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7 cocktails to get you in the Thanksgiving spirit
As Thanksgiving draws nearer, we’ve tracked down the best cocktail recipes to get you feeling thankful this holiday season.
Thanksgiving will be celebrated across the US on Thursday 28 November, although many people will be raising a glass across the world. The tradition started to give thanks for good harvests ,with George Washington first declaring it a national holiday in 1789.
Any holiday calls for an appropriate cocktail to toast the occasion, so we’ve rounded up some of our favourites to get you in the holiday spirit.
This year’s cocktails combine classic holiday flavours with today’s consumer trends, from bitter flavours and generous garnishes to serious gastronomic experimentation.
Click through for some cocktail inspiration…
Cider Dark n’ Stormy
Did you know that, while wine critics strain to think of pairing for the modern Thanksgiving dinner, the Pilgrims’ drink of choice was cider? Once the national beverage of the US, hard cider was a regular feature on New England dinner tables.
Why not serve a fruity take on the classic Dark n Stormy this holiday season? Developed by mixologist Charlyne Mattox, this drink combines classic Americana with the taste of Autumn for a unique way to kick off thanksgiving celebrations.
To make: Mix 2oz of cider, 2oz rum and 1/4oz of lime juice with plenty of ice. Top with ginger beer and a lime wedge.
Bourbon-spiked hot apple cider
With the days shorter and the air chillier, many would rather opt for a more warming take on the traditional Thanksgiving beverage.
Fortunately, this recipe from stateside sommelier and wine blogger Mary Cressler promises to do just that. A soothing and comforting spiked apple cider, this cocktail can be served warm or cold over ice.
The tradition of mulling cider originated in England and was traditionally called wassail – a hot, mulled punch typically drunk from a ‘wassailing bowl’. The earliest versions were warmed mead – ale brewed with honey – into which roasted crab apples were dropped into. It was traditionally consumer as part of “wassailing”, a Medieval English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year.
Wassail evolved into a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, topped with slices of toast as sops and drunk from a large communal bowl.
To make: add 8oz cider, cinnamon stick, orange juice, cloves and star anise in a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Next, add 2oz of bourbon to a tumbler with the cider mix. Garnish with an orange slice and stick of cinnamon.
Radish and Dill Ceasar
The Ceasar, which substitutes vodka for gin and incorporates clam juice into the classic blend of tomato juice and white spirit, is an underrated stateside hero of the cocktail category. A beloved drink stateside with fiery cayenne pepper, this drink is certain to warm your cockles.
If, like many, you struggle to source any clam juice, drinks maker Clamato produces a ready-made mixer.
The combination of tomatoes and radish and dill-infused gin creates an invigorating but refreshing cocktail, which works as well served at a Shoreditch basement bar, or in an elegant tumbler at the table with family & friends.
The radish and dill gin is extremely easy to make at home. Simply add five or six thinly-sliced radishes and two sprigs of dill to 500ml of gin, store for a few days, then serve.
But if you’re running out of time, this aperitif works just as well with gins that exhibit fewer floral flavours.
To make: Rim a chilled tall glass with celery salt, mix together 30ml infused gin, three dashes of hot sauce, three dashes of Worcestershire sauce, three turns of cracked black pepper and 120ml of Clamato juice in a shaker with ice, then strain into a tumbler with plenty of ice.
Root Beer Mint Julep
The Mint Julep is inextricably linked to the Kentucky Derby, making it a classic American serve in its own right. The original is a simple blend of Bourbon, fresh spearmint, sugar and water, with the drink often served in a frosted pewter cup laden with ice.
The Mint Julep is thought to have originated as a medicinal remedy for stomach aches, appearing in print as early as 1784. A little later in 1803, writer John Davis described the drink as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it taken by Virginians of a morning”.
This version sees the addition of a dash of Smirnoff’s root bear float – a creamy vodka and vanilla based mixer, with standard substituted for Maple syrup.
To make: Muddle 7-8 mint leaves in maple syrup, add 5oz of Bourbon, 1oz of root beer float (this could be substituted for actual root beer) and crushed ice. Stir well and serve.
Thanksdrinking spritz
Aperol Spritzes have been the talk of the town for some time now, and rustic Notting Hill spot Cocotte has devised its own festive take on the tipple to add a splash of class to this years’ celebrations.
Bitter ingredients have been tipped to be one of 2018’s most popular drinks trends, so its no surprise that restauranteurs are re-inventing classic combinations for the fall period.
This version combines Belsazar red vermouth with bitter Mondino Amaro liqueur and thyme for a sohpisticated, herbaceous libation to start the day with.
To make: Add 25ml of Belsazar red and 25ml Mondino Amaro to a mixer and shake well with ice. Strain into a spritz glass over ice, top up with soda water to taste, and add some lemon peel and a sprig of thyme for garnish.
Boulevardier (Negroni)
And now for something a little headier for the cold nights this weekend.
A classic Negroni is made from one part gin, one part vermouth rosso and one part Campari, garnished with orange peel. The Boulevardier is a twist on the classic Negroni, replacing the gin with Bourbon or rye whiskey, making it altogether more America. The creation of the Boulevardier is attributed to Erskine Gwynne, an American-born writer who founded a monthly magazine in Paris called Boulevardier, which was published from 1927 to 1932.
The creation of the Negroni meanwhile is attributed to a rich Florentine Count Camillo Negroni who in 1919 asked his bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to add gin, rather than soda water, to his Americano cocktail. Following its success, the Negroni Family founded Negroni Distillerie in Treviso producing a ready-made version of the drink, sold as Antico Negroni in 1919.
To make: Mix one part Bourbon or rye whiskey with one part vermouth rosso and one part Campari and garnish with orange peel.
Smokey Old Man
Another creation from wine blogger Mary Cressler, this unusual take on the classic Old Fashioned takes a little preparation, but it’s well worth it.
Cressler shared her recipe on Instagram, saying all you have to do is “smoke some water for a couple hours and use that smoke infused water to make smoked ice” as if that’s the easiest concept to grasp in the world.
If you have a smoker, you can make your own infused water by placing around 500ml in a heatproof dish and smoking at around 90 degrees Celsius for two to three hours, before straining the liquid to remove impurities and freezing it into ice cubes.
If that sounds like a tall order, Welsh drinks maker Halen Mon sells ready-smoked water for around £13.40 per litre. Once your water is sufficiently smoked, simply make your Old Fashioned as normal, but remember to add these dark and delicious ice cubes to the tipple.
To make: Add 1sp sugar to a tumbler with four dashes of Angostura Bitters and a splash of water and stir till sugar is dissolved. Add 2oz of Bourbon with a few of the smoked ice cubes and stir. Garnish with orange peel.