Notable Potables

notable potables Drinks to enjoy as you gather with family and friends

Whether you’re hosting or attending a get-together over the next several weeks, a signature cocktail can kickstart the holidays with something a bit different from your normal libations.

[ by rick blanton ]

PHOTOS BY RICK BLANTON

THE DRINK Thanks Given

If you ask anyone in my family, they will tell you that my favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. I can’t think of anything better than being with your family and friends celebrating all that is good in your lives. Few libations pair with the traditional turkey and sides as well as the appropriately named Thanks Given. Its fruity effervescence is a great way to toast in the beginning of the holiday season.

THE DETAILS

Cocktail Ingredients

• 1 oz vodka • 0.5 oz Cointreau* •0.5 oz fresh lemon juice • 1 tablespoon jellied cranberry sauce • Prosecco sparkling wine THE METHOD

Make the cocktail.

Put all ingredients except the prosecco into a shaker and add ice. Shake, then strain into glass and finish filling the glass with prosecco. If desired, garnish with a sage leaf and an orange slice. * Don’t have Cointreau? Other orange liqueurs can be substituted such as Grand Marnier, Triple Sec or Orange Curaçao.

THE DRINK Tarnished Truth Bourbon Cream Coffee

First of all, let me confess that I drink coffee in the morning, coffee in the evening, coffee all day long. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that on Christmas Eve—after everyone has gone to bed—is a great time to sit down in front of the fireplace and enjoy one of these bourbon cream coffees and maybe sneak a cookie or two. And I do make extra just in case the big guy in red shows up early. THE DETAILS

Ingredients

• 6 ½ oz hot coffee (I prefer dark roast) • 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 ½ oz Tarnished Truth Bourbon Cream

THE METHOD Brew fresh coffee. While your coffee is brewing, combine the heavy cream and vanilla extract and froth to a medium consistency. Pour coffee and bourbon cream into a mug and stir gently. Top with whipped cream and then if desired dust with cocoa powder and chocolate curls. BOURBON CREAM: WHERE TO GET IT I love to be able to shop local: Tarnished Truth is a distillery in the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, and it happens to be the first—and only—distillery in a hotel in the United States. In my opinion they have one of the best Bourbon Creams on the market. I typically enjoy it on the rocks.

THE DRINK Harvest Moon

I’m sad to report my days of ‘partying like it’s 1999’ on New Year’s Eve are long gone. It’s more like the ball drops, we may hum a quick verse of “Auld Lang Syne,” then off to bed I go. But in the morning, it’s a different story. We have a big breakfast and start our pre-game ritual to get ready for the college football bowl games. This is when I toast in the new year with a refreshing Harvest Moon. THE DETAILS

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ oz Wheyward Spirit • ½ oz Applejack [apple brandy] • ½ oz Cointreau • ½ oz fresh orange juice • ¾ oz lemon juice • ¼ oz honey* • 4 sage leaves THE METHOD Put all ingredients into a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a floating sage leaf. This is a great and refreshing replacement for a mimosa on New Year’s morning for those of us who are not into sparkling wine. *To cut the sweetness, make a honey simple syrup by reducing 1/2 cup honey with 1/2 cup water; simmer until honey is dissolved. WHEYWARD SPIRIT: WHAT IS IT This is an American-made, specialty spirit made with whey—the liquid byproduct of cheese and other dairy products. The result is a smooth, crisp distilled product that can be sipped staight as well as incorporated into artisan cocktails. It’s not gin, whiskey, vodka or rum, but can be incorporated into cocktails made with those spirits.