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At this time of year, I crave rich, spicy, warm flavors in my cocktails. And so begins my love affair with the Sangre de Cristo, featured in Imbibe magazine’s recent piece on spiced cocktails for the holiday season. The cocktail draws inspiration from the flavor profile of a traditional mulled wine and is a gorgeous deep red color (hence the name, “blood of Christ”). Featuring sweet vermouth infused with ginger and cinnamon, combined with red wine and honey syrup, this drink meets all my criteria for a holiday cocktail—lusciously spiced, rich and complex flavor, yet also light (holiday parties can be a marathon, no need to be wearing a lampshade as a hat after a couple drinks). I served this as a punch at my holiday party (huge hit!), have been sipping the infused sweet vermouth on its own, and enjoyed this cocktail as I finished my holiday wrapping.
Infusing the sweet vermouth is super simple. Combine 1 liter of sweet vermouth (I used Martini and Rossi) with 1 ounce of peeled and diced ginger (about the size of your thumb) and two cinnamon sticks broken into pieces. Steep in an airtight container overnight (I did 2 nights actually). Fine strain and store in refrigerator. And this infused vermouth is absolutely delicious on its own over a couple rocks.
Sangre de Cristo (by Alon Munzer, Heather Mojer and Ned Greene, Hungry Mother)
2 oz ginger & cinnamon-infused sweet vermouth
1 oz Grenache
½ oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and water)
2 dashes orange bitters
Stir together in a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick.
Happy Holidays to you and yours! Cheers!
Sunday night, season 4 of Mad Men began. I love this show for the characters, the clothes, the decor, the history (It is hard for me to believe that just 40 years ago women were called “doll” in the workplace and it was okay!), and of course the drinks. If you want to drink Mad Men style, you have many options– some expected, like a gimlet or a Tom Collins, others unexpected perhaps.
Julie and I thought a Manhattan would be a good choice to sip while we watched. We are both extremely fond of Deep Ellum’s 1970s Manhattan which features Canadian Club (yes, Canadian Club). I just happened to have a new bottle fresh from a recent stop at the NH liquor store– perfect. Two parts Canadian Club, one part sweet vermouth, and a couple dashes of bitters (we experimented we a couple different things, but I thought orange bitters were best here), stir, and serve on the rocks and you have one mighty delicious drink.
So, there we are sipping our Manhattans watching Don Draper do his thing, which when in the office usually includes a drink (that’s straight alcohol they drink all day in work!). I catch a glimpse of the bottle– what’s that? Canadian Club! The label was a bit different than the modern label on my bottle, but that definitely said Canadian Club in that familiar flourished script.
To more Mad Men inspired cocktails. Cheers!
The Negroni is one of my favorite summer drinks. I just love sipping the potent bitter complexity on a warm day. The end of my week-long vacation was sadly in my sights, so I thought what better way to savor the afternoon in the sun than with this delicious drink.
The legend of the Negroni tells us that it was created in the 1920s in Florence, Italy when Count Camillo Negroni asked a bartender to stiffen his Americano, which consists of sweet vermouth, Campari and soda water. A splash of gin was added and the Negroni was born. While it is served in various fashions, I agree with Dale Degroff that its best over ice with an orange twist.

It was pretty hot Friday afternoon so I made good use of one of those freezer mugs, so my Negroni stayed icy cold. I know its not the proper glassware, but when in the woods you need to get creative.
Negroni
1 oz gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth (I used Carpano Antica which is pretty flavorful stuff, so I actually cut this to ¾ oz)
Shake and serve over ice with an orange twist.
Cheers!