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A Taste of the Kawarthas - ATOTK magazine Winter 2021-22
global getaway by Margaret Swaine GETAWAY Columnist and Author www.margaretswaine.com
As Canadians, we love our unique cocktail the Bloody Caesar, but when in Rome…you know the cliché. Here, ideas for toasting the New Year with festive cocktails from around the globe.

Dark and Stormy
Some of the most famous of all cocktails are also the simplest: Harry’s Bar in Venice is legendary for its Bellini, a three to one blend of white peach purée with the Italian sparkling wine Prosecco. Puerto Rico’s Piña Colada is a tropical punch of cream of coconut, pineapple and rum. And, what would a Kentucky Derby be without sipping a Mint Julep? About 80,000 of these bourbon and crushed mint drinks are served at the racetrack during the derby. Off to the races, we say.
In some countries specific recipes have been declared official national drinks defended and promoted by their nations. Others boast a cocktail so world renowned that where it originated becomes a tourist mecca such as the Singapore Sling.
Bermuda - Dark and Stormy
Today just about every bar in Bermuda has a version of their national cocktail. The original recipe is the first modern classic cocktail inducted into the US based Institute for Cocktail Excellence “Mixology Hall of Fame” which honours the best-of-the-best drinks. The best ever result of becalmed at sea. www.goslingsrum.com
It’s a beautiful looking drink that’s surprisingly simple to make. You fill a glass with ice and ginger beer and float Gosling’s Black Seal (or any good dark rum) on top. “The cocktail looks like a dark, stormy French 75 night with the colour of a cloud that only a fool or dead man would sail under,” says seventh generation owner of the rum company Malcolm Gosling. Stir it well before you drink it or your first gulp will be straight rum.
The Dark and Stormy
6 oz ginger beer
2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal rum
Fill glass with crushed ice. Add ginger beer. Pour rum gently on top so it floats. Stir until it looks like a storm cloud, then drink. Mexico - The Margarita
Many people claim to have invented or named the Margarita cocktail. For example, the Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana claims their bartender Danny Negrete created it there in the early 1930s and Pancho Morales said he created it while at Tommy’s Place in Ciudad Juarez in 1942. Whatever, the drink is thoroughly Mexican with the star ingredient, tequila made from fermented and distilled agave, only produced in that country.
Margarita
1 ½ oz tequila
½ oz orange liqueur such as Cointreau
1 oz lime juice
Rub rim of cocktail glass with a rind of lime, drip rim in salt. Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into the glass.
In winter weather, I like to spice the cocktail up.
Spicy Margarita
2 oz tequila
½ oz orange liqueur
1 oz lime juice
½ oz agave syrup (or other sweetener)
2 jalapeno coins, seeds removed
Rub rim of glass with lime wedge or rind, dip in salt. Add jalapeno coins to a shaker and gently muddle. Add tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, agave syrup, plus ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a jalapeno coin.

French 75
France - French 75
There’s constant drinking in Rick’s Bar in the movie Casablanca but the most swish cocktails are the French 75s ordered by Yvonne and her Nazi suitor. A number of years ago when I was in England that cocktail was enjoying a revival in the hot clubs and bars despite the fact it’s named after a 75mm field gun that French forces and the American National Guard used during the First World War. I love it for its refreshing taste. The officers it is said enjoyed it pre-battle for a kick of Dutch courage (the nickname for gin at the time) it added. A citrus twist, a splash of lemon juice, and a top up of bonafide Champagne is all that’s needed to complete the drink. Some versions, which are my preferred ones, add a splash of orange liqueur or another type of sweetener to mellow the tartness.
To celebrate their 75th Anniversary, Intercontinental hotels and resorts are serving a reimagined French 75, called the Intercontinental 75 in over 130 of their properties around the world. Their version uses The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne, lemon juice and honey water.
I use Cantarelle Gin from Provence France which has nice lime peel and grapefruit notes, and my favourite orange liqueur Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao which is a blend of bitter peels of Curacao oranges and spices with brandy and cognac.
The French 75
½ oz gin
¼ oz fresh lemon juice
¼ oz orange liqueur
4 oz Champagne
Put the gin, lemon juice and liqueur into a flute glass. Top up with 4oz or so of good French Champagne.

Pumpkin Hot Toddy
Country: India Cocktail: The Toddy
The toddy was first recorded in British-controlled India. Toddy is a corruption of the Hindi tari for palm sap. By 1786 it was officially defined as a “beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar and spices.
Our frosty Canadian nights are tailor made for snuggling by a fire, hands wrapped around a hot drink like this. A hot toddy was the one alcoholic drink my mother would allow when I was a kid as a cure for a cold. She’d put a squeeze of lemon juice, a heaping spoon of brown sugar, a dollop of butter and a shot of dark rum into a mug and fill it up with boiling water. The lemon was my vitamin C, the butter and sugar soothed my throat and the rum? Well it helped me happily forget about sickness.
A hot toddy can be made with any spirit whether it be brandy, rum, whiskey or even gin mixed with hot water, a sweetener and spices. There are dozens of versions of toddies and current twists often replace the water with hot tea or hot cider.
The Pumpkin Hot Toddy
1 sachet of DAVIDs TEA pumpkin crème brulée tea ¾
cup boiling water ¼
tsp maple syrup 1
oz The Glenlivet 12 Year Old 2
dashes orange bitters C
innamon stick & orange slice for garnish
Seep the tea sachet in hot water in a double walled glass cup or coffee mug for about 5 minutes. Remove sachet and stir in maple syrup. Pour The Glenlivet into the cup, add orange bitters and stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick and orange slice.