cranberries

Cocktail Advent 2: Cranberry Celebration

Sips

One good cranberry deserves another, yes?

Well, maybe not, but if you over-bought on the whole berries and are looking for something to do with them other than make garland, here’s an idea.

Image via Ketel One

Image via Ketel One

CRANBERRY CELEBRATION

  • 1 ½ oz. Ketel One® Citroen
  • 1 tablespoon of cranberry reduction
  • ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
  • ½ oz. simple syrup
  • Club soda

Combine first four ingredients in a mixing glass. Vigorously shake with ice and pour contents into a rocks glass (fine strain over new ice if you prefer no chunks). Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a cranberry and mint sprig.

****To make a cranberry reduction, take a 12 oz. bag of cranberries, rinse and add 4 oz. of orange juice and 4 oz. of simple syrup. Bring it to a boil, and let simmer for 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally while it is simmering. Place the reduction into the freezer for 30 minutes and allow the reduction to thicken.

I like that this one seems fairly low-alcohol (all depends on how much club soda you add, I suppose–that splash could be extended to a good pour without too much trouble) and a good possibility for sipping throughout an evening.

***This recipe was submitted by a representative of Ketel One®. I have no affiliation with them nor was I compensated for posting this recipe, not even with review samples. As always, we encourage responsible refreshment and the use of the Designated Driver. No drunken monkeys, please!***

AlcoHOLidays | Thanksgiving | Berry-Cran Cobbler

Sips

Berry-Cran Cobbler Cocktail for Thanksgiving

Growing up, Mom made no bones about Thanksgiving being her favorite holiday. Trips home to see family were in November, not December, and featured large gatherings of family and friends, food served buffet-style on every flat surface available, and (one memorable year) plates that were actually Chinet platters, because a normal plate wouldn’t come close to holding a little bit of everything available.

These days Thanksgiving is often relegated to the back-burner for many. Merely a carbo-load before Black Friday shopping begins (this year some stores are starting Thursday night, even).

Despite some of the more inauspicious beginnings of Thanksgiving (similar to the controversy surrounding Columbus Day), Thanksgiving is still widely celebrated throughout the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. Menus vary depending on your family’s heritage or adopted traditions, though turkey with all the trimmings is considered the norm. What makes this turkey dinner different from any other?

Cranberry Sauce

Sure, you can buy canned cranberry sauce year-round, but you can roast poultry year round, too. Cranberry sauce is just one of those things we don’t seem to buy much of (or make) except for Thanksgiving.

Berry-Cran Cobbler

1 Tbsp Dried Cranberries
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 1/2 oz Spiced Rum
3 Tbsp Raspberries & Blueberries
Crushed Ice
Cranberry Juice
Sprig of Mint

Muddle the dried cranberries and simple syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add the rum, fresh berries, and then crushed ice to the 3/4 mark on the glass and shake until nice and frothy. Dump the whole thing into a glass, add more ice (if needed), and fill with cranberry juice.  Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve with a straw.

Even though cobblers are traditionally made with sherry or other fortified wines, I thought rum better fit the feeling I was going for. The fresh berries should break up a bit during shaking and the cobbler is one of the few drinks that is served with the shaking ice rather than straining over fresh. It’s a fun sort of throw-back drink for a fun sort of throw-back holiday. It’s very sweet, so if you want something lighter, split the shaken mixture between two glasses and use more cranberry juice to thin it.

To be totally candid…

There’s a lot of crap going on in society today–Mother Nature is obviously not. pleased. with us, jobs are still scarce for many, and some people still insist on being grade-A asshats just because they feel like it. But in the face of all of that, we still have a lot to be thankful for. I’m not going to make you confess your gratitude. (Hey, if what you’re most thankful for today is your morning coffee, your earbuds to drown out an annoying co-worker, and the 30%-off coupon you’ve got for Kohls, you shouldn’t have to feel bad for standing next to the guy whose thankful his cancer’s in remission–we don’t judge, here. Be happy for you both.) But whatever you raise your glass to this coming week, I hope you have a good one.

Cheers!