It’s certainly that time of year. The holidays are in full swing: shopping, gathering, wrapping, working and eating — it’s all happening. And while it’s still possible to make your own cocktails at home, why bother? Do you really have time to gather one, two, three or even four different bottles of booze? Do you have the time to assemble the garnishes? The glassware? Surely you don’t want to infuse your own whiskey or make special simple syrups, right? And shrubs or orgeat? Come on now, you’ve got better things to do!
If there’s ever a time to leave it to the professionals, the holiday season is that time. Just sit back and let them do all the work. After all, that’s what they’re there for.
This holiday season, I’ve reached out to four local mixologists for their recipes. If that isn’t letting someone else do all the work, then I don’t know what else is. Sure, you can make them at home, but wouldn’t it just be easier to stop by and order one? I leave that choice up to you. Just remember, these beverages are only around for the next couple of weeks. Luckily, the recipes are yours to keep!
Have a happy and safe holiday season!
Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com
The Trident in Sausalito
Chocolate Nutcracker (created by Jeff Enos)
1 ounce Hanson of Sonoma organic vodka
½ ounce Unsinkable Chocolate Liqueur
¼ ounce Frangelico
¼ ounce amaretto
1 ounce heavy cream
Hazelnuts
Combine the first five ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until ice cold, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Shave fresh hazelnut on top for garnish.
Note: The Trident has three cocktails on their holiday list. Be sure to try their gingerbread old fashioned or house eggnog as well.
Bungalow 44 in Mill Valley
Winter Sour (created by Karla Sims)
2 ounces Alamere Spirits vodka
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¾ ounce cranberry-pink peppercorn shrub
¾ ounce aquafaba
Pink peppercorn dust
Combine the first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until ice cold and foamy. Strain into a chilled coupe and sprinkle pink peppercorn dust on top.
Note: A shrub is a classic cocktail ingredient. Essentially, it’s a sugared vinegar used to add both acidity and sweetness to cocktails.
Shrub
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons pink peppercorn
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
Combine the first four ingredients in a nonreactive pan and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until cranberries burst. Add ½ cup of apple cider vinegar, then let sit for 24 hours. Strain and chill until ready to use.
Corner Bar in Mill Valley
Don’t be Chai (created by Jason Sims)
1 ½ ounces Batiste Rhum Gold
¼ ounce Batiste Rhum Reserve
½ ounce Cointreau
½ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
¾ ounce chai orgeat
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Powdered cinnamon
Combine the first six ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until ice cold, then strain over pebbled ice. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Note: Orgeat (pronounced OR-zhat) is a classic cocktail syrup most often found in the mai tai.
Chai Orgeat
2 cups almond milk
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground turmeric-ginger-cinnamon blend (1/3 teaspoon each)
4 chai tea bags
Combine the first three ingredients in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add four bags of chai. Let it steep for 10 minutes, remove the tea bags and chill before using. Be sure to stir or shake before every use.
Insalata’s in San Anselmo
Browned Butter Old Fashioned (created by Paris Hartsook)
2 ½ ounces brown buttered bourbon
2 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
2 dashes King Floyd’s Aromatic Bitters
½ ounce brown sugar simple syrup
Orange zest
Tempus Fugit brandied cherries
Combine the first four ingredients in a cocktail beaker with ice. Stir until ice cold. Strain over a large-format ice cube and garnish with the orange zest and brandied cherries.
Brown buttered bourbon: Brown one stick of butter per bottle of bourbon. Combine the browned butter and bourbon and whisk together. Let the mixture cool, then store it in the freezer to infuse overnight. The next day, remove the solid butter at the top. This technique is also called “fat washing.”
Brown sugar simple syrup: Combine equal parts brown sugar and water, bring to a boil and let cool.
“Our pastry chefs use the butter to make these incredible pecan shortbread cookies dipped in milk chocolate,” Hartsook says.
Yum! Get some of those, too!
