alcoholidays series

AlcoHOLidays | Sweetest Day | Candy Coated Cocktail

Sips

Not something we commonly celebrate down here in the South, Sweetest Day (3rd Saturday of October) is one of those holidays you tend to hear about at the last minute and assume that it’s some trumped-up corporate money-grab by the candy and card companies.

Turns out, there’s a little more to it than that (thank goodness).

Back in the 1920s a group of confectioners (candy makers) in Cleveland, Ohio, got together and decided to give candy to “newsboys, orphans, old folks and the poor” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, via Wikipedia). On the one hand it does seem a little odd to be giving candy out to folks who could likely use other, more substantial, gifts, on the other hand we all know how nice it is to buy or receive something absolutely frivolous–even in otherwise dire circumstances.

Sweetest Day Editorial, 1922, Cleveland Plain Dealer

So, yes, it’s corporate, but it was done with an eye towards philanthropy it would seem. Take that for what you will.

Candy Coated Cocktail

Having learned a little more about it, I see it on the level of Valentine’s Day–optional if both you and your partner agree to skip it, but nice to have the reminder to express gratitude to friends, family, and loved ones*.

So in honor of the confectionery delights that started that Sweetest Day of the Year back in 1922, I’m transforming my Candy Bar Shot into a full-fledged cocktail.

Candy Coated Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Irish Cream Liqueur
1 oz Whipped Cream Vodka
3/4 oz Butterscotch Schanpps
1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
1/4 oz Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur

Drizzle a chilled cocktail glass with some extra chocolate liqueur or chocolate syrup and place back into the fridge while you mix up the cocktail.

Combine all of the ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and stir until until nice and frosty. Strain into the prepared cocktail glass and garnish with something sweet.

Now, this is solidly alcoholic and solidly sweet. And, yet, it’s not too sweet or too strong to prevent you from enjoying it. It’s a wonderful dessert drink.

*Yes, we should always appreciate those important to us and shouldn’t need to set aside a single day where the value of our love is measured by gifts, etc. But we get busy. And we take people for granted. And sometimes we need a reminder as subtle as a sledgehammer to remember why we like having these people in our lives and that it’s worth celebrating these moments together. And I don’t give a flying flip about your over-commercialization rant.

AlcoHOLidays | Leif Erikson Day | That Norse Thing

Sips

In my original blog schedule, I had today pegged for the upcoming Columbus Day holiday (observed on 10/8 in 2012, the landing was actually 10/12). While I’m not averse to hit on some more obscure holidays over this next year, I figured it made sense to hit up all the US Federal holidays, too.

That Norse Thing Cocktail for Leif Erikson Day

Until I started brushing up on my Columbus Day research, and realized that (obviously) not everyone considered this a positive celebration (several states don’t even observe it). While I don’t think it’s necessarily right that our generation be held responsible for things done by generations (centuries) past, it’s one thing to accept the unfortunate-to-our-modern-eyes culture of the day back in the age of exploration and move forward and another to celebrate that which displaced nations. At first I thought maybe to do equal time: Columbus Day this week, Indigenous Peoples Day next. But then I realized how much poor taste it would be in to raise a cocktail in celebration of a culture for whom alcoholism is a severe problem.

So I decided we’re just going to back slowly away from that whole minefield and focus on another upcoming holiday: Leif Erikson Day!

You know, the Viking that actually discovered North America almost 500 years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue?

From what I can tell, though the son of Erik the Red did land and settle, for a time, in present-day Canada around the turn of the last millennia  he didn’t really set down roots. And the family of his that went back were, in fact, wiped out by native tribes and that was pretty much the end of that.

And although October 9th was not the day Erikson set foot in the New World, it was the date chosen to celebrate the Norwegian discovery of the New World.

That Norse Thing

3 oz Apple Juice
2 oz Gin
1 oz Pomegranate Tequila

 Combine all ingredients over ice in a tall glass and stir until frigid.

The way I see it, if your off on a voyage of discovery, you don’t need to be fiddling around with a lot of gear, glasses with tiny stems, or anything overly complicated. You need your drink ready to go in a few moments because that’s all you might have. So this cocktail is built in the serving glass and stirred to combine. Juniper and apples are common(ish) in Norse cooking, and the pomegranate is my nod to Erikson (son of Erik… the red… please tell me I don’t have to keep explaining that one). Tequila may seem an odd choice–he didn’t land in Mexico–but the Pomegranate Tequila I have is far smoother and blends better than the pomegranate liqueur on its own.

And about the name. One thing I noticed when I was reading up on Erikson and Norway was that they have a lot of Things–in this case, thing meaning an assembly or group, later the matter or object being discussed at the assembly or meeting–and I just had to work that in somehow. They weren’t the only ones with Things (there are similar Germanic roots, too), but it was just something to good to pass up.

Regardless of what you choose to celebrate this coming week, make sure you celebrate with awareness.

And, you know, don’t drink and boat.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival | Moonrise Reunion

Sips

Welcome, friends, to another installment of our AlcoHOLidays series, where we take a moment to raise our glass in celebration for a local or not so local holiday.

This coming weekend (September 3o, in the States, September 29, in China) is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, or the Moon Cake Festival. Like many harvest festivals, it’s ruled by the moon phases, so the dates can shift each year but it’s usually some time in September (the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, to be specific). During this festival it’s traditional to spend time with friends and family, share moon cakes and even have a barbecue under the light of the full moon.

Moonrise Reunion Cocktail for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Like many long-standing cultural festivals, there are several stories that point to an origin but not single, definitive moment. A lot of them have to do with the lady Chang’e and her husband Hou Yi, the archer, and a pill (or pills) of immortality. The whys and wherefores are complicated, but Chang’e ends up taking the pill, and floating up to the moon. In some versions Hou Yi loves her too much to shoot her (or the moon) down, in others he’d become greedy and ambitious and his skills had suffered as a result, and therefore couldn’t shoot her down. Some say that Hou Yi eventually went to live on the Sun and once a month is able to visit the Moon, and that’s why it’s full each month.

Quaint, though that last one smacks of the whole ‘a woman is only complete with a man’ mumbo jumbo, but I don’t want to bash another cultures historical beliefs, so we’ll just stop there.

The moon cakes came into major relevance when the Han Chinese used them to spread word of a revolt against the Mongols that was scheduled to start at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mongols weren’t moon cake fans, apparently, and sharing moon cakes at that time was common, so they were none the wiser that little strips of paper had been inserted into the dense cakes. If it hadn’t been for those moon cakes, the famous Ming Dynasty might never have happened!

For today’s cocktail I wanted something light and crisp, to complement (not compete with) the heavy moon cakes and barbecue that it will theoretically accompany. I picked up some plum wine and some Ramune soda at the local World Market to experiment with, and this is what I came up with:

Moonrise Reunion

1 1/2 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Plum Wine
3/4 oz Apple Juice
pinch of powdered Ginger

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake until frosty. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a small plum (mine came from the small bottle of plum wine I used for this recipe). A little bit of ginger will dot the top of the drink.

While my other cocktail contender–a play on the classic Melon Ball–was much sweeter and looked very nice with it’s green hue next to some strawberry Pocky, this plum wine version of an Oriental Martini actually fit the bill better. Even though the plum wine was very sweet with a little bit of spice to it, combined with the vodka and juice it became a clean, bright cocktail that lovers of dirty martinis will enjoy.

I’d hope to make or procure some moon cakes to go with today’s post, but they were a little hard to come by in my neck of the woods. And while I found recipes, I didn’t start this project in near enough time to get everything in and assembled in time. Such is life; maybe next year. Instead, though, I found some mochi which, while technically not even close, some of the more modern interpretations of moon cakes do resemble. Hey, it’s round and has red bean paste inside, that counts for something. At least I didn’t go with my second (okay, third) thought and pick up some moon pies!

Cheers!

AlcHOLidays | National Bluebird of Happiness Day | Pursuit of Happiness

Sips

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, you say? Notice that it’s only the pursuit of happiness we’re guaranteed, not the finding or attainment.

In the 1940 film The Blue Bird (starring Shirley Temple, speaking of drinks), the bird in question is given as a selfless gift, and then escapes. The moral being that the bluebird of happiness is always to be pursued, not captured. And from the 1934 song,

be like I, hold your head up high,
’til you see a ray of light and cheer

and so remember this, life is no abyss
somewhere there’s a bluebird of happiness

—Bluebird of Happiness, Harmati & Heyman

All this to say, September 24 (that’s this coming Monday) has become known as the National Bluebird of Happiness Day. Now, you can take that as a challenge to always look for the silver lining, to keep optimistic as the days get shorter and the weather turns brisk (which is a plus in my book), or to go out of your way to spread a little happiness for someone else; essentially being a bluebird of happiness yourself!

And if you’re into old movies but not feeling the Shirley Temple vibe, watch Hitchcock’s The Birds, instead. I’m certainly not going to judge what makes you happy.

Pursuit of Happiness Cocktail for National Bluebird of Happiness Day, September 24

Part of what makes me happy, of course, is creating fun cocktails for any and all reasons. Historically, there is a cocktail known as the Blue Bird, using either gin or vodka, triple sec (ptoo!) or curacao, and bitters. I suppose gin would make sense for the era (Vodka didn’t get a good foothold in the US until mid-century, after all), but my thought process was veering a bit more tropical, plus I’ve been wanting to use this new Denizen Aged White Rum from Holland (look for a full review forthcoming), so rum and blue curacao (of course) means pineapple isn’t very far behind. Then I decided to try and see what the difference would be between pineapple juice and pineapple soda. Just because.

Pursuit of Happiness

2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Aged White Rum (like Denizen)
3/4 oz Blue Curacao
garnish of a slice of Pineapple with or without a little bluebird pick

Combine the juice, rum, and curacao over ice and shake til you’re feeling happy. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Making little themed picks from a bird stamp, blue ink, and toothpicks is totally optional but fun!

So, I tried this both ways: with pineapple soda and pineapple juice. No surprise that the juice version won out, really, it’s only to be expected. The soda just didn’t have enough oomph to blend well and stand up to the two alcohols, while the juice gave the drink some body and you really got more pineapple flavor. Now, if you wanted to, I’m sure you could cut it half and half and be fine, but I was feeling more all or nothing last night.

And for those who might wonder if the Cruzan Vanilla Rum I reviewed a while back might not go lovely in this drink, it’s too sweet. I know, is that really possible? But yes. The aged white rum has depth without being harsh, the vanilla would be a bit cloying. That said, if you were inclined to combine the pineapple juice and the pineapple soda and then lace it with a bit of that Cruzan Vanilla Rum, what you would have would be more than a little reminiscent of pineapple upside down cake.

And there’s nothing wrong with that!

And because this is one of my favorite TMBG songs and actually has ties to the original Bluebird of Happiness (bluebird of friendliness, anyone?), I have to close with Birdhouse in Your Soul.

(Direct link for the Feed Readers: Birdhouse in Your Soul by TMBG)

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Mexican Independence Day | The Caliente

Sips

Raise your hands, all of you who think (thought) Cinco de Mayo was Mexico’s Independence Day.

Okay, put your hands back down.

For the record, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) celebrates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Fifty-two years earlier, however, Mexico began it’s fight for independence from Spain with the “Cry of Dolores” (Dolores being a city, not a person–the actual “cry” came from a Roman Catholic Priest by the name of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla) on September 16, 1810. Even though they would not be completely free of Spanish rule until 1821, September 16th is recognized as the National Day of Independence in Mexico.

Partida Tequila and the Caliente cocktail for Mexican Independence Day

Now that we’ve had our history lesson for the week, let’s raise our glass, once again, to independence.

Tequila Partida contacted me about the upcoming holiday and sent me some samples of their lovely, lovely tequilas. They also wondered (and I have to join them in their puzzlement) why Americans celebrate Mexican holidays (or, you know, Tuesday) with blanco tequila, when the aged reposado and anejo tequilas are the grades of choice for celebrations in Mexico.

I’ve never been a huge fan of blanco tequila (aka unaged tequila)–it’s often too harsh and lacks that wonderful warmth that I associate with a good margarita (and that would be a margarita on the rocks, none of this slushy nonsense thank you very much). True, the aging process (while adding quality) does add to the price, but for superior flavor I think it’s worth it..

I had the opportunity to sample the Partida’s blanco, reposado, and anejo tequilas and I have to say, I was surprised that I liked the blanco better than the reposado, but not at all surprised that I enjoyed the anejo even more. What’s the difference?

  • Blanco is not aged at all, but Partida’s blanco is relatively smooth, light and crisp without the hard edges the other blanco’s I’ve tasted have had.
  • Reposado, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 2 months. Partida ages their for 6 months, which gives it a nice, light amber color. While I enjoyed the depth of flavor, it hadn’t smoothed out as much as I would have expected.
  • Anejo, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 1 year. Again, Partida goes beyond the minimum and ages their anejo for 18 months, the outcome of which is a smooth, complex flavor and a nice, golden color. Tasting them side-by-side, even a tequila novice would be able to tell the difference in how smooth and mellow the anejo is compared to the reposado. This is what I want in my margaritas from now on.

Of course, you know me, I like my spirits best in a well-balanced cocktail, and this recipe (courtesy of Jacques Bezuidenhout and Tequila Partida) might be just the thing to add to your tequila cocktail repetoire.

The Caliente

3 chunks of fresh Pineapple
2 coins of fresh Ginger
1/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Agave Nectar*
1 1/2 oz aged Tequila (like Partida Reposado or Anejo)
1 oz Ginger Ale

In a mixing glass combine the pineapple, ginger, lime juice, and agave nectar and muddle until the ginger is broken up a bit. Fill the glass 3/4-full with ice and add the tequila. Shake like you’re keeping time with a lively mariachi band. Pour in ginger ale and swish it around to chill everything together before straining into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger.

Jacques will have to forgive me as I made some tweaks to the recipe–he recommends Partida Reposado, I would go with Anejo, and he used a scant 1/4 oz of ginger ale and I thought why bother if that’s all your adding? I also have you serve it in a cocktail glass where he suggests over ice in a highball. Do what you like. I liked the ginger in this cocktail, the tequila gives it a very nice flavor, but I do wish the pineapple were more foreward–it gets a bit buried under the oompf of the other flavors, so you might want to try pineapple juice instead of the ginger ale or maybe even pineapple soda!

*Agave Nectar is making quite a buzz in culinary circles, and therefore with the home gastronome as well. Most folks say it’s lower calorie but that’s not really true. What is true is that, ounce for ounce, agave nectar is sweeter than table sugar, so you can use less–IF you use less, volumetrically-speaking, then yes, it’s reducing your calories, but a gram of sugar and a gram of agave nectar both add the same amount of calories. Read those labels, though! Manufacturers have been known to stretch their agave nectar in the name of profit with high fructose corn syrup, so check that the ingredient list includes only 100% agave nectar before bringing it home.

Okay, folks, remember to go for the gold? Age before beauty? Something like that! But if you were looking for a reason to try some really good tequila this weekend, now you’ve got it!

And come back next week to find out what we’re celebrating next!

“¡Viva Mexico! ¡Viva la independencia!” 

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FTC Disclaimer: I was provided samples of Partida Tequilas for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.Â