HOLIDAY BEVERAGES
This is not a section on how to get drunk on the holidays. People seem to know how to do that all right on their own. Nor is it a bar-tender's manual. Again there are lots of those in print or on the internet. This section more than any other truly relates to drinks (albeit mostly alcoholic) that have connections with my or my husband's lives and or that of our families. Please indulge my writing and do not indulge in the drinking of these beverages to excess.
HOMEMADE BOOZE
APPLEJACK
I am starting this section with a recipe I hope you don't try.
It is basically recording of a procedure from the old farms of
Millington. My father told how this alcoholic beverage was made when he
was young. Since it relies on cold to distill the alcohol it was made only
in the winter -- thus a "Holiday Beverage."
1 gallon cider (not pasteurized or with preservatives)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
Remove about 2 cups of cider for the gallon jug. Add sugar and brown sugar and let set at room temperature 4-6 weeks. Check the jug occasionally and if it has expanded, release the top and let the air out. (It is important to not allow air-born bacteria to enter the jug.)
When it gets cold enough outside to freeze, leave the jug outside overnight. The cider will freeze, but the applejack in the center will not. Pierce the ice and pour out the applejack.
Note on Jugs. This recipe is from a time when cider came in clear heavy glass jugs. Even then there was a real danger of the jug breaking when frozen. Thus it was not filled to the top. The jug also had a cork which would blow if the gas pressure got too great during the fermentation. Perhaps you have noticed that a plastic, jug of cider expands in the refrigerator as it gets old. I believe a plastic jug would break if used for this process. Don't try it.
Because I noticed that this recipe was getting a lot of "hits" I decided to check with my father on the accuracy of his recipe. He told me that his brother Harry was the one who made applejack or as he called it "bubbly". He would use all sorts of dried fruits to get it started and make it in a five gallon cask with a hose apparatus to let off the pressure of fermentation. He did not further distill it but drink it like a beer or wine. The story goes that my father almost got "beat" by the football coach when Harry got the whole team drunk.
COFFEE LIQUOR
1/4 cup French Roast or Espresso Coffee (ground)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup super fine sugar (do not use confectioners' sugar)
2 whole vanilla beans
1 fifth (or liter) brandy
Brew coffee (using a drip filter) in the water. Mix in sugar to make a thick syrup. Remove about 1 cup of brandy from bottle. Add syrup and vanilla beans. Shake well. If not completely full you can add back in some of the brandy. Allow to set for 6-8 weeks before drinking. Can also be made with vodka.
LEMON VODKA
(Can also be made with lime, orange, grapefruit or tangerine)
1 lemon
1 liter vodka
Using a very sharp paring knife, remove the peel from the lemon in one long spiral, 1/4 inch wide. Be sure to avoid the white pith under the skin because it will make the vodka bitter. Decant the vodka into a decorative bottle with a tight fitting cap. Carefully
place the lemon spiral in the bottle and cap tightly. Steep the peel in the vodka for at
least 1 month to develop the flavor.
COCKTAILS
As I said this is not a bar tender's manual. I am only including a few because of their special memories.
MANHATTANS
This was my mother's favorite drink, after all she was from Manhattan. This is the recipe for the pitcher version she always had Kim (my husband) make at Christmas.
2 cups Canadian Whiskey
1 cup dark sweet vermouth
1 Tablespoon Angostura bitters
1 Tablespoon cherry juice
Maraschino cherries
Mix with ice in a large pitcher, and serve. This drink has been known to produce red noses -- not only on reindeer.
McPhersons always used Seagrams VO for their Manhattans, but they can be made
with any blended whiskey or bourbon. However, I was told by a little old
lady in the CSOWA that the best Manhattans are made with Rye (which is no longer
stocked in most bars and quite hard to find.)
WHOOPPER DOOPERS
Hank Racine
For years, every Christmas Eve, Kim and I would go visit his Uncle Hank and Aunt Edna. Hank was always making potato sausage and Edna would offer us some of the best fudge (sorry I don't have the recipe). After we'd talk for about a half hour, he would suggest a Whooper Dooper. Drink one on Christmas Eve in memory of Hank.
1 1/2 ounces brandy (Preferably Hartleys)
5-6 ounces 7-up or Sprite
Maraschino cherries and a splash of cherry juice.
Mix with ice and serve in a tall glass. Preferably while telling tall tales.
HOT DRINKS
In my part of the world it is cold at Christmas. You need something hot to warm you up or keep you from freezing. These drinks fill the bill. They would be great outdoors or when you just get in.
HOT BUTTERED RUM
This can be made with hard cider, but for safety's sake not the homemade kind. Without the butter it is a hot toddy and can be used as a cold remedy any time of the year.
Place in the bottom of mug
2 ounces dark rum
Twist of lemon peel
Fill with boiling water or cider.
Float a pat of butter on top of drink and provide a cinnamon stick to stir.
HOT CIDER
Place 1 quart of cider (fresh and refrigerated not hard cider) in large pot. Add 1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar, depending on how sweet you like it and the sweetness of the cider. Add whatever whole spices you like including cinnamon, allspice, cloves, orange peel, lemon peel, and/or pepper berries. Heat but do not boil. Allow to simmer for about 1 hour. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Reheat and just before serving add dark or spiced rum. (You can also buy or make premixed spices that can be placed in the mixture.)
HOT TOMATO
1 large can or bottle tomato juice (or V-8 juice)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 bay leaf
Heat together. Can be heated and refrigerated to allow flavors to mix. Good straight or with the addition of vodka or white rum. This was a popular drink to take to Cincinnati Bengal football games.
HOT AND SPICY TOMATO DRINK
2 1/2 cups (two 10 1/2 ounce cans) consommé
2/3 cup (6 ounce can) tomato paste
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 lemon slices
6 whole cloves
Heat and serve.
SWEDISH GLOGG
3 whole cardamom seeds
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 4" strip orange rind (colored part not the pith)
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 bottle Bordeaux wine
1 bottle port wine
1/2 bottle cognac
Sugar to taste
Tie cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon and orange rind in a cheesecloth bag. Place in water and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add almonds and raisins and bring to boil, reduce heat and let cook 10 more minutes. Cool. Add wine and cognac and store, covered, overnight. At serving time eat glogg but do not boil. Add sugar to taste. Serve in heated mugs or glasses with a few almonds and raisins in each glass.
TOM AND JERRY
from a 1934 cookbook
This is from a time when eggs were safe to eat raw. I'm not going to tell you that they are now, but as my friend Alice said "if you didn't eat raw egg you couldn't eat chocolate chip cookie dough." This is probably way too rich to drink enough to hurt you.
Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs to be used. Use 1 egg for every two drinks to be made. Beat the whites in a bowl until stiff. Add 4 teaspoons of sugar for each egg and mix thoroughly. Now beat the yolks until they become watery and then mix with whites and sugar. (This will have to be stirred occasionally to keep the batter together.) For each drink blend:
1/8 cup above batter
1 ounce Jamaican Rum
1 ounce brandy
Put in a large glass filled with hot milk and stir well. Pour from one glass to another several times. Shake some nutmeg on top and serve.
TOM AND JERRY II
6 eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup Jamaican Rum
1 1/2 to 2 cups bourbon
Boiling water
Nutmeg
Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs. Beat the whites stiff and gradually sift in the sugar. Beat the yolks thoroughly and then beat into first mixture. Add rum and bourbon. Cover and let stand 2 hours or more in a cool place.
To serve, put 3 Tablespoons of the egg mixture into a cup or mug and quickly stir in boiling water. Be sure that you work quickly during this step or you might end up with scrambled eggs. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
WASSAIL BOWL
This is a hot punch, unless it is going to be served very quickly, it is best kept in a big kettle on the stove.
8 apples, cored
2 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 quarts ale or beer
1 fifth sweet sherry or Madeira
4 slices fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon made
4 whole cloves
4 allspice berries
6 eggs separated
1 cup brandy heated
8 slices buttered toast, quartered (optional)
Preheat oven to 400o. Place apples in baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bake 30 minutes. In large saucepan, heat ale or beer and sherry, remaining brown sugar, and spices tied in a bag. Using large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into yolks. Slowly add liquid to eggs by tablespoons until about 1 cup has been added, then add remaining liquid in slow, steady stream, beating well with whisk. Place baked apples in heated punch bowl, add liquid and stir in brandy. Serve at once with buttered toast quarters to float or dip in wassail. (And where did you think expressing "drinking a toast" came from?) Another recipe I found calls for a combination of Sherry and Irish Whisky in place of the brandy.
PUNCH
You don't seem to see punch much any more. Except for something "kid friendly" with lots of floating sherbet. When we were young and poor punch was the way to go at parties. You could make a batch and have some beer and you didn't need all the bottles of expensive booze. Times have changed, but these recipes are still good.
CHAMPAGNE FRUIT PUNCH
Yeppers folks, this does have sherbet in it. It is not too sweet though and can be made decreasing the Lemonade Mix. Don't let the kiddies drink it though.
3/4 cup Wylers Presweetened Lemonade Mix
2 (46-ounce) cans unsweetened pineapple juice
2 bottles champagne chilled
1 bottle dry white wine chilled
1 quart lime, orange or pineapple sherbet scooped into balls or
pressed into 1 1/2-quart ring mold, frozen solid.
In punch bowl, dissolve drink mix in pineapple juice. Stir in remaining ingredients except sherbet. Just before serving add sherbet. If desired garnish punch bowl with fresh fruit.
CHAMPAGNE PUNCH II
No sherbet but lots and lots of bubbles.
1 bottle chilled champagne
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup Contreau
1/2 bottle chilled sparkling water
Combine all ingredients and serve in punch cups.
CRANBERRY-APPLE WINE PUNCH
This
is interesting because in the early 1970s Apple wine was very popular --
especially if you were a college student at the University of Michigan.
Now most people would rather die of embarrassment rather than ask the store
clerk where the Apple wine is located, but I know first hand they will drink it
if it is served (and tell a story or two).
1 quart cranberry juice
1 bottle apple wine
1 liter bottle lemon/lime soda (or you can use lemon/lime sparking
water with will make it a lot less sweet.).
Mix and serve over ice. (If you can't, and won't ask, find apple wine, there are
now cranberry wines available. You could use that with apple juice or
cranapple juice.)
CRANBERRY-BOURBON PUNCH
1 quart bottled cranberry juice
1 can (18 ounces) pineapple juice
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1cup bourbon
2 bottles (28 ounces each) ginger ale chilled.
Combine fruit juices and bourbon. Refrigerate until well chilled.
Just before serving put in punch bowl and add ginger ale.
EGGNOG
This recipe was clipped from the Columbus Dispatch by Ruth Lawrence.
It is said to be 100 years old
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup whiskey
1 cup dark rum
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipped cream
Separate eggs and beat whites until super stiff. Continue beating while very slowly adding sugar. Add yolks. Beat. Add whiskey and rum. Stir in milk slowly. Whip cream and fold in slowly with a spoon. Refrigerate 24 hours.
FISH HOUSE PUNCH
(It would not be a Christmas Party without it)
For years the Swansons gave a huge Christmas Party (inviting everyone we knew in Columbus.) We lived in a tiny house and had food and people in every room. Strangely enough when we moved to a bigger house, the tradition was discontinued. Sorry to all my new friends, you missed some good ones.
For this punch you need a large block of ice. I used to freeze a ring mold so that it would float in the middle of the bowl. If you have a bigger bowl you could use a big square block -- which is traditional from the FISH HOUSE. The water from the melting ice is an important part of this recipe -- it is too strong otherwise.
1 large can lemonade concentrate (thawed if you remember)
2 large cans water
1 liter bottle dark rum
1 liter bottle brandy
4 ounces peach flavored brandy
2-3 liter bottles sparkling water (lemon /lime flavored is best)
Dissolve lemonade in the two cans of water. Add rum and brandy and chill in refrigerator (or on cool porch) until ready for party. Place in punch bowl with an ice ring. Add sparking water to taste and garnish with the peach brandy. Orange and lemon slices can be added if desired. Serves a lot of people and is very strong.
TAHITIAN PUNCH
OK you can't take the cold any longer. Why not spend the holidays in the South Pacific. I think, if I were not on a tropical island I would substitute real rum for the rum extract. Don't you?
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup cranberry juice
16 whole cloves
4 sticks cinnamon
1 or 2 cans (46 ounce) Apricot nectar
1 1/3 cup lemon juice
4 Tablespoons rum extract
4 cups ginger ale.
The day before or several hours ahead combine all ingredients except rum extract and ginger ale. When ready to serve strain into a bowl and add extract and ginger ale.