It’s getting colder. And with each dwindling degree on the thermometer or fresh inch of white fluff on the ground, we’ll lose our resolve to trudge outside—even to a favorite bar. Fret not. Freeze not. We asked some top bartenders to share recipes and recommendations for winter imbibing at home. Whether you need the perfect punch for your party, a hot cocktail to kill the chill or a stomach-settling digestif after a huge holiday meal, we’ve got you covered.
If you’re planning a holiday party, serving punch has an obvious selling point: Short of hiring a bartender, batching a beverage in advance is the easiest way to ensure you don’t miss your own bash because you’re mixing cocktails all night. Besides, a communal cocktail encourages a sense of sociability. The gravitational pull of the punch bowl makes it the party’s hub, where guests return to mix and mingle in different combinations.
Katie Emmerson, bar manager at The Hawthorne, recommends her Speedwell Punch. It’s a perfect pick for any holiday season soiree, thanks to a festive combination of olde New England ingredients: cranberries, tea and rum, the last a major Massachusetts export in the early American colonies. And it’s particularly appropriate for Thanksgiving gatherings, as Emmerson named it for the smaller ship that was supposed to sail alongside the Mayflower, bringing Pilgrims to their future home in Plymouth. Alas, the Speedwell sprung a leak and never made that famous voyage. Boozehounds: Consider this an early admonition about breaking the seal too soon.
Speedwell Punch
Ingredients:
6 lemons
2 cups white sugar
2 cups double-strength rooibos tea
6 oz. cranberry liqueur
4 oz. Benedictine
12 oz. white rum
12 oz. dark rum
Peel your lemons to create homemade oleo saccharum, a sugary oil commonly used in classic punches. It’s easy: Muddle the lemon peels with the sugar to release oils. (Let it sit overnight, or for two hours at minimum.) Then squeeze the peeled lemons to produce two cups of juice. Combine ingredients, stir to dissolve the sugar, strain out the lemon peels and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, add ice to your bowl and garnish with grated nutmeg.
(Serves 6-10 people)
Rather than buying bags upon bags of ice, Emmerson suggests making one large ice cube by freezing water in a generously sized Tupperware container.
Jackson Cannon bar knife. Naturally, Emmerson suggests nicking the knife designed by the Hawthorne’s owner and esteemed mixology guru, created in collaboration with 164-year old company R. Murphy Knives in Ayer, MA.
The Usual Suspects
SEAN WOODS OF RIBELLE
Believe it or not, Woods had never even tended bar before becoming the opening bar manager at this breakout Brookline restaurant. Clearly his crash course paid off, yielding competitive skills that scored him the “Punch King” crown during the Boston stop of the Cochon 555 culinary series.
Ingredients:
1 liter cognac
1 liter Benedictine, an herbal liqueur
22 oz. fresh lemon juice
5.5 oz. ginger syrup
(Almost) 3 bottles of dry sparkling wine
Woods says to drink a “good size glass” of one bottle, then use the remainder and two more. He recommends brut or extra dry brut. Combine ingredients and serve chilled, with or without ice.
(Yields about 22 servings.)
A vintage Jim Beam decanter. Woods loves scouring antique stores for old-timey bar tools, and has a collection of the bourbon maker’s many commemorative vessels, which come in shapes like Corvettes and cowboys.
Atholl Brose Milk Punch
ALEX THIBAULT OF CATALYST
Everyone knows eggnog. Why not try this winter-apropos alternative from Scotland? Still a popular drink during Christmas and Hogmanay (Scottish New Year), it’s said to be named for the 1st Earl of Atholl, who subverted a rebellion by spiking the enemy troops’ well with this booze—so it should preempt any holiday squabbles.
Ingredients:
To make the brose:
1 cup of rolled oats
Pinch of Salt
2 cups of water
To make the punch:
1 cup of brose liquid
1 cup of whiskey
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of honey
For the brose, soak 1 cup of rolled oats in 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Allow to stand for at least 2 hours before straining the brose away from the oats. Mix 1 cup of the brose liquid with 1 cup of good blended whiskey (Famous Grouse works well) and ¾ cup fresh heavy cream; sweeten to taste with honey (a quarter cup is a good place to start). Mix well and enjoy either chilled or warmed up slightly on the stovetop.
Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails. This just-released tome features 500 recipes from the influential NYC joint, winner of America’s Best Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail.
Presidential Punch
DAREN SWISHER OF JM CURLEY
Head bartender Swisher recommends this twist on the classic cocktail El Presidente. It honors New England’s rum heritage while integrating sherry, an on-trend cocktail ingredient that also adds body, preventing a punch from getting too watery as it dilutes during your party.
Ingredients:
1 750 mL bottle of Amber rum (Swisher likes Ipswich’s Privateer)
1 ½ cups dry curaçao (or a cognac-based orange cordial like Grand Marnier)
1 ½ cups oloroso sherry; Swisher recommends Gutierrez Colosia Sangre y Trabajadero or El Maestro Sierra 15-year
¼ cup pomegranate juice
4 lemons
2 oranges
3 bags of black tea (English breakfast)
¾ cup Demerara sugar (or Sugar in the Raw)
1 bottle dry sparkling wine
1 whole cinnamon stick
A day prior, peel 3 lemons (wrap in plastic and save for later) and 1 orange. Muddle the peels with your Demerara sugar until very fragrant, cover, and stand at room temp for at least 12 hours.
Five hours before serving punch, steep 3 black tea bags in 1 cup of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove bags and chill the tea. Four hours before serving, add the chilled black tea to the citrus peel and sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sugar and tea mixture to the rum, sherry, curaçao and pomegranate juice along with the juice of three lemons (pulp strained and discarded); stir to combine and chill.
Pour punch base into bowl, add ice and one thinly sliced lemon and one thinly sliced orange. Top individual cups with sparkling wine as served, or add entire bottle to bowl just as first guests arrive. Garnish with grated cinnamon.
Holiday Spirits
By Scott Kearnan | Photo Credit: Adam Detour; Prop Styling: Sierra Baskind / Ennis Inc.; Drink Styling: Monica Mariano / Ennis Inc. | Nov. 21, 2014
It’s getting colder. And with each dwindling degree on the thermometer or fresh inch of white fluff on the ground, we’ll lose our resolve to trudge outside—even to a favorite bar. Fret not. Freeze not. We asked some top bartenders to share recipes and recommendations for winter imbibing at home. Whether you need the perfect punch for your party, a hot cocktail to kill the chill or a stomach-settling digestif after a huge holiday meal, we’ve got you covered.
A Knockout Punch
If you’re planning a holiday party, serving punch has an obvious selling point: Short of hiring a bartender, batching a beverage in advance is the easiest way to ensure you don’t miss your own bash because you’re mixing cocktails all night. Besides, a communal cocktail encourages a sense of sociability. The gravitational pull of the punch bowl makes it the party’s hub, where guests return to mix and mingle in different combinations.
Katie Emmerson, bar manager at The Hawthorne, recommends her Speedwell Punch. It’s a perfect pick for any holiday season soiree, thanks to a festive combination of olde New England ingredients: cranberries, tea and rum, the last a major Massachusetts export in the early American colonies. And it’s particularly appropriate for Thanksgiving gatherings, as Emmerson named it for the smaller ship that was supposed to sail alongside the Mayflower, bringing Pilgrims to their future home in Plymouth. Alas, the Speedwell sprung a leak and never made that famous voyage. Boozehounds: Consider this an early admonition about breaking the seal too soon.
Speedwell Punch
Ingredients:
6 lemons
2 cups white sugar
2 cups double-strength rooibos tea
6 oz. cranberry liqueur
4 oz. Benedictine
12 oz. white rum
12 oz. dark rum
Peel your lemons to create homemade oleo saccharum, a sugary oil commonly used in classic punches. It’s easy: Muddle the lemon peels with the sugar to release oils. (Let it sit overnight, or for two hours at minimum.) Then squeeze the peeled lemons to produce two cups of juice. Combine ingredients, stir to dissolve the sugar, strain out the lemon peels and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, add ice to your bowl and garnish with grated nutmeg.
(Serves 6-10 people)
Rather than buying bags upon bags of ice, Emmerson suggests making one large ice cube by freezing water in a generously sized Tupperware container.
Jackson Cannon bar knife. Naturally, Emmerson suggests nicking the knife designed by the Hawthorne’s owner and esteemed mixology guru, created in collaboration with 164-year old company R. Murphy Knives in Ayer, MA.
The Usual Suspects
SEAN WOODS OF RIBELLE
Believe it or not, Woods had never even tended bar before becoming the opening bar manager at this breakout Brookline restaurant. Clearly his crash course paid off, yielding competitive skills that scored him the “Punch King” crown during the Boston stop of the Cochon 555 culinary series.
Ingredients:
1 liter cognac
1 liter Benedictine, an herbal liqueur
22 oz. fresh lemon juice
5.5 oz. ginger syrup
(Almost) 3 bottles of dry sparkling wine
Woods says to drink a “good size glass” of one bottle, then use the remainder and two more. He recommends brut or extra dry brut. Combine ingredients and serve chilled, with or without ice.
(Yields about 22 servings.)
A vintage Jim Beam decanter. Woods loves scouring antique stores for old-timey bar tools, and has a collection of the bourbon maker’s many commemorative vessels, which come in shapes like Corvettes and cowboys.
Atholl Brose Milk Punch
ALEX THIBAULT OF CATALYST
Everyone knows eggnog. Why not try this winter-apropos alternative from Scotland? Still a popular drink during Christmas and Hogmanay (Scottish New Year), it’s said to be named for the 1st Earl of Atholl, who subverted a rebellion by spiking the enemy troops’ well with this booze—so it should preempt any holiday squabbles.
Ingredients:
To make the brose:
1 cup of rolled oats
Pinch of Salt
2 cups of water
To make the punch:
1 cup of brose liquid
1 cup of whiskey
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of honey
For the brose, soak 1 cup of rolled oats in 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Allow to stand for at least 2 hours before straining the brose away from the oats. Mix 1 cup of the brose liquid with 1 cup of good blended whiskey (Famous Grouse works well) and ¾ cup fresh heavy cream; sweeten to taste with honey (a quarter cup is a good place to start). Mix well and enjoy either chilled or warmed up slightly on the stovetop.
Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails. This just-released tome features 500 recipes from the influential NYC joint, winner of America’s Best Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail.
Presidential Punch
DAREN SWISHER OF JM CURLEY
Head bartender Swisher recommends this twist on the classic cocktail El Presidente. It honors New England’s rum heritage while integrating sherry, an on-trend cocktail ingredient that also adds body, preventing a punch from getting too watery as it dilutes during your party.
Ingredients:
1 750 mL bottle of Amber rum (Swisher likes Ipswich’s Privateer)
1 ½ cups dry curaçao (or a cognac-based orange cordial like Grand Marnier)
1 ½ cups oloroso sherry; Swisher recommends Gutierrez Colosia Sangre y Trabajadero or El Maestro Sierra 15-year
¼ cup pomegranate juice
4 lemons
2 oranges
3 bags of black tea (English breakfast)
¾ cup Demerara sugar (or Sugar in the Raw)
1 bottle dry sparkling wine
1 whole cinnamon stick
A day prior, peel 3 lemons (wrap in plastic and save for later) and 1 orange. Muddle the peels with your Demerara sugar until very fragrant, cover, and stand at room temp for at least 12 hours.
Five hours before serving punch, steep 3 black tea bags in 1 cup of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove bags and chill the tea. Four hours before serving, add the chilled black tea to the citrus peel and sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sugar and tea mixture to the rum, sherry, curaçao and pomegranate juice along with the juice of three lemons (pulp strained and discarded); stir to combine and chill.
Pour punch base into bowl, add ice and one thinly sliced lemon and one thinly sliced orange. Top individual cups with sparkling wine as served, or add entire bottle to bowl just as first guests arrive. Garnish with grated cinnamon.
By Scott Kearnan | Photo Credit: Adam Detour; Prop Styling: Sierra Baskind / Ennis Inc.; Drink Styling: Monica Mariano / Ennis Inc.
A Winter Warmer
Here’s a fun fact you can use as a party icebreaker: The holiday standard “Let It Snow!” ironically originated during a 1945 Hollywood heat wave, when its songwriters were pining for cold weather. (Imagine that, New Englanders.)
Its lyrics suggest “corn for popping” when the snow isn’t stopping. But we’d add hot cocktails to the wintry mix, and Island Creek Oyster Bar general manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli always concocts a creative selection of them for the chilly months. He’s shared one of his favorites, the Pomelo Puro, which makes use of marmalade, a tactic for adding texture to water-heavy hot drinks, along with citrus flavors. We often associate the refreshing tartness of grapefruits and oranges with summertime, but Schlesinger-Guidelli points out that citrus fruits are actually at their peak availability and sweetness during the winter. And this cocktail lets you play a bit with kitchen ingredients, an easy exercise for rookie mixologists that will pass some time during a snow day.
Sip up. The weather outside is frightful, but inside, you’re drunk, so who cares?
Pomelo Puro
Ingredients:
1 oz. Pisco Portón, a Peruvian white spirit distilled from grapes
1.5 oz. sage grapefruit marmalade
2 dashes orange bitters
1 dash absinthe
Hot water
You can opt for store-bought, but to create your own marmalade, cut a peeled grapefruit into eighths, then cook until reduced in half. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 15 sage leaves and the zest of one orange. Simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes, and then chop coarsely in a food processor. Let cool before adding to the other ingredients.
Want to offer guests cocktail options without playing bartender all night or buying out the whole liquor store? Schlesinger-Guidelli suggests putting recipes and instructions for two or three drinks in picture frames next to a mixing area stocked with only the ingredients needed.
Tovolo ice cube trays. Tom recommends these for home bartenders. They’re made of flexible silicone, which makes it easy to pop out symmetrical, crack-free cubes.
Il Professore
TYLER WANG OF AUDUBON
Wang is a connoisseur of coffee cocktails. Bars and restaurants often give java short shrift, he says, yet “it is, in my opinion, one of the truest conduits for tasting and understanding terroir, on par with great wine.” The obvious bonus to his Il Professore, a coffee-boosted Negroni of sorts: The caffeine will temper the drowsy effects of imbibing warm booze during the long nights of winter.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Carpano Antica
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Navy Strength Plymouth Gin
2 oz. freshly brewed coffee (Wang loves Counter Culture’s Idido)
1 fresh-cut orange twist
You chill glasses for martinis, right? Then warm glassware for a hot cocktail to retain the heat where it belongs—in your drink. (Wang says a warm water bath will do.)
A special bottle to share. Skip trendy bar gizmos, says Wang, and give a top-shelf bottle of something a bit unique—with the cute caveat that it can only be imbibed in each other’s company.
OAK Hot Apple Cider
MICHAEL RAY OF OAK LONG BAR + KITCHEN
As long as you didn’t OD on it during the apple picking days of autumn, cider is ripe for spiking throughout the holiday season. Ray has a simple, easy-to-follow recipe for what he serves at the swanky OAK: In a French press, combine 1 part Berentzen’s apple bourbon to 3 parts apple cider, already warmed by low stove heat. Add a bit of cinnamon from hand-crushed sticks. Steep for 5-7 minutes before pressing—enough time to bring out the caramel and cinnamon notes of the bourbon, Ray says.
For an extra hint of holiday flavor, Ray likes to infuse bourbon (or rum) with a combination of cinnamon, vanilla and Craisins. Allow the infusion to steep for 5-7 days at room temperature.
A bar kit from The Boston Shaker. Ray suggests eschewing mass-market retailers (sorry, Crate and Barrel) for supplies from this Somerville purveyor of bar tools and accoutrements.
By Scott Kearnan | Photo Credit: Adam Detour; Prop Styling: Sierra Baskind / Ennis Inc.; Drink Styling: Monica Mariano / Ennis Inc.
Happy Endings
Every culture celebrates the holidays in different ways, but a toast with something strong is pretty much universal. Consider capping the festivities, and settling your stomach after a massive holiday meal, by clinking glasses with a digestif. Our experts shared their favorites from around the globe.
BECHEROVKA. This Czech herbal bitters “screams winter,” says Fairsted Kitchen bartender Alex Homans. Its balance of sugar, herbs and warm baking spices, particularly cinnamon, tastes like Christmas in a bottle. Supposedly, its secret recipe remains known by only two makers, and Becherovka is often “prescribed” as a home cure for various ailments. Here’s to your health!
GRAPPA. At Belmont’s il Casale, you’ll often find co-owner Damian de Magistris roving the room with his grappa cart, stocked with bottles of the Italian brandy made from the skins, pulp and other remains (“pomace”) of pressed grapes. Grappa is used in zelten, an Italian Christmas cake of dried fruits and nuts, and its particularly robust bouquet is unique among digestifs, says de Magistris. He suggests Marolo Grappa Dedicata al Padre, a 120-proof “family style” variety that honors grappa’s roots as a workingman’s guard against the winter chill.
PUNSCH. Ezra Star, general manager of Fort Point cocktail mecca Drink, has fond memories of drinking this bittersweet liqueur at Christmases spent with friends from Sweden, whose sailors invented punsch in the 18th century. Back then, they added sugar and spices to arrack, a rum-like import from Southeast Asia, during long voyages. Today, it is typically served as a chilled digestif (Star likes the label Kronan), but Swedes also have a special Thursday night tradition of drinking warmed punsch with pea soup. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas fall on Thursday this year. You’re welcome.
SCHNAPPS. In the German custom of Christbaum-Loben, celebrants visit neighbors to compliment their Christmas trees, receiving a thank-you shot of schnapps at each stop. They’d feel right at home at Union Square’s Bronwyn, where bar manager Billy Weston curates an extensive schnapps selection. These aren’t the sugar-loaded liqueurs Americans know, but sweet, clear brandies distilled from fermented fruits. For the home imbiber, Weston suggests Kammer Obstler, a 90-proof blend of Black Forest apples and pears.
SHERRY. Jodie Battles, beverage director at South End tapas haven Toro, loves the “versatility” of fortified white grape wines from Spain, recommending the sweeter, fig- and molasses-tinged flavor of Pedro Ximenez for holiday tippling. Another grape-based custom: In the early 20th century, Spanish wine growers offloading a surplus harvest popularized “Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte” (“The Twelve Grapes of Luck”), a New Year’s Eve tradition in which revelers invite good fortune by scarfing down 12 grapes in the final 12 seconds of the year.
VIN D’ORANGE. The French use this homemade fortified orange wine as both an aperitif and digestif, says Bistro du Midi beverage director Olivier Flosse. But it is decidedly the latter during “Les Treize Desserts de Noël,” a Provencal Christmas tradition that caps dinner with vin d’orange and 13 desserts, signifying Christ and his 12 apostles at the Last Supper. Easy recipes abound online and take about four to six weeks. Jump to it: You have just enough time.
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