12 Drinks of Christmas
Following up on his wildly successful summertime “21 Drink Salute to America,” your tipsy scribe in 2018 decided to expand his franchise to include a winter drinking event… the “12 Drinks of Christmas.” Each day between Christmas and Epiphany (Three Kings Day) would feature a different holiday-themed cocktail. Here’s one year’s edition, with content* culled from social media posts. Cheers!
2022-23 Christmas Cocktails
1) Christmas Coffee; 2) Gluhwein/Glogg; 3) Strawberry/Kiwi Freeze; 4) Blueberry Winter Smash; 5) Angel’s Delight; 6) Maple Old Fashioned; 7) Benediction; 8) Pomegranate Gimlet; 9) Peppermint White Russian; 10) Bourbon Apple Cider; 11) Cranberry Whiskey Sour; 12) Tom and Jerry
*Note: all text and photos below were created by the author; some of the cocktail recipes were borrowed/adapted from various print and online sources. I would like it very much if the mixologists who originally created these cocktails don’t sue me. Thanks.
First Day - CHRISTMAS COFFEE
If the birth of the Savior doesn't call for a hot festive toast, I don't know what does. I'm washing down my cinnamon roll this morning with a steaming mug of coffee, fortified with a half shot each of cinnamon whiskey and butterscotch schnapps. Gotta balance that hot and spicy drink with a cool, sweet snowdrift of whipped topping. Cheers!
Second Day - GLUHWEIN / GLÖGG
My sister Koni hosted the Westra family Yankee Swap gift exchange today -- the Second Day of Christmas -- and to enhance the festivities we whipped up a batch of hot Gluhwein to sip around the Tannenbaum. This store-bought bottle of spiced wine was... um, reasonably palatable. Highly recommend gathering the spices and making your own Glogg if you're gonna do this. And really -- like so many other cherished holiday traditions -- you don't want to do this more than once a year. Cheers!
Third Day - STRAWBERRY/KIWI FREEZE
The temps in Omaha soared into the low 30s today! So I decided to celebrate the heat wave -- and the Third Day of Christmas -- by venturing out onto my snow-covered patio with a festive red and green frozen fruit cocktail. This is blended strawberries and a shot of strawberry liqueur layered on top of some frozen kiwi blended with green melon liqueur. This is the only time of year when red and green look good together, so gotta make the most of those holiday colors while we can. Cheers!
Fourth Day - BLUEBERRY WINTER SMASH
When you've got those post-holiday blues -- perhaps returning to the drudgery of work, or stepping on the scale after weeks of unbridled revelry -- cheer yourself up with a Blueberry Winter Smash. It's a bunch of blueberries muddled up with vodka and elderflower liqueur, topped with some club soda. And remind yourself that it's only the fourth day of Christmas... we've got eight more days of celebration ahead. Cheers!
Fifth Day - ANGEL’S DELIGHT
"Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings." Thus spake the oddly named Zuzu in the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" (although the teacher in question damn near killed Zuzu by sending her out half-naked into a raging Bedford Falls blizzard, so... take that for what it's worth). On this fifth day of Christmas, I'm drinking a toast to Clarence and all the other angels with a cocktail I found on The Spruce Eats called Angel's Delight. It gets its angelic pink hue from a dash of grenadine added to an ounce each of gin and orange liqueur, shaken up with a couple ounces of whatever creamy dairy beverage you have on hand. (I used half and half rather than actual cream, because I'm not rich like old man Potter.) Have a few of these, and in no time you'll be singing Glo-ooooo-ooooo-oooo-ria. Cheers!
Sixth Day - MAPLE OLD FASHIONED
My brother Nick came down from the northwoods of Wisconsin recently bearing the gift of maple syrup! Tapped and bottled by the Potawatomi tribe in Forest County, this syrup will no doubt elevate the flavor of my waffles in the coming year... but right now it's lifting my spirits as part of a smooth Maple Old Fashioned. It's just a couple ounces of I.W. Harper bourbon blended with a half ounce of maple syrup, a dash of Angostura bitters, and a little orange peel garnish. Simple drinks, simple gifts, and simple pleasures... not a bad way to wind down the year and enjoy a sunny sixth day of Christmas. Cheers!
Seventh Day - BENEDICTION
Tonight, on this seventh day of Christmas and last day of the year, the Benediction: a little Benedictine herbal liqueur and orange bitters in our sparkling wine. Marking the passing of time, the passing of our Papa Benedict... and asking God's blessings for the year ahead. Cheers!
Eighth Day - POMEGRANATE GIMLET
Happy New Year! Per my holiday tradition, for the eighth day of Christmas I'm grilling up some steaks today, and borrowed this recipe from the illustrious Ina Garten for my pre-dinner drinks. The Pomegranate Gimlet -- remember, "gimlet" has a hard G sound, like in "Garten" and "pomegranate" -- is gin with lime juice and pomegranate juice, with a little simple syrup to take the edge off the tartness of this cocktail. Think of this as a Gin and Tonic where you swap out your tonic water for pomegranate juice. How easy is that? Cheers!
Ninth Day - PEPPERMINT WHITE RUSSIAN
Turns out my gym was closed today for New Year's Day (Observed), so I'm observing the holiday -- and the ninth day of Christmas -- with a little liver workout called the Peppermint White Russian. It's your standard White Russian (vodka, coffee liqueur, and some creamy dairy) with a festive splash of that peppermint schnapps that's been chilling in your liquor cabinet since last Christmas. Much more enjoyable than whatever awfulness I'd have experienced at the gym. Cheers!
Tenth Day - BOURBON APPLE CIDER
If you didn't already know this, kids, bourbon is officially THE booze of winter. It works with both hot and cold drinks, pairs nicely with the various festive flavors of the holidays, and just goes down easy after a long day of snowshoeing or curling or whatever else you do to pass the time until Spring. Tonight I'm enjoying a hot glass of apple cider by the Tannenbaum (you haven't taken your Tannenbaum down yet, have you?!), with a little caramel syrup and a healthy pour of bourbon. Only two more days of Christmas left. Let's enjoy them. Cheers!
Eleventh Day - CRANBERRY WHISKEY SOUR
A tart Cranberry Whiskey Sour for this penultimate day of Christmas. It's basically a classic Whiskey Sour -- whiskey (can you guess which kind?), lemon juice, simple syrup, and an egg white -- with some cranberry juice for color and holiday zing. Some recipes will ask you to make a cranberry syrup by boiling and mashing and straining... all waaaaay too much cooking for this bachelor. Just buy a bottle of Ocean Spray, add the simple syrup you already have on hand, and call it a night. So, looks like I bought a package of cranberries just for the garnish. Oh well, the birds and squirrels can enjoy the rest. Cheers!
Twelfth Day - TOM AND JERRY
Behold, the culmination of our holiday hooch-fest... on this the Twelfth Day of Christmas, I give you... the Tom and Jerry. For years, I've both desired and dreaded this boozy holiday beverage, in which rum and brandy are added to a decadent batter made of sugar, eggs, vanilla, more rum, bitters, and a medley of holiday spices. Topped off with hot water or milk, the rich and creamy Tom and Jerry takes just a little of the bite away from Old Man Winter. The batter is what freaked me out about this drink for so long. I had heard that you could purchase pre-made batter... one liquor store clerk, when asked about this, looked at me blankly and said "most people just make the batter -- it's not that hard, dude." I finally stumbled upon a simple small-batch recipe by one of my favorite online mixologists, Anders Erickson, and decided to give it a go. (What gets me about cooking is I have to buy a whole jar of something like ground cloves when a recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon. That and obscure cooking verbiage like "fold in" and "stiff peaks.") As with most things in life, the actual experience of doing it was not nearly as traumatic as anticipated. It indeed is not that hard, dude, and I'm glad I finally attempted it. Is it the perfect Tom and Jerry? Probably not. But like our scrawny Tannenbaum and our crappy last-minute gifts and everything else associated with the holiday season, we know that joy and merriment -- thank God -- depend less on perfection than they do on intention. Hope you are starting out this new year intent on mixing up a little joy and merriment for yourself each day. Cheers!