Holiday Cocktails 2013
It's that time of year again when I try to make another twist on the Egg Nog, as well as get creative with holiday cocktails! This year I have a few new ones and a video of an old standard of mine:
First....
Rosemary Honey Cream

2 oz Square One Botanical Organic Spirit

1 oz heavy cream

1 egg

1 clover honey syrup*

2x 3” Rosemary sprig

In a mixing glass, de-leaf the rosemary, discarding the stem and muddle the leaves well. Add all other ingredients, fill with large, cold ice and shake gently for 30 seconds. This will make a thick, creamy cocktail without too much dilution. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a slapped sprig of rosemary (this will add to the nose with each sip).

* Clover honey diluted with warm/ hot water at a 1:1 ratio by volume

Use organic ingredients when possible.

Notes:

This modern flip is like a rosemary egg nog and could be prepared like a nog by separating the egg yolk and white, whipping the yolk with the honey and whipping the white into stiff peaks. Then folding them together and gently stirring in the other ingredients. In this case it would be best to prepare a rosemary honey syrup, by first cooking the first sprig of rosemary into the water for 5 minutes before straining the solids and mixing the rosemary tea with the clover honey. All of that is best done in scale to a larger batch.

and Second...

Angie's Dairy Free Egg Nog

1/3 cup organic sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pint organic unsweetened almond milk*
1 cup cooked rolled oats (oatmeal)*
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 organic egg whites*4 organic egg yolks

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the almond milk, oatmeal and nutmeg and whisk to combine. Put the mixture aside and start the egg whites. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a cold metal mixing bowl) and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until you have a consistent color. Pour the entire batch into a blender and blend until smooth and no oatmeal solids remain. Bottle, chill and serve.

To make alcoholic, add 2oz of alcohol to 6 ounces of nog. Use a barrel aged spirit or combination thereof. Try mixing two parts of brandy or cognac to 1 part of rum, and the use 2 ounces of that blend per mug. This makes a classic Egg Nog.

Notes:

I have been working on a rich and creamy version of egg nog with no cow’s milk for several years. My fiancé Angie can’t have milk, but loves egg nog, so I had to figure out a solution! Some recent research with oatmeal based morning beverages lead me to the conclusion that blended, cooked oatmeal was the perfect replacement for heavy cream. Plus the flavor works well with almond milk.

and Third...

Holly Julep Snowcone

1 bunch of mint

4.5oz simple syrup

1 liter bourbon

crushed ice

snow cone cups

pomegranate seeds

In a pitcher, add the leaves of 5 mint sprigs. Muddle well and add the syrup and bourbon. Stir well and let sit for 30 minutes to one hour. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer and into another pitcher or bottle.

To Make the Snowcone: Fill a snowcone cup with crushed ice, pour the julep mixture over the ice until full. Cap with more ice, garnish with a large mint sprig, some pomegranate seeds and dusting of powdered sugar.

And lastly...

The Irish Chai

To check out the Irish Chai, go see my video on Grokker.com!

This is the first of my new video series, so start you Grokker account today and keep coming back for more!

See the video here: http://grokker.com/cooking/video/irish-chai/52b100bdef15f847740228b8

Irish Chai:

2 oz chai tea concentrate

5 oz frothed milk

1.5 oz Irish whiskey

.5 oz simple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup of sugar

4 oz room temperature water

Directions:

Simple Syrup

1. Combine equal parts (1:1) sugar and water in a bottle and shake it until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Irish Chai:

1. To make chai tea concentrate, use 2 bags of chai tea and 8 oz of hot water and let steep for five minutes.

2. Froth 5 oz of milk. You can use an espresso machine frothing wand, a portable frother, or simply microwave the milk for ~90 seconds (until you see steam rise) and using a whisker spin between your hands to froth.

3. In a mug, add 2 oz of the chai tea, 1.5 oz whiskey and 0.5 oz simple syrup. Stir and top with the hot milk and freshly grated cinnamon.