HOLIDAY DRANKS
However you may be celebrating the holidays this year, we are here to help with a few ideas of how to impress those at the table or across the screen! After a few years behind the bar and feeling the ambiguity of what to expect this holiday season - I broke out the bar tools and got crankin. Here are two versions of holiday drinks I made depending on the kind of mood you’re in!
LAVENDER BUBBLES
For those looking for a lil spritz action. This is a twist on a French 75 just geared towards holiday flavors. First steps are finding fresh lavender to infuse (a fancy word for adding flavor) the gin. About 5 sprigs of lavender can be placed inside the bottle of gin, any kind works.
To build the cocktail:
2oz lavender infused gin
0.75oz lemon juice
0.75oz St~ Germain
Top off with Prosecco
Splash soda water
Ponche Crema a lo Nuevo
When I was growing up we used to drink this starting November listening to what we call our Mariah Carey anthem, Las Gaitas. Essentially this drink is close to what a coquito is or most rum punch drinks. I went through several aunties and uncles asking for their recipes. Some pretended to forget and others put waaaaay too much rum (not that im surprised) so here’s my version. Depending on how turnt you plan to get, it should last for a week in the fridge!
To Build Pitcher Size
1 cup white rum, plus more for serving
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
5 egg yolks
To make the ponche crema, mix the condensed and evaporated milk until fully combined in a saucepan. In a blender whip the egg yolks until a creamy yellow consistency is found. Then introduce the egg yolks slowly into the milk mixture, and pop cinnamon sticks into saucepan. Cook on medium heat constantly moving the mixture. KEEP IT MOVING if you know whats good for you. If you fail to do so, sugary scrambled eggs will be what you end up with. After 15 minutes strain the cinnamon, add the vanilla extract and rum. Let the mixture cool down for two hours in the fridge. Serve with ice and add more rum depending on how long the day was.
