Grapes & Grains

Beer, Wine, Spirits and Food from Happy Harry's

Christmas is less than 10 days away and thing will become very hectic as everyone finishes their shopping and begins to plan their holiday gatherings.

When entertaining guests, you will want to have a selection of non-alcoholic and adult beverages available without having to buy twenty different things!   You can “spice up” some traditional warm drinks for your guests or leave out the alcohol and provide the same choices as a non-alcoholic beverages.  Here are a few ideas to help you out this holiday season.

 

 

TOM AND JERRY’S

1 heaping tablespoon of Mrs Bowen’s Tom and Jerry Mix

(Available at all Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops)

 ¾ ounce white rum or spiced rum

¾ ounce brandy

-put the above in a 4-6 ounce coffee cup and top off with piping hot water

-mix well and garnish with nutmeg and a cinnamon stick

 

NON-ALCOHOL TOM AND JERRY’s

2 heaping tablespoons of Mrs. Bowen’s Tom and Jerry Mix

-place the Tom and Jerry Mix in a coffee cup and top off with hot water or hot milk

-mix well and garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon stick

 

 

HOT SPICED CIDER

1.5 ounces of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey

5 ounces of Mulled Spiced Cider (recipe below) or plain hot apple cider

-mix in a coffee cup

-garnish with a cinnamon stick or whipped cream with caramel syrup drizzled on top

 

NON-ALCOHOL MULLED SPICED CIDER

• 3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 whole allspice
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 quarts apple cider or apple juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Dash salt

Directions

• Place the cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice and bay leaf on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag.
• In a large saucepan, combine the apple cider, juices, orange peel, brown sugar, salt and spice bag. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer mixture for 30 minutes to blend flavors. Discard spice bag. Strain cider mixture.  Serve immediately. Yield: 13 servings (about 3 quarts).

 

 

ADULT HOT CHOCOLATE

Hot chocolate is probably the most versatile when it comes to selecting cordials to mix with your beverage.  Here are a few ideas:

 -5 ounces of your favorite Hot Chocolate

-select ONE of the following and mix in 1.5 ounces with the hot chocolate:

-Irish Cream, there are many flavors available…mint, caramel, and chocolate

-peppermint schnapps, I recommend Dr. McGillicuddy’s Mentholmint

-vanilla schnapps-Dr. McGillicuddy’s Vanilla

-butterscotch schnapps-Dekuyper Buttershots

-garnish with a candy cane and whipped cream

 

NON-ALCOHOL HOT CHOCOLATE

-5 ounces of your favorite hot chocolate

-substitute ½ to 1 ounce of flavored coffee syrups for the alcohol, you could also use different flavored coffee creamers

 

 

Here are a couple other fun seasonal cordials to try if you just want to simply pour and serve some chilled cordials…sorry these are only available pre-mixed with alcohol!

 

FULTON’S HARVEST PUMPKIN PIE:  A delightful cream liqueur that tastes like pumpkin pie in a bottle with a creamy sweetness.  Serve chilled or over ice.  Garnish with a cinnamon stick and whipped cream.

 

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HOLIDAY NOG:  Always a Christmas time favorite, Holiday Nog is the simple solution to serving an Egg-nog style beverage for your gathering.  This Brandy based cream cordial is perfect served chilled with a cinnamon stick garnish and sprinkled with nutmeg.

 

Wishing all of you a safe and Happy Holidays!

 

Merry Christmas,

Greg

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Cordials and Cocktails, Thursdays with Terry Dullum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.