This fall cranberry cocktail is perfect for Thanksgiving. It’s light enough that it won’t compete with a plate full of turkey and mashed potatoes. But the unique mixture of cranberry, honey, bourbon, green tea and ginger ale is full enough to satisfy the taste buds.

Grateful Cranberry Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. cranberry-honey syrup (recipe below)
Green tea flavored ginger ale
Frozen cranberries
Crushed ice

Fill collins glass three-quarters full with crushed ice and frozen cranberries.  Pour in bourbon and syrup, then top off with ginger ale.

Cranberry-honey syrup

Boil equal parts water, honey and cranberries. Strain out solids, then refrigerate the liquid syrup.

more Holiday Cocktails & Punches
more Drink of the Week cocktails

Looking for a new way to drink beer? Try a Michelada. It’s a Mexican beer cocktail some beer companies have started selling pre-mixed in cans.

The canned varieties have been in my experience, well, gross. And it’s so easy and cheap to make, there’s no reason to risk a bad michelada.

There are many variations on the recipe out there. This one is just the one I happen to like. Other versions include tomato juice and soy sauce. (If you’re into clam juice, some variations are made with Clamato)

Michelada

1 small lime
1 bottle of beer (I recommend Negra Modelo or an equally dark import)
Kosher salt
Worstershire sauce
Hot sauce (Tapatio or Tobasco work)

Rim a chilled beer mug or pint glass with salt. Squeeze in the lime juice and add a pinch of salt. Add two dashes each of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Pour in cold beer. (Be careful when pouring as the salt may cause it to foam more.)

past Drink of the Week Cocktails

New from Mr. Boston, it’s Holiday Cocktails, a collection of seasonal drinks from top mixologists. Contributes include Gary Reagan, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Dale DeGroff, Jamie Boudreau, David Wondrich, Neyah White and many others.

Mr. Boston Holiday Cocktails will help entertain like a pro this Holiday Season. The books covers party basics, supplies lists, and has 78 recipes ranging from ‘Hot and Steamy’ to ‘Party Punches’. In addition, ‘Trade Secrets’ from bartenders are sprinkled throughout the book. If your planning a holiday cocktail party or you are a just cocktail book collecting geek like me, Mr. Boston, Holiday Cocktails is worth checking out.

Mr. Boston Holiday Cocktails

more Holiday cocktail books …

Last week we had the pleasure to attend the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco.

Skyy Vodka supplied the cocktails created and served by several of San Francisco’s top mixologists.

The weekend was a wonder of gastronimic delight. It started with rooftop party at The Hotel Vitale, followed by a dinner of SF street food at the Ferry Building. And that was just Friday, the next day began with brunch at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.

Next, it was on to the afternoon tasting at City View Room in the Metreon, imagine a room awash with cocktails, micro-brews, amazing food and products. That night, Greenleaf Produce Warehouse hosted a dinner and awards ceremony. The event wrapped up with a nice Sunday brunch, complete with a DIY Bloody Mary Bar, which came in handy after Saturday night.

At the Metreon we ran into Dominic, who was shaking up batches of a savory cocktail called the “Dolce Rosso”. Made with muddled SKYY Vodka, Mezzetta roasted peppers, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, agave nectar, orange juice and spices, the Dolce Rosso comes out a dark orange or red depending on strawberry content. The peppers and basil give it quite a savory kick that plays well with sweetness of the strawberries.

Take a look as Dominic makes the Dolche Rosso in this video.

I’m working on getting the exact recipe, stay tuned…

Related articles:

• Skyy’s The Limit Cocktail Competition (drinkoftheweek.com)

Drink up, the Earth needs you to! Now when you drink, you can say you’re doing it to help the environment.

Finlandia has some specially marked bottles that can be redeemed for a donation to plant one tree in your honor, through non-profit Trees for the Future. So drinking one bottle of vodka means adding one more tree to the planet.

In stores, look for bottles of Finlandia original, lime, mango, wild berries, grapefruit, and tangerine vodkas with pictures of trees on them. This promotion runs through the end of the month.

Finlandia Vodka
Trees for the Future
Via Mother Earth News

The holidays are time for gatherings and warmth … and a little booze. This spiced punch can be served hot or cold. It’s a tasty way to welcome guests and stay warm.

Spiced Tea Holiday Punch

3 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs. vanilla extract
10 whole cloves
10 cardamom seeds
2 tbs. ginger
2 tea bags (black tea)
1 bottle red wine
1/4 cup dark rum
Boil water, honey, sugar, spices and vanilla in a large saucepan, stirring frequently until honey and sugar are dissolved.

Remove from heat and add tea bag, steeping for five minutes. Strain it into a bowl and add wine and rum.

Can be served hot or cold. If serving it hot, simmer mixture until warm again. If serving cold, chill mixture in refrigerator then serve over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

more Holiday Drinks & Punches

Is it surprising to see a bottle of gin with a big warning tag telling you NOT to use it in martinis? Genevieve, the Genever-style gin by Anchor Distilling, does just that.

Anchor is known for using traditional distilling styles that differ from what’s in the mainstream now. In this case making a 17th-century-style of Dutch gin with a grain mash with juniper in a copper still rather than employing the now-popular 19th century redistilling method that produces a more neutral spirit we call London dry gin.

It’s appropriate that I tried Genevieve Gin at Whiskyfest, since it is more like a juniper whiskey than the smooth and bright gins you’ll find in martini glasses around the nation. It has a very strong juniper nose to be sure. However, it has more of a thick whiskey mouthfeel and a hot kick not usually associated with gin.

So this one isn’t for gin and tonics or a martini. But it is great for mixed drinks.

Here’s a particularly good one to try:

The Gin Fix

2 oz Genever gin
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1 tsp. simple syrup
1 tsp. raspberry syrup

Fill a glass with crushed ice and build the drink over the ice, stirring thoroughly. Top off with more ice and garnish with raspberries.

Anchor Distilling Genevieve Gin

Check your bar and make sure you have some angostura bitters in stock! Your Manhattans are in danger!

There’s a shortage of angostura bitters.

Patrick Sepe, chief executive of the US distributor, Angostura USA, said the production line ran dry in June and was only just getting back on track. “There has been a shortage,” said Sepe. “You can’t just turn on and off supply of bitters. It’s not like producing bottled water – it’s a very delicate, intricate process.”

Guardian UK- bitters shortage article