Winter Cocktails for the Home Bar
It’s the first day of February — not something to celebrate, unless you have a birthday this month (I wonder who that could be?) or you take part in Dry January. I’ve gone boozeless for the first month of the year for almost a decade now. But now the gloves are off… or back on…? Whatever mitt-based symbolism you prefer, it’s time again for a drink. I asked five Hudson Valley mixologists to share their recipes with me for easy, wintry cocktails you can make at home. I loved them all — and was surprised by the candy-cane martini (pictured), which didn’t seem to be my thing at all. And yet…! Click here to read the whole thing.
Exhibit fricken A, the antithesis:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/feb/02/cocktail-of-the-week-twelve-triangles-rhubarb-cardamom-and-white-balsamic-shrub-recipe
Brilliant. No weird ingredients. No leaving ingredients to steep for three weeks. These are my kind of cocktails. I'm definitely trying them all.
Here's one of my simplest go-tos, the Scottish Capirinha
Ingredients (makes 2):
4oz Johnny Walker Black (or any other smoky whisky)
Few limes, unwaxed organic are best
2oz maple syrup
Ice.
Add the whisky, 2oz squeezed lime juice, maple syrup and the grated zest of half-to-a-whole lime to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Give it ~15 shakes. Strain into 2 lowball glasses filled with ice. Don't let its simplicity fool you, it's a killer.