Traditional Christmas Cocktails

It’s that time of year again. The time when the fat man combs his beard, puts on his snug red suit, packs a flask and heads out into the chill of the night to deliver gifts to children all over the world.

Ah, the fictional time of the Christmas Season. Let’s face it, it’s a time to get loved ones together for some cocktails and holiday cheer and maybe a little drama when we’ve had too much.

Remember the old days of waking at dawn and finding a lit Christmas tree in the living room. It glowed so bright since it was still dark outside. You walked around said tree and looked at all of the gifts, taking inventory of what lay below the festive bush. Now a day we wake, usually nursing a slight hangover, and slowly make our way down to the Christmas miracle of Santa’s visit from the night before.

The Christmas Season brings forth food and drink just as any other holiday with family and friends. Sure a bottle of wine would be great with Christmas dinner, but what about a pre dinner cocktail to start off the festivities?

Below you will find several traditional Christmas cocktails. I have included ingredients as well as a little history behind each one.

Sack Posset

This pre 17^th Century English beverage is made of cream, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and Sack (Sherry). In colonial times, Madeira was used as well as other fortified wines such as Port.

Mulled Wine

Originating in 15^th Century Europe, this cocktail is made with dry-red wine, orange zest, cloves and cinnamon. It is heated on the stove or open flame and usually served with a cinnamon stick. Honey or vanilla can be added for sweetness.

Mulled Cider

Created in early North America, this cocktail originated in Canada and Northern US in the 1700’s.  It is similar to Mulled Wine, but you would replace the wine with cider and add allspice and brown sugar.

Champagne Cup

This punch cocktail originated in France in the 1600’s and it has a simple recipe which includes sparkling wine, brandy or cognac, and orange liquor (Grand Marnier). Today’s variations include ice and fresh fruits such as cherries or pineapple.

Wassail

This hot punch styled cocktail comes from Southern England and its name loosely translates to “Have Good Health.” The recipe begins with boiling Madeira and Ale over a flame and adding apples, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and beaten eggs.

Candy Cane Martini

The candy cane was first introduced in a cathedral in Cologne, Germany as a reference to a shepherd’s staff at Christmas time. These initial canes were sugar sticks and the striped version did not show up until after 1900. This cocktail is essentially vodka (substitute vanilla), white chocolate liquor (Godiva, but Bols is cheaper), and peppermint schnapps. The garnish is a candy cane of course and some people crush the cane and rim the glass to get fancy.

Hot Buttered Rum

With origins dating back to colonial America in the 1650’s when rum first arrived in America, this cocktail is made of boiling water (cider can be substituted), rum, sugar, and butter mixed with nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Don’t confuse this drink with a “Hot Toddy” which refers to any hot cocktail.

Poinsettia

This drink gained popularity in the 1970’s in America, and is simply comprised of dry-sparkling wine, orange liquor, and cranberry juice. Some may add vodka for an extra kick. It is usually served over ice or in a champagne flute and garnished with a lemon twist or cranberries.

Egg Nog

This drink originated in eastern England and is a relative of Posset. It is basically cream, eggs and sugar – combined with rum, whiskey or rum and topped with cinnamon and nutmeg. For more information on its history, CLICK HERE to check out my blog dedicated to this heart attack special!

Christmas Cookie

This cocktail first appeared on the Bailey’s web site in 1987 as a shot. Today, it has become a martini. The simple recipe of peppermint schnapps, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and coffee liquor is often served in a martini glass rimmed with crushed gingerbread cookies.

Irish Coffee

Though its origins are a bit scattered, it is said that this drink was invented over 100 years ago in Ireland. Its popularity grew in the 1940’s as it was served in train stations across the country of Ireland. The original recipe is hot coffee and Irish whiskey, topped with cream. Today, many mixologists are using whipped cream for added sweetness.

I hope you enjoyed this history lesson on traditional (and nontraditional) Christmas drinks. Try and work in a couple of these cocktails at your next holiday party or family gathering!

Also, be on the lookout for Swig Knowledge the book coming out in early 2012! I can’t wait to tell you all about it when it is released!

The History of Eggnog

One of my guilty pleasures during Christmas is Eggnog. One of my first memories as a child (around 6 years old) was sitting in my parent's living room, playing with newly opened toys when my grandfather yelled from the bar, “Who's ready for some nog?”

“What booze did you put in it?” my dad asked.
“White Rum,” Grandad replied which makes sense now since he lived in the Florida Keys at the time.
“I'll pass,” dad started. “I'll just take a bloody Mary.”

I stood from my play area and went over to the bar. My grandfather pulled out two mason jars of Eggnog. It was so watered down with booze that it had the consistency of water.

“One day I'll teach you the recipe,” my grandfather said looking down at me, holding the jars in his huge hands.
“Don't teach him how to make that stuff” my mom said. “I don't know how you drink it.”
My grandfather smiled, poured some into a rocks glass, patted me on the head and said, “Drink up and don't tell your mother.”

That day I learned two things: One, it's not a lie if you don't tell anyone about it and two, never give a six year old rum mixed with eggs, milk and sugar. It burns going down and coming back out.

Years later, when I was in high school, my uncle (on mom's side) came over for Christmas day with a similar brown bag and placed it on the bar. He pulled two of the same jars out and unscrewed the caps. It had the same watery consistency as my grandfather's recipe.

“You like bourbon or rum?” my uncle asked.
“Not sure,” I replied seeing as how I was 14 years old and only had a few beers by then.
“You'll like this,” my uncle said. “It's bourbon.”

I took a swig and it stayed down. I tried more and then finished the glass. It burned as it had when I was a kid, but I was able to keep it down. That day I learned two things: one, I liked bourbon and, two, I liked eggnog after all and it became a holiday treat throughout college and into adulthood. I created my own recipe and served it to guests when I was bartending in school.Now that I'm doing this blog thing, I figured I would actually look up the history of this holiday delight.

Technically, eggnog or egg nog is a sweetened, dairy-based beverage made with raw eggs (beaten for the frothy texture), milk or cream, sugar, and spiked with liquor (mainly brandy, rum, whiskey, bourbon, cognac, or even moonshine). The concoction is usually garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

Eggnog is a popular in the US and Canada during the winter celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. Commercial non-alcoholic eggnog is typically available only in the winter season but it can be made other at other times from homemade recipes such as the one passed down from my grandfather. Since the 1960s, eggnog has often been served cold and without spirits, both of which are significant departures from its historical origins.

One school of history believes that eggnog originated in East Anglia, England. Another believes it was derived from “posset,” a medieval European beverage made with hot milk. The "nog" portion of the name comes from the word "noggin", a Middle English term used to describe a small, carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol.

Another story is that the term derived from "egg and grog", a common Colonial term used for the drink made with rum, “Grog meaning booze. Eventually that term was shortened to "egg'n'grog", then "eggnog.”

At the time of it's inception, the ingredients for the drink were expensive in England and it became popular mainly among the aristocracy since the average Londoner was so poor that they could barely afford milk – not to mention the brandy or Madeira or even sherry to mix with it.
When the drink crossed the Atlantic to the English colonies during the 18th century, the main alcoholic ingredient changed since brandy and wine were heavily taxed. Rum from trading with the Caribbean was a better, cost-effective substitute. With the new farm land complete with dairy products in the new world and a new, inexpensive liquor, the drink become very popular in America. Americans turned to domestic whiskey, and eventually bourbon in particular, as a substitute when the supply of rum was reduced as a consequence of the American Revolutionary War.

And there you have it. A quick history of eggnog. Pick it up next year and don't forget to spike it, but don't give it out to toddlers!