12 Drummers Drumming

Ah! You thought I had forgotten about you, didn’t you? Alas, I have not. I did get sidelined by a wonderful case of pneumonia, but things are looking up this week. Besides, Ukrainian New Years was this past weekend, so we aren’t that far out of the holiday shuffle.

I find this time of year, the post-holiday blues time, to be really difficult. I live to host and entertain and amuse, so once that’s peaked, my attitude kind of goes downhill and things become rather bleak.

Apparently, I’m not alone in the seasonal depression. Today is known as the most depressing day of the year. What a better day then to release our final holiday bevvie – appropriately named for today and easypeasy to whip up. It’ll have you dreaming of the beach in no time.

Blue Monday

2 oz. vodka (use whatever your tastebuds favour, I’m liking Skyy for the price and flavour, $25, LCBO #410415)

1/4 oz. triple sec (I’m a fan of McGuinness brand, $18.95, LCBO#631176)

1/4 oz. blue curacao (You gotta go with Bols – it’s great stuff, $16.45, LCBO #306076)

Shake all the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini glass and serve with a cherry. Umbrella optional, but highly encouraged.

11 Pipers Piping…

What’s that noise? It’s bells ringing in New Years, it’s annoying pipers tooting out a tune, it’s Auld Lang Syne being belted out in bars across the country as girls in tiaras fall over boys in plastic top hats.

If you’re celebrating in a much more reserved fashion this year, how about some capital C, Champagne for the festivities? In my mind, and those who promoted it to its gold medal status at the 2010 Intervin International Wine Awards, look no further than Piper Heidsieck Brut (LCBO#462432, $49.95).

It’s reasonably priced for legit Champagne and offers a ton of flavour and mouthfeel for that price. Creamy, delicious bubbly with nutty and stone fruit notes, this baby is the perfect thing to cheers with when the clock strikes 12 and you’re trying to avoid watching the robot-version of Dick Clark and squeezey Ryan Seacrest press the button to drop the glittery ball.

10 Lords a Leaping

If tequila makes the ladies dance, then beer makes the lords leap. And for this festive season, I’ve gotta recommend something a bit more tasty than whatever light beer you find in the corner of your uncle’s basement.

One of my favourites is Young’s Double Chocolate Stout (LCBO#103267, $3.50).

It’s like a tall, broody man that just sauntered on into the bar. With dark chocolate from start to finish – colour, aromas and taste, and throw in some wood – you’ve got a great bottle to cheers with. It’s also mighty good with my favourite Cottage Pie recipe by Anthony Sedlak.

Another recommended pick is Big Rock Breweries McNally’s Winter Spice Ale.

Only a few select Beer Stores carry it, but if you happen to live nearby one of such lucky locales – it’s worth the trip ($12.95/6 pack). This is a traditional amber ale blended with both pale and caramel malts that equals a round flavour profile. And it’s got bang for its buck at 6% alcohol and is jammed packed full of wintery spices – cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Just open wide, okay?

There ya go, boys.

9 Ladies Dancing

What makes ladies dance? Tequila.

The sixth drink of Christmas comes to us from the good folks at Riazul Tequila (who the LCBO unfortunately does not carry, so we’ve subbed in other tequila). I present to you, the Razzelberry Dressing Margarita.

1 oz. of Leyenda Del Milagro silver tequila ($43.95, LCBO#83444, in replacement of Riazul Premium silver tequila, but most brands will do)

1/2 oz. of cranberry juice

1/2 oz. of blackberry juice (check by the other refrigerated juices in the grocery section)

1 oz. of Cointreau ($19.95, LCBO #10322)

1 oz. of lime juice

3 cranberries

3 blackberries

Muddle 2 cranberries and 2 blackberries in a cocktail shaker. Add some ice, the Riazul, the Cointreau and all the juices. Shake until your hand freezes and strain into a margarita glass (or an old-fashioned Champagne glass). Garnish with the last cranberry and blackberry stuck onto a toothpick or swizzle stick. Commence jazz hands and singing of ‘All the Single Ladies’.

Eight Maids a Milking…

Of all of the days of Christmas, this one seems the weirdest for me. And what’s more weird than a drink with an egg in it?

There are plenty of recipes online for eggnog, most in a punch bowl type form, dosed up with bourbon, whiskey or pretty much any booze smuggled in from Jamaica. But around my place, not too many people love the ‘nog – so I sought out a ‘per the glass’ recipe to make things merry and bright for those chosen few.

2 oz. light rum (I’m dreaming of the islands, man, so I’m recommending one of the Dominican’s most popular rums – Brugal Gold Label, $23, VINTAGES#600502)

6 oz. milk
1 tsp powdered sugar
1 whole egg

sprinkle of nutmeg

Shake up everything but the nutmeg with a good handful of ice and strain into a tall glass. Sprinkle the nutmeg over top and enjoy.

Seven Swans a Swimmin’…

When I think about swans, I think about beauty, grace and, well, squawking. So, this drink is for the night girlfriends all gather, gossip and gift (and of course, braid each others hair and have a pillow fights).

I love sangria for girls night because its fruity, without necessarily being rot-your-teeth-out sweet and it makes more drinks than just serving a bottle of wine. This recipe is merely suggestive – you can swap in different fruits (this one uses red and green fruits, oh so festive), fruit juices and liquors as you please.

Holiday Sangria

2 green apples, cut into thin slices

1 c. of frozen raspberries

1/2 c. of pomegrantate liquor (My mom and I are semi-obsessed with Pama Pomegranate Liquor, $39.95, LCBO #414)

1 c. raspberry, pomegranate or strawberry juice (whatever you find first)

1 bottle of rosé (I will not make any specific winery mad at me by suggesting one you should pour a crap load of other stuff into, because that’s like saying someone’s lasagna recipe needs more cheese, and frankly I’m not out to hurt feelings – but pick one of your favourites, that’s inexpensive and preferably drier in style)

Drop the fruit, the liquor and juice of your choosing into a pitcher, glug the rosé in. Stir. Refrigerate. Pour into the glasses you and your girlfriends will be toasting with (don’t forget the fruit!). Commence hair braiding.

Six Geese a Laying…

Geese eh? How ’bout a turkey instead?

There’s only one place to go with that – to America’s best selling premium bourbon and Hunter S. Thompson’s first love. It can quite literally make you lay an egg. Say howdy to Wild Turkey Bourbon ($27.95, LCBO#198184).

Now, some will say the only way to drink the stuff is straight outta the bottle. On the rocks is considered mixing with tradition. But, if you’re looking to keep your pants on this Christmas, maybe a cocktail is the way to go.

Cherry Gobbler

2 oz. of Wild Turkey bourbon

3/4 oz. of grenadine

4 oz. of Sprite or Mountain Dew

Shake the bourbon and grenadine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Pour into a glass (with or without ice) and top it up with the lemon-lime sugary concoction of your choosing.

Rinse and repeat until you start saying things like, “It’s hotter than an hootenanny,” or calling your grandma meaner than chickens.

 

 

Five Gold Rings…

I don’t think there’s any doubt that when you see gold in a recommended drink post, Goldschlager isn’t far away. And why not? The stuff is gold. Literally.

I do a shot of it with lemonade every Valentine’s Day, it’s a tradition. I love it with hot apple cider. I think it’s a pretty addition to cocktails that call for some spice.

One of my favourite faux-tinis is a green apple martini (I even have this wicked trick of floating a apple slice with a few lines of carmel sauce on it in my drink that I totally swiped from Milestones). What elevates a regular apple martini to heavenly results? Goldschlager. Behold the Apple Pie Martini.

1/4 oz. of sour apple liquor (I prefer the Sourz Apple Liquor, $19.30, LCBO#508333)

1/2 oz. of Goldschlager ($16.95, LCBO#358051)

1/2 oz. of citrus vodka (I prefer the Smirnoff Citrus Twist stuff, $25.45, LCBO#569012)

3/4 oz. of sweet and sour mix (buy a bottle of it or mix equals part sugar and water, bring to a boil and add the same amount of both lemon and lime juice – this will keep in the fridge for about a month)

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass rimmed with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Serve up to you and your glitterati friends, but watch out – after five of these, heads will definitely be ringing.

 

Four Calling Birds

I’m not a huge fan of calling birds – or any type of birds for that matter. They generally sit outside my apartment window in a tree and make lots of noise until someone throws something off a balcony at them.

What I am a fan of? Killing two birds with one stone (and no, I don’t mean literally, PETA-supporters). I’m talking the popular holiday dishes, turkey and ham. At my family dinner, we always have both. Why? Well, first of all because the gene to overfeed had to be passed down to me from somewhere and also, they’re both double-plus good. And who does one turn to, to match these yummy meats?

Welcome to the party, Gamay. Now, if you’ve read this blog ever before, you’ll know of my love affair with this particular grape. I’m going to do you a solid and present to you two potential holiday dinner bottles.

The first comes from our friends in France, DuBoeuf Beaujoulais Brouilly ($16.95, LCBO#70540).

Beaujolais is the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée or AOC (a region in France that’s important enough to be distinguished) known for its Gamay. On the labels of many French wines, you won’t see the type of grape written, they’ll have the AOC they’re from as the main identifier instead. For instance, when you’re drinking white Burgundy, that’s Chardonnay; red Burgundy, that’s Pinot Noir.

It’s a mighty confusing situation to many of us young wine drinkers who are used to having everything spelled out to us on a label (next to a sketch of an panda bear, or something equally cute and fuzzy). It gets even more confusing when the appellations divide up into sub- appellations, villages, etc. And generally, the more specific the area; the pricier the bottle.

This Beaujolais is from Brouilly. What does that mean for you and me? Well, it looks fancier to impress your girlfriend’s mom. It also has greater complexity (re: more bang for your buck). This pretty ruby red coloured wine is medium-bodied and plump full of cherry, berry and herbal notes. It’ll knock out the turkey and then turn to the ham and say “You’re next.”

If you’re looking to purchase locally, I recommended Malivorie’s 2009 Gamay (#17.95, Vintages#591313) in the Harvest issue of VINES.

“A zippy little wine that’s bursting with energy, this shows what Niagara Gamay has to offer. This scarlet coloured, organic wine is rich and fruity with spicy and earthy undertones. Medium-boded with juicy cherry, plum and a refreshing acidity especially apparent on the finish, this wine goes down easy and nly improves the next day. Pair with almost anything, from cheese and charcuterie nibbles to turkey dinner.”

Yeah, that’ll do just fine. Show up for a holiday dinner with either of these bottles and you’ll be welcomed with open arms – which is more than I can say for the calling birds at my place.

Three French Hens..

I’m pretty sure the ‘French’ drink many people would recommend this festive season would be Champagne. However, it’s pretty much always out of my price range and let’s be honest, if your buzzed brother’s old university friend’s new girlfriend is chugging it back from the bottle while swaying in your living room to Judy Garland – you’ll wish you didn’t spring for the pricey stuff.

A much more affordable option for our third drink of Christmas is Hungaria Grand Cuvee Brut ($12.00, LCBO#619288).

Many may not even know that Hungary has got a wine-making history that dates back to Roman times. They’re probably most famous for their dessert wine Tokaji (which is also quite yummy, thanks for asking) but this sparkling is a pretty little steal too.

For under 12 bucks, there’s not much other competition. You could buy some French Cross (please don’t) or Canada’s historic sparkling, Brights Champagne (which gets to use the capital-C reserved for wines from the actual region in France, through a strategic loophole) or any other handful of not-so-finely crafted, sugary sweet bubbles. The only other real serious contender at that price point is Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut from Spain ($11.95, LCBO#74757).

That’d do just fine here, but it doesn’t have the surprise element of popping this bottle from a country probably most known for its ottomans.

The Hungaria Cuvee Brut is mighty good on its own, off-dry and crisp with citrus and apple flavours and enough weight to hold up to your choosing of snackies off the buffet table. It’s got a great personality and sparkles just like the tinsel caught in aforementioned drunk-girlfriend’s hair after a mistaken tumble into the tree.

Cut her off and grab some of this bubbly – and hey, if you want to make it French, add a bit of LeJay Creme de Cassis de Dijon ($10.95, LCBO#496406) to your flute.

This yummy liquer is one of my favs (especially as an addition to vodka sodas) with a beautiful deep purple/blueberry colour and blackcurrant flavours. This drizzle will take your already stunning sparkling to a fancy pants Kir Pétillant. Just don’t let the drunk girlfriend have any.