Death & Co, the book.
To understate matters completely, this looks very interesting. There sure were a lot of good cocktail-related books in 2014.
'tis that season
Using this recipe by Jeffrey Morgenthaler as a guide, I've put up some short-term egg nog for Christmas week. I may try some aged egg nog for next season, but that's a topic for another time.
Naturally I'm looking to spike my nog with rum, rather than the tequila/sherry combination presented in the original recipe. But in the spirit of those ingredients, I've used 2 aged Plantation rums: the 5 year Barbados for the "Añejo"' and a 1999 aged Plantation Trinidad rum that was finished in sherry casks.
Results late tomorrow, once it has chilled overnight in the fridge.
Christmas Nui
One of my favorite "holiday" drinks is the Christmas Nui, created by Helena at A Mountain of Crushed Ice. It's a classic Don's Nui Nui formula with a couple of slight twists that steer it into Christmas flavor territory. The rum is punched up in flavor by substituting Smith & Cross and some Lemon Hart 151 in place of the original's gold Virgin Islands rum, and the Angostura bitters are traded for mole bitters (substitute Fee's Aztec Chocolate as needed; the results are still great). Otherwise the classic Nui Nui flavors are present: lime, orange, pimento, vanilla, and cinnamon. In fact, without too much altering, the Nui Nui is already hitting some traditional Christmas notes.
I mix these pretty often around Christmas and am just now realizing that the recipe is probably made for 2 servings - I'll have to try it that way. When made for 1, it's extremely potent, so make one at home, relax with some classic Christmas tunes from the 40s, and try to let the season wash over you.
Holiday punch recipe: The Cup of Cheer
It's that time of year again, so how about a nice holiday punch? Episode 17 has a few notes on punch and an easy seasonally-flavored rum punch recipe. Go forth and pour.
Mugs by Jungle Modern Ceramics.