about about TRADITIONS!

    And, because it's us, we have 4 sub themes:

    1. Solstice or Festival of Light celebrations
    2. Christmas Story Events
    3. The Dark Side of Christmas
    4. Christmas Day Around the World

    OK, maybe it's a bit of a hodgepodge. But when you think about it .. aren't traditions a bit of a hodgepodge?

    Go with it.

  • 2015 Cocktail Advent Calendar

      Day 1: Partridge in a Pear Tree
      Day 2: Two Turtle Doves
      Day 3: Three French Hens
      Day 4: Four Calling (Colly) Birds
      Day 5: Five Gold Rings
      Day 6: Six Geese a-Laying
      Day 7: Seven Swans a-Swimming
      Day 8: Eight Maids a-Milking
      Day 9: Nine Ladies Dancing
    Day 10: Ten Lords a-Leaping
    Day 11: Eleven Pipers Piping
    Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming

    Instead of an Advent Calendar (Dec 1 to 24), we did a 12 Days of Christmas (Dec 25 to Jan 6 – Christmas to Epiphany) cocktail calendar in 2015!

  • 2014 Cocktail Advent Calendar

      1-Dec: The Coventry Carol
      2-Dec: Fum, Fum, Fum
      3-Dec: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
      4-Dec: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
      5-Dec: Mary’s Boy Child
      6-Dec: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
      7-Dec: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
      8-Dec: The Holly and the Ivy
      9-Dec: Breath of Heaven
    10-Dec: Gabriel’s Message
    11-Dec: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
    12-Dec: Seven Joys of Mary
    13-Dec: The Cherry Tree Carol
    14-Dec: O Tannenbaum
    15-Dec: Good King Wenceslas
    16-Dec: Here We Come a’Wassailing
    17-Dec: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
    18-Dec: On Christmas Day
    19-Dec: Feliz Navidad
    20-Dec: Mele Kalikimaka
    21-Dec: Christmas Song
    22-Dec: Tennessee Christmas
    23-Dec: (It Must Have Been Ol’) Santa Claus
    24-Dec: HAHAHAHA .. did we forget to publish this one?!

  • 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!

    The 'Partridge in a Pear Tree' Cocktail - ABitterSpirit.com

    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.

    The 'Partridge in a Pear Tree' Cocktail Ingredients - ABitterSpirit.com

    Cocktail Notes

  • Welcome to our 2015 Cocktail Advent Calendar

    Well, it's time for our annual Cocktail Advent Calendar! And the theme is … our schedules are crazy. BUT, there is some good news. Instead of an Advent Calendar (Dec 1 to 24), we're doing the 12 Days of Christmas (Dec 25 to Jan 6 – Christmas to Epiphany)!

    So basically, check back in 24 days for your first sibling rivalry cocktail fix.

    But in the mean time, here are a few choice links from the last two years:

    SM-12Days

  • Day 7: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

    Our cocktail today is inspired by the carol, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, a hymn that Drew often used to sing in his university choir. There are two origin stories of this carol. One – that it references the apple tree in Song of Solomon which is often interpreted as a metaphor for Christ "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." The second – that it comes from an attempt to Christianize several English winter season songs that were often used in wassailing the apple orchards.

    The Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Cocktail - ABitterSpirit.com

    We like the second origin story better.

    Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Cocktail
    1/2 an apple (a good crisp fall apple – we used a Pink Lady)
    1 part bourbon (you want something smooth – we used Trace – we tried Maker's Mark, but it was too fiery)
    1 park calvados (we used Père Magloire)
    1 part Sortilège (a Canadian whiskey & maple syrup liqueur)
    1 dash Apothecary's General Ambrose's Bitters
    fresh egg
    ice
    random cool glass

    • Coarsely chop apple into shaker. Muddle it.
    • Add alcohol to shaker. Shake to combine. No ice.
    • Strain it.
    • In a clean shaker, add the strained liquid and the egg – no ice.
    • Dry shake for a good long while (listen for a change in viscosity). Once you hear that, add the ice in and continue to shake.
    • Since this is a flip, it will probably take longer to shake than you think it will.

    The Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Cocktail Ingredients - ABitterSpirit.com

    Cocktail Notes
    When you're making a lot of cocktails there's always one that turns out to be your white whale. It just doesn't usually happen this early in the process. Turns out apple is a tricky flavour profile. At one point we thought, to hell with this, let's just make a Sour Puss Green Apple Martini. But we persevered.

    First draft: brandy, Apfelkorn and Giffard's Ginger of the Indies. Hmm .. that base ain't right. Is it the ginger? Must be the ginger – ditch the ginger. (Spoiler alert: it wasn't the ginger).

    Second draft: brandy and Apfelkorn. We need a bitter element. We tried Fernet Branca (No! HELL no!!); Dubonnet (No – tastes like spoiled vegetables); Suze (better, but you lose the apple so what's the point); B&B (no, terrible).

    Third draft: bourbon (we used Trace), calvados and Apfelkorn. OK, pretty good base – moving to bourbon was a good idea. Needs some sweet. B&B (no); Tuaca (no).

    ARGH!

    Here's where Drew says "Eff it. I'm muddling an apple."

    Fourth draft: Muddled apple, bourbon (again, the Trace Рit is really smooth), calvados (this is so nice and subtle) and Sortil̬ge (maple to the rescue!). OK, this is a great base. Ditching the Appelkorn was a good idea. Let's finish it with some bitters: Apothecary Smokey Pear (Drew's preference Рworks well); Apothecary Latin Lime (Kate's preference Рbrings out the right apple notes); Apothecary General Ambrose (the one we can agree on).

    And that's how you concoct a cocktail.

    Oh, if you don't want to muddle an apple, you can try plain fresh apple juice. We did in a 1 part ratio. It was not as apple-y. Fresh ingredients are better, kids. It might taste OK with a double part of apple juice.

    Listen Along

  • Day 6: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

    Today's carol is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel … one of Kate's favourite carols. This carol is really old; or, people think it is. There is an argument to be made that it has its origins (at least its melodic ones) in a series of "antiphons" or chants that were sung by monks in the eighth century. But the carol in its current form didn't make an appearance until the mid-to-late 1600s when it was assembled by a Jesuit hymnographer and incorporated into a Psalter.

    The O Come, O Come Emmanuel Cocktail - ABitterSpirit.com

    When planning our cocktail around this carol, we noted "Super old. Maybe some monks." (seriously, check the spreadsheet). And what is super-old and monk-influenced? Chartreuse. But we also wanted to keep it simple; monks don't go in for frou-frou drinks. And what's more simple than a martini? So this carol's cocktail is a little riff on a Chartreuse martini.

    O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Cocktail
    2 oz vodka (we used Grey Goose)
    1 oz genever (we used Boomsma young genever)
    bar spoon of Creme de Cacao
    Green Chartreuse (for a rinse)
    Cocktail Glass
    Ice

    Pour chartreuse into cocktail glass and coat sides of glass. Pour out (or drink) excess. Combine vodka, genever and Creme de Cacao in cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a couple cocoa nibs.

    The O Come, O Come Emmanuel Cocktail Ingredients - ABitterSpirit.com

    The astute among you may notice that the Chartreuse in this picture is yellow, not green. The recipe uses green. We were drunk when we took this picture.

    Cocktail Notes
    Before adding the Creme de Cacao, to get the chocolatey flavour, we tried a couple of different bitters. Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters didn't work at all. Apothecary "The Darkness" Bitters were good, but not quite what we were looking for. So we went with the straight-forward Creme de Cacao and it was perfect.

    Listen Along

  • 2013 Cocktail Advent Calendar

    Following are all the cocktails we created for our 2013 Cocktail Advent Calendar. The theme that year was Christmas Characters.

      1-Dec: Heat Miser
      2-Dec: Cold Miser
      3-Dec: Ebenezer Scrooge
      4-Dec: Jack Frost
      5-Dec: Jack Skellington
      6-Dec: Yukon Cornelius
      7-Dec: The Griswold
      8-Dec: The Randy
      9-Dec: The Grinch
    10-Dec: The Clara
    11-Dec: The Sugar Plum Fairy
    12-Dec: The Nutcracker Prince
    13-Dec: The Karen
    14-Dec: The Prancer
    15-Dec: The Virginia O’Hanlon
    16-Dec: Clarice the Reindeer
    17-Dec: The Hermey
    18-Dec: The Bob Cratchit
    19-Dec: Ghost of Christmas Past
    20-Dec: Ghost of Christmas Present
    21-Dec: Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
    22-Dec: The Kaspar
    23-Dec: The Balthazar
    24-Dec: The Melchior

  • Day 1: The Coventry Carol

    Welcome to Advent and to Day 1 of our 2014 Cocktail Advent Calendar. The themes of the carols in the first week of the calendar all revolve around the Christ Child.  The first carol on our list is The Coventry Carol, sometimes known as Lully, Lullay Thou Little Tiny Child.  It dates from around the 14th century and has regularly been performed in nativity plays in Coventry, England since at least the 1500's. In the plays, the carol is sung by three Bethlehem women who enter on stage immediately after Joseph has been warned by an angel to take his family to Egypt to avoid Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents.

    Kate loves this carol largely for the melody which incorporates a Picardy third (a crazy awesome mysterious chord) considered both the most musically and emotionally consonant chord (take that, flattened sixth chord!).

    The Coventry Carol Cocktail - ABitterSpirit.com

    We wanted a drink that would match the mysterious and resonant sound of this carol as well as play to its heritage in Coventry. One of the biggest discussions we had was whether we could make a drink that was good both cold (like Kate wanted it) and hot (like Drew preferred). So we decided to start with a rum base and build from there.

    The Coventry Carol Cocktail

    3 parts rum (we used Havana Club)
    1.5 parts Suze
    1/2 part fresh lemon juice
    1/4 part lavender syrup
    1/4 part lemongrass syrup

    Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake over ice. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a few lavender buds and a piece of candied ginger.

    The Coventry Carol Cocktail Ingredients - ABitterSpirit.com

    To make the hot version, pour the mixture into a mug or other heat-tolerant glass. Add 2 ounces of boiling water.

    The Coventry Carol Cocktail (Hot Version) - ABitterSpirit.com

    Cocktail Notes
    We were originally going to make this with Galliano instead of Suze, but the Galliano was sweeter than we wanted and without a bitter note. The Suze was perfect.

    The first version didn't have lemon juice, but it proved too sweet, so we added the lemon juice to freshen it up a bit. If you are not using fresh lemon juice in your cocktails (fresh lime juice, etc), you really need to start. Seriously. Why aren't you?

    We also did a version with only lavender syrup (in an effort to cut the sweet), but there is something magical about the lemongrass, so we ended up cutting the ratios down on each syrup by half but kept them both. It may seem a bit fussy to make two syrups, but seriously worth it.

    We tried a few different types of bitters, but none of them hit the right note as the Suze. They all substantially changed the nature of the drink and didn't really add the extra dimension we were looking for.

    Listen Along

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