Mixing up a cocktail of social media in Utah

Social media (the media, not the movie) are big in Salt Lake City, and just about everywhere else.  Today on Twitter, the Utah Mixologist noticed that Drink Me! magazine was having a holiday haiku contest on Facebook.  Now, when the Mixologist thinks “winter” and “cocktail” he usually thinks of Whiskey drinks (except perhaps when he thinks of the Hot Rum Toddy that he often makes for Mrs. Mixologist (medicinal use only)).   Great Whiskey drinks are not hard to think of (Manhattan, Sazerac, and Old Fashioned (a great looking drink for the winter holidays) come to mind), but the Manhattan had come first (of course) so he penned (well, typed) the following.  If this gets your creative juices flowing, write your own haiku and post it on Drink Me!’s wall. Comments are welcome.

“Drink me” said the note

on the frosty Manhattan.

Could it be a trap?

Last time I had one,

visions of Santa flooded…

overwhelmed my mind

What little red elf

had stirred, embittered, this drink?

Sweet, Dry, or Perfect?

And was it Bourbon

beckoning to me, or Rye?

Seductive(!) cherry.

Finally I thought

“the true meaning of Christmas,

Juicy red, lies there.”

Seizing the moment,

and the Manhattan, I drank…

“Hello,” said Santa.

Chocolate Covered Cherry – a holiday drink that lives up to its name

There are a lot of recipes for the Chocolate Covered Cherry floating around out there, and all of them are good if you like a sweet drink every now and then. (If you don’t like sweet drinks, quit complaining and mix yourself a Bulleit® Manhattan.) My recipe has the unbeatable combination of Baileys® Original Irish Cream, coconut rum, and Amaretto, and while it’s a little sweet, it’s nowhere near as sweet as a real chocolate covered cherry. You’ll enjoy the mix of almond, coconut, and chocolate with a hidden cherry waiting at the end. You may notice that the Chocolate Covered Cherry has three ounces of liqueurs in it, but don’t worry: it comes out to only about 20% ABV.

The secret to the garnish for this cocktail is to scout out a couple of grocery stores until you find one with jelly candy rings in a holiday theme (see photo). The holiday theme is important because you really want just red, green, and (possibly) white rings. Last year we got some called “Holiday Wreaths” that worked pretty well, but any brand of jelly candy rings should work. Just use a sharp knife to cut through the ring and perch it on the glass. You can also use other jelly candies (Christmas bells?) to garnish your glasses by cutting a slit in them, but do a trial or two to determine the correct angle so they look the way you want them to.

Chocolate Covered Cherry

1 oz Baileys® Original Irish Cream

1 oz Coconut rum

1 oz Amaretto

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Shake like Jolly Old Saint Nick’s tummy until it feels ice cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a red or green jelly ring, drop in a maraschino cherry and watch it disappear. Now, prepare yourself for a treat and go find the cherry.

Champing at the bit – sparkling wines under $20 for the holiday season

It’s December, time to get ready for the holidays and the champagne occasion of the year: New Year’s Eve. Wine connoisseurs are all aware that real (capital “C”) Champagne comes only from France, as are most card carrying cocktailians. The French discourage others from using the appellation “champagne” on their sparkling wines, and many of the quality wineries (especially those who wish to sell their wines in France) comply, so many sparkling wines (bubbly for short) will not say “champagne” on the bottle, although some do. Unfortunately there are few (none?) legitimate Champagnes available in the under $20 (for 750ml.) price range. If you would like to learn more about Champagne, including the names of the big Champagne houses, check out the New York Times Champagne navigator page.

For those of us on a recessionary (or depressionary) budgets who still want to celebrate with some sparkling wine, the Utah Sate Liquor Store system has obliged us with a great selection of American sparkling wines for under $20 with some pretty good ones for under $10. (Those of you who live in bigger markets should be able to buy all of the wines mentioned here.) Regular readers are doubtless aware of my love for champagne cocktails like the French 75 and the Kir Royale. When cocktail recipes call for champagne, though, it’s usually more economical to use a good sparkling wine. Drink your high quality Champagne (and high quality domestic bubblies) straight so you can appreciate them. For champagne cocktails, there are some very good sparklers under $10 that are ideal for mixing. Readers should always have a bottle or two of better quality champagne around for celebrations and several less expensive bottles for mixing. If you have a spare fridge in the basement, keep it stocked.

This post will only recommend wines from houses that have had some of their sparkling wines score at least 85 or 90 points by some well known rating service like Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast. Although quality will vary year to year with the vintage, etc., it’s safe to assume that these winemakers know what they are doing and will turn out a good product. That means that while individual wines mentioned here may not have been rated (or not rated high enough to brag about), you will be buying a reliable product and not junk wine.

Under $20

Before we get into the real bargains, lets look at the bubblies that price out closer to $20. Gloria Ferrer makes some excellent sparkling wines that are among my favorites. Although not on sale this month (that’s a shame) their Blanc de Noirs ($18) and Brut ($17) have both been highly rated by multiple rating services. Domaine Chandon is another producer of highly rated bubbly in our price range. Their Brut and their Blanc de Noirs are both on sale this month for $16, and Chandon Riche Extra Dry, while not on sale, is a bargain at $19. Rated only a couple of points lower is Mumm Napa’s Brut, on sale this month for $19. Piper Sonoma doesn’t rate quite as highly, but their Brut is on sale this month for $15 and is worth a try.

Around $10 and less

Korbel used to be the best of the budget bubblies, their Extra Dry has been rated respectably in the mid eighties and is on sale this month ($10.5), as are several other of their sparklers, a Brut and a Chardonnay among them. Now, however, they have some competition in their price range. Domaine Sainte Michelle, also scoring in the mid-eighties, is another bargain bubbly on sale for $11 this month. The real bargains in this price range, however, are some of the sparklers from Barefoot Bubbly. Three Bubblies (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay Brut, and Chardonnay Extra Dry) are all on sale for $8. Wine Enthusiast gave one of their bubblies an 87 rating and a Top 100 Best Values award several years ago. Barefoot Bubblies are a great value; the first time I tasted one I couldn’t believe the price. Barefoot’s sparklers are very drinkable on their own, and are great in any champagne cocktail you might care to try.

There are some even less expensive bubblies on sale this month: André wines are on sale for $3.5 and Cook’s for as low as $4. Needless to say, these are not among my recommendations, and so far as I know they have never been highly rated. They can serve a purpose in punches or in other concoctions where “champagne” is a minority ingredient or is overpowered by the other ingredients, but my recommendation is that you never drink them straight.

If you have an affinity for some other bubbly (domestic or imported) that is available for under $20, please share the information with others by adding a comment to this post. Happy Holidays! In the meantime, if you want to know what you’re looking for when you go to the wine store, view this slideshow for photos of most of the bubblies mentioned in the post, plus a couple of serving suggestions.

Beat the winter weather with a Hot Rum Toddy

While we were watching Réal Salt Lake win the MLS Cup on TV last night, the weather in Salt Lake City was turning nasty, dropping about two inches of snow in the valley for people to wake up to. What better time to have a Hot Rum Toddy? Not when you wake up, of course, but in the evening… The most important ingredient of an HRT is some good, dark rum. I recommend Gosling’s Black Seal® or Myer’s Planters Punch®. Gosling’s is an excellent rum, and it’s a bargain at under $20/750 ml. (You can also use it in a Dark and Stormy when the weather is nicer.) The recipe below is easy to throw together in just a couple of minutes, and is guaranteed to cure what ails you (or at least warm you up on a cold winter’s night). Remember, though, that an HRT is another cocktail that is definitely better stirred than shaken.

This recipe is pretty basic, designed for those of you who like to keep things simple, but there more sophisticated recipes on the web. I found a nice one at Astray.com for those of you who like to consume mass quantities of Hot Rum Toddy. Try it if you want something a little more elaborate. My first HRT was finished while this post was being written, now it’s time to make another. Stay Healthy!

Hot Rum Toddy

1.5 oz Gosling’s Black Seal® rum

1 dash Ground nutmeg (freshly ground, if available)

1 Cinnamon stick (or 1 dash Ground Cinnamon)

3-5 Whole cloves (or 1 dash of ground Cloves)

½ Lemon wheel

1 pat of Butter (unsalted preferred, but use what you have)

5-6 oz Boiling water

Stick the cloves into the lemon wheel, either from the side or by piercing holes through the rind with a cocktail pick. Put the butter in a warm cup or mug. Fill 2/3 full with boiling water. Stir until butter is melted. Pour in the shot of rum (and a little more if there’s room). Sprinkle with nutmeg (and cinnamon if you don’t have a cinnamon stick, and ground cloves if you don’t have whole ones). Add the “cloven” lemon wheel to the cup; you can use the lemon wheel as garnish, but be sure to give it a squeeze and drop it in before drinking. Serve with a teaspoon for stirring (or just stir with the cinnamon stick). Drink slowly, the longer it steeps, the better it tastes.