Thanksgiving is a beautiful time of year. We gather with those near and dear to us to give thanks for the harvest. For one another, for the bountiful year that is coming to a close and all of the blessings in our lives.听
Growing up in Quebec, we would invite many people to our home in the forest, hike the 鈥渕ountain鈥� (more like a hill, compared with out here) and have a huge checker tournament. Everyone has their own way of celebrating. For many years, this was ours. Pagan, puritan or pilgrim, whatever way you choose to celebrate, there is often a lot of family around. And sometimes, that calls for a good, stiff drink.听
Might I suggest the Sazerac cocktail to warm your visitors for Tom the Turkey dinner? Hailing back to the 1850s, a Sazerac can be made with cognac or any number of other brown spirits. Let鈥檚 celebrate this great country of ours and use a true Canadian rye whiskey.
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Rye Sazerac
2 oz Lot 40, AlbertLea Premium or Lot 40 (both available in Squamish)
Spritz of Absinthe (use Pemberton鈥檚 if you can)
1 sugar cube
Peychaud鈥檚 bitters
Angostura bitters
Lemon
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Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes and a little bit of water and set aside. In a mixing glass (mason jars work just fine), place the sugar cube and cover with three dashes Angostura bitters and 2 dashes Peychaud鈥檚. Add the rye and stir to dissolve. Empty the ice from the rocks glass and spray the glass with Absinthe. Add the rye mixture, top with ice and a large peel of lemon squeezed and wiped around the rim of the glass, then tossed elegantly atop. 痴辞颈濒脿!
You may think to yourself, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 a lot to buy for one cocktail,鈥� but let me tell you dear reader, I am sneakily assisting you in building up your home bar. These things virtually have no expiry date (except the lemon, of course) and can be used in future cocktails.
You are sipping in your parlour, living room or around the kitchen while someone scurries about bringing the feast together. Cozy, warm and full of good cheer, perhaps a teensy glow from your pre-dinner aperitif.听
Now the main event: wine. If you are going with red, I would highly recommend pinot noir. Known as the heartbreak grape due to its soft skins, it can be a difficult varietal to produce. That said, we do an exemplary job here in 小蓝视频. Nk鈥檓ip鈥檚 pinots always shine, as do Cedar Creek鈥檚. There are a multitude to choose from here at home and around the world. If looking to France, Burgundy is the home of pinot noir; the region has some stunning wines. Oregon is a terrific producer (seen Sideways?) and Washington State and California don鈥檛 fall far behind.
Chardonnay and an off-dry riesling are nice options if you are looking to a white. Viognier or lesser known Rhone varietals marsanne and rousanne are beautiful.听
Probably the best bang-for-your-buck turkey wine I have had is Tahlbilk鈥檚 marsanne from Australia. If you want to catch the eye of the most discerning oenophile, table the turkey with a white hermitage or crozes-hermitage. Guaranteed to impress.
And as the tryptophan has its way with you and your dinner guests and you all start to meld into the couch, it is time for an after-dinner treat. A little bit of sweet alcohol after dinner floods some of the blood from your digesting tummy back into your extremities, giving you a little after dinner pick-me-up. This is a perfect time for tawny port. Nothing is better with pumpkin pie, pecan pie or chocolate mousse pie (getting hungry?). Rarely do we treat ourselves to a bottle of port, but this is a perfect opportunity to enjoy a nice tawny with dessert, among friends. Break out some blue cheese to really see this bad boy shine. Other options are a red late harvest or icewine, madeira, Pedro Ximenez sherry or good old single malt.听
Enjoy the fall colours, the friendships and the family around you. Celebrate all that you have harvested over the growing season and acknowledge how much has happened and how far you鈥檝e come. We used to go around the table saying one thing we were grateful for, as we will this Thanksgiving.
Eat, drink, be merry and get home safely. Happy Thanksgiving.
