The mountains are snow-capped and the temperatures are low. Frost is on the ground and it is brisk and beautiful in this little mountain town of ours. Looks like we are off to a good start for skiing and snowboarding. Yahoo!
The only thing that could make this time of year any better is hot, boozy drinks. For many, hot mulled wine is the first that springs to mind. Made up of varying spices, citrus peel and gushing amounts of red wine, this is a great choice for a wintertime open house. To kick it up a notch, add akavit, brandy or vodka and you have glogg, which originated in Sweden.
Next, try the hot toddy 鈥� the simplest of all of the hotties. Pour two ounces of your favourite brown spirit of your choice (I prefer bourbon) and add hot water, freshly squeezed lemon juice and honey. Easy peasy. Perfect nightcap.
There are so many bourbons from which to choose at our local liquor stores. Try bourbon in eggnog. Eggnog is exquisite when freshly made. It takes lots of stirring but is actually quite simple. Don鈥檛 forget the freshly grated nutmeg.
Next, let鈥檚 take a look at hot buttered rum. For the holi-daze, I recommend having a bottle of dark rum on hand for the purposes of this hot treat and as an option for spiking your eggnog. Make a batch of this spiced butter and keep it in a log in your fridge. When guests drop by, cut off a chunk, add two ounces of dark rum, hot water, an orange slice and a stick of cinnamon.
SPICED BUTTER
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
陆 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of salt
Spiked specialty coffees are delicious, and there are so many classics, including B52, Irish, Spanish or regular old Bailey鈥檚 and coffee. I have a friend who has always said that the hardest part of going back to work at the end of her time off around Christmas was that it was no longer appropriate to have Bailey鈥檚 in her coffee every morning.
Most people are familiar with the infamous blueberry tea, which is made with black tea and spiked with Grand Marnier and Amaretto. You can experiment with different flavours. How about maple tea with Frangelico and cr猫me de cacao 鈥� a recipe by yours truly? Or orange-flavoured green tea with vodka and peppermint schnapps? Lucas Teas on Cleveland Avenue has a wonderful selection of teas.聽
Pro-tip: As an early holiday gift to yourself, pick up a copy of The Flavour Bible and begin experimenting with all of the different flavour suggestions. Your drinking and dining life will be forever changed and inspired.聽
Lastly, try hot chocolate. Ideally, it鈥檚 made from scratch. Choose from dark, milk or white, and with so many delicious pairings like coconut rum, Cointreau and cr猫me de menthe, it鈥檚 very difficult to go wrong. We had the pleasure of making a Mighty Aphrodite (a Boozewitch original cocktail) with Xoco from downtown Squamish for the final night at Cornucopia. This delicious hot chocolate was made with our chili chocolate aphrodisiac elixir Aphro, Grand Marnier and their delicious custom-made white hot chocolate.
No article on hot boozy bevvies would be complete without their food counterpart: cookies.聽
When I was little, my mom would participate in an annual cookie exchange. Choose a group of four to eight friends. Everyone bakes as many dozen cookies. On a chosen winter鈥檚 night, over any of the hot drinks outlined herein, everyone gets together and trades, dozen for dozen, their delicious baking.聽
Having a selection of cookies makes for very Martha Stewart-like entertaining and gift-giving using a fraction of the usual energy.聽
(P.S. If any of you decides to have a cookie exchange and need another baker, count me in.)
