It’s Been A Hell Of A Year

Hey, Edmonton. Merry Christmas. It’s been a rough year and you could use a drink. Something classy. Something that says “Christmas spirit” in a way that punches you in the mouth wth flavour. Sure, you can pour a highball out of a can nowadays, but let’s keep it classy. Courtesy of our friends at The Common, here are some ideas for cocktails that you can make at home.

Of course, if you don’t fancy yourself as a bartender, you can always order one off the menu. Trust us, leave one of these cocktails for Santa rather than the same old, same old, cookies and milk. But, like Santa, make sure to enjoy these drinks responsibly.

Cocktail Recipe: Penichillin’

Ingredients

• 1 oz Mezcal
• ½ oz Ancho Reyes Ancho Chile liqueur
• ¾ oz house ginger syrup
• ¾ oz lemon juice

Instructions

1. Ginger syrup is made by boiling ¾ cup of water with one cup of sugar, then lowering to a simmer and adding roughly ½ cup of peeled and sliced ginger. Allow to simmer and steep until desired taste — approximately 20 minutes.
2. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain in glass filled with new ice. Garnish with candied ginger.

Recipe: Mulled Sangria Punch

Ingredients

• 2 ⅓ oz Amaro Nonino
• 2 ⅓ oz Barrel of Sunshine liqueur
• 2 ⅓ oz spiced rum
• ½ litre red wine
• 3 oz House bourbon cherry mix
• 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
• top with orange juice

Instructions

1. In a large punch bowl, or pitcher filled with ice, combine all ingredients and top with fresh orange slices, cinnamon sticks and cherries from house bourbon mix. Hint: You can acquire amazing vintage punch bowls at The Find on a budget — and shopping there is a great way to give back to the community.

Recipe: Bourbon Cherries

(Goes in Mulled Sangria Punch, above).

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups dark pitted cherries
• 1 ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 ½ cup apple juice
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 1 toasted cinnamon stick
• ⅓ tsp kosher salt
• 1 ½ star anise pods
• ⅓ tsp allspice
• ¾ cup bourbon

Instructions

1. If frozen, take cherries out the night before, and place them in a heat-resistant container to thaw. The cherries will drop liquid — just keep it. Add water, cherry juice, apple juice, brown sugar and spices to a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to minimum and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Once liquid has had time to infuse, allow to cool slightly, and then add the bourbon; stir and pour over the cherries. Store cherries in the fridge, and allow to sit for at least a week before using.

These cherries will last for a long time — and will only get better with age. The liquid can be used to “up” your Old Fashioned and other cocktails as well.

Recipe: Spiked Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

• 1 oz Chartreuse
• ½ oz Kahlua
• house hot chocolate
• whip cream

Instructions

1. House hot chocolate is made by putting one cup of milk and three heaping tablespoons of chocolate chips in a sauce pan and stirring till just about boiling.
2. Pour liquor into warmer glass or mug, add hot chocolate and stir to combine.
3. Garnish with whip cream, mint, chocolate shavings or chips.

Cocktail Recipe: Cranberry Whiskey Smash

Ingredients

• 1 ½ oz  rye
• 4 lemon wedges
• ¾ oz honey syrup*
• 5 mint leaves
• 8 cranberries

Instructions

1. Add the lemon wedges to a shaker glass. Muddle hard. Add cranberries and muddle again.
2. Add rye, honey syrup, and mint leaves. Shake and double strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint sprig.
3. *Honey syrup is made by combining equal parts organic honey and hot water.

Recipe: London Fog the Bounty Hunter

Ingredients

• 1 oz Jack Daniels
• ½ oz Galliano vanilla liqueur
• 1 oz Earl Grey honey syrup
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz egg whites

Instructions

1. Earl Grey honey syrup is made by steeping three Earl Grey tea bags in three cups of hot water for 10 minutes, then add 1/4 cup of honey and stir until dissolved.
2. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake once without ice (dry shake), add ice and shake again, then strain into a tea cup or highball glass filled with new ice.

Cocktail Recipe: Sazeracocoa

Ingredients

• ¾ oz Hennessy
• ¾ oz rye
• ½ oz demerara syrup
• 6 dashes mole bitters
• Chartreuse rinse

Instructions

1. Demerara syrup is made by mixing equal parts demerara sugar and hot water, then stirring until dissolved.
2. Combine all ingredients, less the Chartreuse, in a mixing glass with ice and stir well.
3. Separately, in a highball glass filled with ice, add a barspoon of Chartreuse and stir to coat the inside of the glass. Empty the contents of the glass in the sink, then strain the stirred cocktail into the rinsed highball glass. Serve with a twist of lemon.

Production Credits

• Photography: Paul Swanson
• Emma’s hair and makeup by Tiiu Vuorensola of Mode Models
• Cocktails: Dylan Goulet, Corbin Brocks, Emma Frazier and Stuart Whyte (Bourbon Cherries)

This article appears in the December 2021 issue of Edify