a bartender with a cocktail in front of himRecipes for a Swinging Seasonal Soirée

By Laurie Daniel


Cocktails are hot. And there’s no better time to tap into the trend than at your holiday party.

Wine is lovely and, by all means, have it available for guests who want it. But there’s something particularly festive about cocktails—especially cocktails that reflect the season.

If you’ve never thrown a cocktail party, the idea of stocking your bar and learning how to make exotic drinks may seem overwhelming. Don’t feel that you have to be prepared to make everything from an American Beauty to a Zombie. Just have enough on hand to make a few basic drinks—gin and tonic, martini, Bloody Mary and margarita, for example—and then plan a special holiday cocktail.

Set up your bar somewhere convenient (the kitchen gives you easy access to the fridge and sink) and gather your ingredients, utensils and glassware. Cut garnishes ahead of time. Be sure you have plenty of ice.

ALCOHOL:You’ll need vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, tequila, Scotch and American whiskey (Jack Daniel’s), Irish whiskey or both. Martinis require dry vermouth. It’s also a good idea to have brandy and an orange liqueur (triple sec or Grand Marnier). Other handy liqueurs are Kahlua, Frangelico and Amaretto. And don’t forget red and white wine.

MIXES: Club soda, tonic water, some sort of cola, tomato juice or Bloody Mary mix, orange juice. And water, of course. If you’re not prepared to make margaritas from scratch, buy a mix.

OTHER INGREDIENTS: Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, lemon and lime wedges, green olives for martinis, maraschino cherries.

UTENSILS, ETC: Paring knife and cutting board; cocktail shaker; jigger, shot glass or some other type of measuring device; corkscrew; bottle opener; dish towels; long-handled spoon; ice bucket and tongs; a blender, if you plan to make blended drinks like frozen daiquiris or need to crush ice; cocktail napkins and toothpicks.

GLASSWARE: Martini glasses are a nice touch if your friends are martini drinkers. But if your storage space is limited, you can make do with all-purpose wine glasses and short “rocks” glasses.

I asked three Oakland-area bar managers for suggestions on holiday cocktails. Each drink requires a special ingredient or two. All three bartenders suggested hot drinks served in a mug, such as coffee or hot chocolate with Frangelico or coffee with tequila and Kahlua. Glass coffee mugs are a nice touch for such drinks.

“I prefer the warm drinks in the winter,” says Laura Thomson, bar manager at Townhouse Bar and Grill in Emeryville. She laughs and adds:“I know it doesn’t get that cold here.”

Thomson, whose recipe is for Hot Apple Pie, isn’t a big fan of the pretty-colored drinks that look nice but don’t taste all that great. “Simplistic is always better,” she says. “Too many ingredients muddle the flavors you’re looking for.”

Byron Schostag, manager of Luka’s Taproom and Lounge in Oakland, also cautions about some of the ingredients used to make pretty drinks. Many of them, he says, are too sweet. “To me, it doesn’t taste good.”

He prefers to use wintry spices and ingredients that are in season and suggests a Red Nose Martini and Hot Buttered Rum.“You want something that reminds you of the holidays,” he says. Adam Shoehalter, head bartender and an owner of Zax Tavern in Berkeley, sent the Ruby and Sapphire recipe, which was created by the restaurant’s wine director, Andrew Bloom.

HOT APPLE PIE
1 1⁄4 ounce Tuaca (an Italian citrus liqueur)
Hot apple cider
Freshly whipped cream
Ground cinnamon or cinnamon stick

Mix the Tuaca and the cider in a mug. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon, or add a cinnamon stick to the mug.

RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
2 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin
Juice of 1⁄2 lime
1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup (available at better grocery stores)
Lime for garnish

In a shaker filled with ice, combine the gin and lime juice. Shake until cold and strain into a cocktail glass. Pour in the pomegranate syrup, which will sink to the bottom of the glass. Garnish with a slice of lime.

RED NOSE MARTINI
2 parts vodka
1 part Frangelico
1 part Malibu coconut rum
Splash of cinnamon schnapps
Splash of Baileys Irish Cream
Maraschino cherry
Cinnamon sticks

Mix ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry on the side of the glass (for the nose) and stand two cinnamon sticks (antlers) in the glass.

HOT BUTTERED RUM

1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch salt
Rum (Gosling’s Black Seal, preferably)
Boiling water
Orange peel for garnish

Cream together butter, brown sugar, spices and salt. Refrigerate the mixture until hard.To mix drinks, pour 1 1/2 to 2 ounces rum into a small mug, fill with hot water and add a scoop of the butter. Garnish with orange peel.