Category Archives: Cocktails

Holiday cocktails

Posted on December 9, 2015 | 2 comments

Ho ho ho! The holidays are nearly here and nothing says it’s almost Christmas like some liquid cheer.

I appeared on CTV Calgary this morning to talk (and make) holiday cocktails with the lovely Aisling Tomei. We worked our way through a Dawa with Wyborowa vodka, a delicious eggnog featuring Innis & Gunn beer, a light and bright Mulled Cider, and a bubbly New Years ringer-inner made with Two Oceans Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc in lieu of champagne. A merry way to start a Wednesday, indeed.

I’ve included the recipes below. Enjoy, and remember to have a safe holiday.

Holiday Dawa

Description: This famous tart-sweet sundowner cocktail gets a holiday makeover with the addition of cranberry sauce. Enjoy it on Christmas Eve while contemplating the tree… after the children are in bed.

Dawa means "medicine" in Swahili. Trust me, you'll need a couple doses of these to survive the holidays (and your in-laws/bratty kids/drunkle, etc.) with your sanity intact.

Dawa means “medicine” in Swahili. Trust me, you’ll need a couple doses of these to survive the holidays (and your in-laws/bratty kids/drunkle, etc.) with your sanity intact.

  • 2 oz Wyborowa vodka
  • 2 tsp. honey
  • 1 lime, halved; cut one half into quarters
  • 2 tsp. cranberry syrup (or leftover cranberry sauce)
  • Garnish: Cranberries and straw
  • Glass: Rocks

Method: Juice the intact lime half into the bottom of a rocks glass. Add the honey and the remaining lime quarters and muddle together gently to release remaining lime juice and dissolve honey. Add crushed ice, then pour in vodka and cranberry syrup and stir. Add more ice to top, then garnish with three cranberries and a straw.

Serves: 1

Innis & Gunn Eggnog

Description: Homemade eggnog is so much better than anything store bought. Using the delicious Innis & Gunn oak-aged beer as a base creates a “beernog” you’ll want to drink all winter long. Tip: Serve this at your holiday party and you’ll convert everyone who thinks they don’t like ‘nog.

Who knew Innis & Gunn oak-aged beer would make such a delicious base for a "beernog"?

Who knew Innis & Gunn oak-aged beer would make such a delicious base for a scotch-fortified “beernog”?

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 700 mL whole milk
  • 500 mL whipping cream
  • 1 vanilla pod (or 3 tsp. real vanilla extract)
  • 3 bottles original Innis & Gunn beer
  • 300 mL scotch whisky (I used Auchentoshan American Oak)
  • Garnish: Sprinkle nutmeg
  • Glass: Rocks

Method: In a punch bowl whisk eggs with half of the sugar until sugar dissolves. Slowly add milk, cream and remaining sugar, stir until well combined. Add scotch, beer and vanilla pod (or extract), and refrigerate until ready to serve. Ladle into rocks glasses and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Serves: 12

Mulled Cider

Description: Mulling a berry-forward cider with rum, lemon and spices makes the perfect après-ski, or fireside, sip. Best served hot after a frolic in the snow.

This warm spiced drink is just what the doctor ordered after a frolic in the snow.

This warm spiced drink is just what the doctor ordered.

  • 2 500 mL cans Rekorderlig Swedish Cider
  • 4 oz Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12-year-old rum
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • 2 lemons; 1 sliced, 1 juiced
  • Garnish: Lemon slice
  • Glass: Clear mug

Method: Into a medium saucepan add cider, rum, cinnamon, honey, cloves, the juice of 1 lemon and the other lemon, sliced. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve in clear mugs, scooping out a lemon slice for the garnish.

Serves: 4

Two Oceans RaspBellini

Description: This crisp, dry bubbly meets a peachy muse to create an easy and affordable drink for toasting the New Year.

This sparkling New Years sip is just peachy thanks to a splash of Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach.

This sparkling New Years sip is just peachy thanks to a splash of Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach.

  • 6 oz Two Oceans Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
  • 1 oz Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach
  • Garnish: Fresh raspberries
  • Glass: White wine

Method: Pour Two Oceans Sparkling Sauvignon Blanch into a wine glass. Float the Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach and garnish with two fresh raspberries.

Serves: 1

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Brockmans G&T

Posted on November 13, 2015 | Leave a comment

With the tag line “A Gin Like No Other,” how could I refuse a cocktail kit from Brockmans Gin, a new-ish gin out of the U.K.? Sign me up!

Brockmans uses an interesting mix of botanicals, including almonds, berries and cassia bark (not dissimilar to cinnamon). What’s more, the gin came with tonic, so I really had no excuse not to pour myself a G&T.

It's G&T time!

A cocktail kit with tonic included. Nice!

But first, I sampled the Brockmans on its own. Though I found it a tad fruity and floral for my taste, I appreciate what they are doing with this gin. Dried and wild blueberries and blackberries add sweet berry notes that compete for prominence with the more bitter, piney juniper berries. It’s smooth overall, but it may taste foreign to gin drinkers accustomed to a drier, more herbaceous style of gin. What Brockmans will gain are new gin drinkers whose palates veer to sweet, and those looking for a break from tradition.

The cocktail kit came with a wee bottle of Fever Tree tonic, a lovely, citrusy tonic, also from the U.K. Other Brockmans botanicals include lemon peel and orange peel, so it was well-matched with the Fever Tree. In lieu of the recommended twist of pink grapefruit peel (see recipe), I squeezed in a bit of lime. Then I dropped in some frozen blueberries, which bled pink into the drink and made it look very pretty.

But how did it taste? Good, if fruitier than I’m used to, though its berry taste made me pine for a summer patio rather than a dark Novembver living room. And in hindsight, the grapefruit would have been better than lime. Next time!

Blueberries make a sweet and pretty garnish in this fruit-forward G&T.

Blueberries make a sweet and pretty garnish in this fruit-forward G&T.

Brockmans G&T

  • 2 oz Brockmans Gin
  • 4 oz Fever Tree tonic
  • Grapefruit twist
  • Blueberries (3-5)

Method: Build the drink in a rocks glass filled with ice, stir. Garnish with a pink grapefruit twist and blueberries.

— Recipe courtesy Brockmans Gin

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Drinks at Divino

Posted on October 16, 2015 | Leave a comment

In Calgary, there seems to be a new restaurant opening up every week. With all the buzz about the latest next-best-thing, I sometimes forget about long-standing favourites.

Fortunately, the oldies-but-goodies find new ways to lure back the regulars, as I discovered during a recent happy hour at Divino Wine & Cheese Bistro. The Stephen Avenue mainstay has launched a new happy hour program (Mon.-Fri. from 3-6 p.m.) that pairs a cellar gem with something delicious and cheesy.

Divino's new happy hour program pairs cellar sips with delicious nibbles.

Divino’s new happy hour program pairs cellar sips with delicious nibbles.

For example, I sipped a crisp 2010 Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling from Germany ($9) in between nibbles of a savoury “tart flambé” ($6) with caramelized onions (a kind of fancy share pizza).

It's not a pizza; it's better! And at $6, great value, too.

It’s not a pizza; it’s better! And at $6, great value, too.

“Choosing a new wine from the cellar each week to feature allows our customers to try a wine that they may never have considered,” says Brad Royale, wine director for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR), which owns Divino. “With this program, we want to offer a unique bottle of wine for a great price.”

Fear not, cocktail lovers. Divino also features a small but enticing cocktail list. Try the Kitten Belly ($14), a seasonal sip with Calvados, rose lemonade, apple drinking vinegars, lemon and egg white. Divine!

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