Merry Christmas! Cocktails and Mocktails for the Entire Family

Merry Cocktail Monday Christmas! Today we have a festive mocktail AND cocktail - something for everyone in the family! Have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of the season! Cheers!

Christmas Home Decor, Cocktails and Appetizers Included!

Today we're throwing our doors open for a tour of our Christmas decor, cocktails and appetizers included! We're enjoying a bowl of Old Yule Wassail and an easy shrimp appetizer, so be sure to join us!

Mocktail Monday: Candy Cane Shake

It's time for another Christmas mocktail and today's is a decadent candy cane treat inspired by a vintage recipe! Grab that blender and get ready for deliciousness!

Holiday Vodka Punch Recipes & Cinnamon Syrup for Christmas Drinks

On last night's Facebook live video we made two punches from 1982's Smirnoff for the Holidays...

With a few adjustments, starting with the fact that we mixed with Bootlegger 21 vodka from Prohibition Distillery. Shhh! Don't tell Smirnoff! Here are the recipes, as promised, along with our improvements. Without further ado, let's start with Hawaiian Pleasure Punch:

Paul mixed this one (we only made 1/4 of each recipe, since there are only two of us and neither of us wants to die of alcohol poisoning). The only improvement we made to this one was to add 3 oz of gin (we stuck with Prohibition Distillery and used their Bootlegger 21 gin), so, if you were to make an entire bowl, you'd want to add 12 oz of gin. Sounds like a lot, but otherwise it tastes like pure ginger ale.

I made Bubbly Mint Punch:

"Crisp and refreshing as a winter breeze." Well, it was, anyway, after I doubled both the vodka and the mint! I used Wondermint from Death's Door Spirits instead of creme de menthe, which I think was a good move. I later added some dashes of Fee Brothers cranberry bitters, which further improved it, but also turned it red. Oh, well, it's still a good color for Christmas!

In other news, we're planning a combination Mocktail/Cocktail Monday episode for Christmas Day, which will involve cinnamon syrup. It's really easy to make, but here's the recipe ahead of time, since it takes some time to prepare. If you're planning ahead, also pick up a bottle of Italian lemon soda!

Cinnamon Syrup

Add 3 cinnamon sticks slightly broken up to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cover and allow to sit for several hours or overnight. Strain, add water to make sure you have two full cups, add two cups of sugar and heat just until sugar is melted (don't boil). 

Christmas Cocktail Recipe with Deadhead Dark Chocolate Rum!

We recently tried Deadhead Dark Chocolate Rum and we're hooked! It's delicious on its own OR in a cocktail, such as this one, which is perfect for the holidays if I do say so myself. Cheers!

A Visit to 1979 for Holiday Hospitality

Part of the stash of vintage bar guides recently sent to us by our pal Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap was this little gem from the American Forces Network:

A bar guide at holiday time is, indeed, pretty handy and one sent with your TV-Guide? Genius! The American Forces Network, a.k.a. the Armed Forces Network, provides radio and TV to Americans serving overseas. In 1979 they were pleased to share some recipes to liven up the holidays. Even the ads had recipes! Here are some traditional Christmas beverages to start, including a couple of mocktails. I'll bet you hadn't thought of Coke, yogurt and cherry jam in your drink, but that's what this guide is for! And I like the instructions to use the "cheaper table wines" and forego your best crystal bowl. It's not underachievement - it's following directions!

How about a rum cake featuring rum and more rum, along with a cake mix and Jell-O instant pudding?

Lest you think that this booklet didn't feature actual gelatin, never fear! Here it is in an intriguing chicken dish. Today you'll find it called Heering Cherry Liqueur and it makes a lovely addition to a nice cheese fondue.

And here are some classic cocktail party appetizers, several with vegetarians in mind:

So...much...cheese. You need something to soak up all that booze! Here's to the holiday season! 

Christmas Recipes for the Impatient

Connoisseurs of fruitcake know that many such cake recipes call for being started well in advance of Christmas - in some cases up to a year in advance! If you fall into that fruitcake loving group, yet didn't get your act together to begin macerating your fruit weeks or months ago, McCall's Book of Merry Eating (1965) has a recipe especially for you! You'll probably have trouble finding an applesauce-raisin cake mix, so go ahead and use a spice cake mix and throw in some raisins. Who's going to know?

We have a YouTube playlist of Christmas cocktails that are pretty darned easy to make (more on the way!), but if you mean business and want that drink NOW, this one is traditional and has only two ingredients (three if you want to fancy it up).

Cheers!

Round 3: Cocktails for Fabulous Folks!

Here's round three of cocktails for fabulous donors to our fundraising campaign for Feeding America! We still owe a couple of fabulous ladies cocktails that will appear in upcoming episodes, but don't worry, ladies - we'll get you those recipes before the episodes go online so that you can enjoy your drinks sooner! In the meantime, here are three lovely libations, with our profound thanks to the generous donors who inspired them:

Licor de Amor

Licor de Amor (created for Roxanne)

1 1/2 oz brandy

1 1/2 oz anise liqueur

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz Italian lemon soda

A dash of Peychaud's bitters

Combine brandy, anise liqueur and lime juice, shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with soda and a dash of Peychaud's bitters.

Naughty or Nice?

Naughty or Nice? (created for Christine)

2 oz amber rum

1/2 oz Aperol

1/4 oz cinnamon schnapps

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

2 dashes of orange bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of candy fruit and a lump of chocolate coal.

Hibiscus Holiday

Hibiscus Holiday (created for Barbara)

1 oz amber rum

3/4 oz hibiscus liqueur

2 dashes of chocolate bitters

4 dashes of orange bitters

Chilled dry sparkling white wine

Combine all ingredients except the wine, shake with ice and strain into a champagne flute with a pink sugar rim. Fill with wine and serve.

A million thanks to our wonderful donors! We'll have even more very soon!

More Holiday Cocktails for More Fabulous Donors!

Friday means happy hour here at the Kitsch-en and this week we have four cocktails for you, all created for fabulous donors to our Feeding America fundraiser! There will be even more this weekend, since we have more wonderful donors to serve!

We're so grateful for everyone's generosity in helping this fabulous cause - thank you all!

North Pole: After Hours

North Pole: After Hours (created for Steve)

2 oz rye

1/2 oz Art in the Age Ginger Snap liqueur

8 dashes of molasses bitters

A twist of lime

Serve on the rocks.

Stardust

Stardust (created for Julie)

2 oz gold tequila

1/2 oz vanilla liqueur (I used Xanath)

1/2 oz cherry liqueur (I used Rothman & Winter Orchard Cherry)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

A dash of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a pink cherry.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice (created for Robert and featured in last Tuesday's episode)

2 oz amber rum

1/2 oz cherry liqueur (see above)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

3/4 oz blueberry juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass with a coconut rim. Create rim by dipping the rim of the glass in light corn syrup, allowing excess to drip away, then dipping in shredded coconut.

Des Yeti

Des Yeti (created for Kristy and Geoff and featured in today's episode)

2 oz gin

1/2 oz raspberry liqueur

1/2 oz elderflower liqueur

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

2 oz pineapple juice

5 dashes of cranberry bitters

Shake with ice and pour into a yeti or tiki mug. Garnish with a festive sprig of rosemary.

Cheers and have a fabulous weekend!

Oh, Cocktail Tree!

You may have heard the rumors that I'm addicted to Christmas trees. It's absolutely true. I never met a Christmas tree I didn't want to adopt. That's why we have, according to a friend's count on Saturday, 47 of them. I'm not kidding. Of course, most are small, but five could be considered full-sized and several more fall into the "medium" category. "You must have a really big house," you might be thinking. Nope! Our house is quite cozy (read small). We just evict furniture to make room for all the trees! Who needs to sit down, anyway? I love sharing our trees, so I will be doing so here, starting with a vintage tree we inherited from some friends who were moving away. This one has a vaguely cocktail theme*:

Those "cocktail tickets" are from Continental Airlines, 1960s-70s. My aunt was a flight attendant who, happily for me, saved everything. And since, as far as I'm concerned, everything is fair game in the ornament department, they now live on the tree!

More trees coming soon! And I'd love to see yours!

*Actually, this is only one of our cocktail trees. We have two others, to be featured soon. ;)

Holiday Cocktails For A Few Fabulous Donors!

Our fundraising campaign for Feeding America is underway and, as promised, we're starting to deliver customized cocktails for our fabulous donors! Here is the first batch. We'll have many more over the next week, so stay tuned!

Sophisticated Santa

Sophisticated Santa (created for Lisa)

1 1/2 oz gin

1 oz Pimm's No. 1 liqueur

1 oz orange juice

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

4 dashes of chocolate bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass! Garish with a candy fruit slice and cherry.

Jetsetter's Holiday

Jetsetter's Holiday (created for Angie)

2 oz Bacardi 8 year old rum

1/2 oz Ancho Reyes liqueur

1/4 oz Cappelletti Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro (rhubarb amaro)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass!

Pink Christmas

Pink Christmas (created for Alice)

2 oz vodka

1/4 oz pomegranate liqueur

1/4 oz hibiscus liqueur

1 oz pink grapefruit juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass! Garnish with a candy fruit slice.

Christmas by the Fire

Christmas by the Fire (created for Teri)

1 oz vodka

1 oz Cabernet Sauvignon

1/4 oz triple sec

1/2 oz pomegranate juice

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a wine glass and stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Thank you again to all of our wonderful donors! If your drink isn't here it will be soon! Also, if you missed Tuesday's "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" episode, click here to watch and see the cocktail we created for Robert - the Winter Solstice!

If you'd like to donate to our fundraiser, click here for the link to our fundraising page. Thank you!