Cacao Mulled Wine

How do you cope with cold weather? Do you embrace it, avoid it or find carefully crafted ways to enjoy it (ie. with lots of layers and warm beverages)? I’m in the last category. I appreciate the magic of winter but need to be surrounded by multiple sources of warmth to get through it with a positive attitude. Mulled wine is one of those beverages that truly elevates the winter experience. Imagine standing in the midst of a Christmas market like Chicago’s own Christkindlmarket, surrounded by twinkling lights and enjoying a steaming mug of spiced wine as fluffy flakes of snow settle softly around you. It’s hard not to admit that winter has some charm when you find yourself in such a lovely situation.

Typical spices for mulled wine include ginger, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. While I love the flavor and aroma of this combination, I wanted to try a different direction. What comes to mind as a natural pairing to red wine? Chocolate and cheese would be the most notable but cheese is probably not what you want actually in your wine (if you find a way to do it, more power to you). I settled on the concept of chocolate and thus decided to infuse my wine with cacao nibs, Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom and Cara Cara orange.

I looked for a rich red wine with chocolate tasting notes as the base to complement the cacao nibs. The Chilean Cabernet Sauvingon by Root: 1 was the perfect price point (I recommend not spending more than $10 on a bottle if you’ll be infusing it or adding juices) and the ideal flavor profile - black currant, mocha and chocolate.

Though I used cacao as my main flavor, I decided to add the Ceylon cinnamon and cardamom as they both pair beautifully with chocolate. I added both the peel and juice of a ripe Cara Cara orange to get both the bright essential oils of the skin and sweet tartness of the orange itself. Cara Cara oranges are my personal favorite as they’re sweeter and more flavorful than the typical navel variety.

Finally, I sweetened the wine with a German honey liqueur for both an extra kick and a smooth, richer sweet flavor. If you can’t get your hands on a honey liqueur, consider adding honey and brandy as a substitute. I prefer to make my mulled wine slightly more tart than sweet but feel free to play with the ratios to your liking.

The resulting mulled wine is warming and refreshingly bright with a delightful lingering flavor of spiced chocolate on the finish. It’s the perfect drink to share with friends or family anytime in the winter but especially over the holiday season.

Cacao Mulled Wine

• 1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon (Root: 1 or another variety with chocolate notes)

• 4 oz honey liqueur

• Juice and peel of 1 Cara Cara orange

• 2 tbsp cacao nibs

• 0.5 tsp cardamom seeds

• 2 Ceylon cinnamon sticks

Add all ingredients to a pot and put on the stove on low heat. Bring to a light simmer and keep at that temperature for 45 minutes - 1 hour, stirring and tasting occasionally. Strain and serve immediately when ready. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or orange twist and enjoy with loved ones and good cheer.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses and tray.

Gone Glamping

This past weekend I went camping at one of my favorite spots - Devil's Lake State Park. As always, the hiking was the perfect amount of challenge, the lake was beautifully clear for swimming, and the weather turned out better than any of us could have expected. Of course, we enjoyed S'mores for dessert both nights and had a laugh over everyone's various preparation strategies. I prefer removing the outer skin of a totally flamed marshmallow while my husband surprised me with pre-warming the graham cracker and chocolate on the grill for an extra gooey (and messy) treat. 

To me, S'mores are one of the quintessential enjoyments of summer but I do wish the ingredients could be more natural and less processed. I took the inspiration of the chocolate, charred marshmallow and cinnamon-coated graham cracker components and re-imagined them in purer cocktail form. 

Starting out, I knew I wanted to use a smoky spirit and chocolate balsamic with a homemade cinnamon syrup and an egg white foam. I chose Gran Centenario Añejo Tequila for the base because I love that it has a very approachable amount of smoke. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy scotch in the right situation but I generally prefer less smoke in my cocktails because it can quickly steal the show. I can be apprehensive around tequila but this one has the smoothness of a good whiskey and a flavor that's balanced enough for easy mixing.

You're probably a bit confused about the chocolate balsamic component. Vinegar opens up a whole other world of possibilities for mixology, and most varieties can be incorporated in a drink if mixed correctly - shrubs, champagne, balsamic (the list goes on). It's a great alternative to citrus for adding acidity and can also help build complexity in non-alcoholic drinks. Balsamic vinegar is especially wonderful because its sweet taste and creamy texture makes it more of a crowd pleaser. Both my and my husband's parents gave us bottles of chocolate balsamic and it blew my mind how well those flavors worked together. I've used it to make brownies in the past but thought it could be perfect in this cocktail for helping the egg white foam, balancing the sweetness, and adding chocolaty depth. 

I did some research before creating the cinnamon syrup because I had heard of different cinnamon varieties and was pretty confused about what all of them entailed. Surprisingly, I found that cassia cinnamon, the variety most common in the U.S., can be toxic to your liver and kidneys if consumed on a daily basis. Ceylon cinnamon, the variety native to Sri Lanka, doesn't have the same negative impacts while benefiting metabolism and containing similar antioxidants to green tea. I grabbed it in bulk off of Amazon to get a more reasonable price and was impressed with its softer texture and sweeter flavor profile. It paired wonderfully with the less processed demerara sugar to make a delicious and versatile syrup. The whole sticks are perfect for steeping in syrups and teas and using for garnish but you can also grind them into powder using a regular coffee grinder.

To finish the drink off, I experimented with a brûléed egg white foam. I had never tried a cocktail like this but understood the general theory - after creating an egg white cocktail with a well-formed foam you could sprinkle sugar over the top and then torch that sugar to caramelize it. I found that the key was to keep the torch moving over the surface of the cocktail to prevent the sugar getting burnt. Don't get discouraged when you try this at home - it takes a bit for the sugar to start caramelizing but the process is pretty fast from that point on. 

The resulting drink was booze-forward and decadent without being heavy. It had just the right amount of sweetness and the egg white created an excellent texture to bring all the other ingredients together. It may be more of an involved creation but it's certainly worth the effort!

Gone Glamping

• 2 oz añejo tequila
• 0.25 oz chocolate balsamic vinegar
• 0.75 Ceylon cinnamon syrup*
• 1 egg white
• 0.5 tsp white sugar

Dry shake all ingredients other than sugar (without ice) for 10-15 seconds, popping the cap occasionally to release the pressure from the egg white. Add ice and shake until chilled. Double strain into a coupe glass, sprinkle the top evenly with sugar and torch the surface until the sugar has caramelized (turned golden brown). Enjoy as an extremely sophisticated adult substitute for S'mores.

* To make Ceylon cinnamon syrup, heat 1 cup water,  1/4 cup demerara sugar and 3 cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Excess can be stored in the fridge for several weeks but should be shaken before use as some settling may occur. Try adding the leftover syrup to coffee for another delicious treat!

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses.

Root & Chalice

We've all shared the days of enjoying simple rail drinks at dive bars or parties. The ingredients tend to be fairly ubiquitous, ratios are forgiving and just about any bar can create one to your liking. For my next series of recipes, I was inspired to channel that rail drink nostalgia into more complex, healthier alternatives. You won't be able to find these ingredients at your typical bar but you will be able to reminisce upon your college days and broaden the comfort spheres of your pickiest friends. 

The first drink in my series is a take on the classic rum and coke. Typically, this rail contains its namesake ingredients of white rum and Coca-Cola with a splash of lime.  I've never been much of a soda drinker due to its sugar content and additives so I sought to replace that flavor profile with a more natural, balanced alternative.

As you have probably figured out by now, I absolutely love to use tea in cocktails. It's widely accessible, can be incorporated in a variety of ways and adds so much depth while giving you control over sweetness levels. In my endless search for natural cocktail mixers, I stumbled upon Pearl Soda Company, based out of Portland, Oregon. They kindly shared several of their tea-based soda syrups with me, and I was blown away by how much the Dancing Dragon variety (crafted with sarsaparilla root and pu-erh, yerba mate and honeybush teas) mimicked a true, old-style root beer with a touch of earthy depth. I also appreciated that the soda syrup was very concentrated - a little bit goes a long way and I expect to get plenty of use out of it this summer in both single and batched cocktails.

I gravitated to aged rum instead of the traditionally used white rum because I wanted something with deeper oak flavor to yield a smoother beverage. Luckily, I stumbled upon Grander Rum, an all natural rum produced with care in Panama and aged for 8 years in Kentucky bourbon barrels. I'm fairly new to the vast world of rum but learned from Grander's owner that many varieties can have small amounts of additives for color, sweetness and flavor. Inspired by the art of bourbon creation from his Kentucky roots, the owner sought to create a more authentic rum by starting with a great un-aged product and keeping the entire production process at one facility in Panama. I found the rum to have a wonderful aroma of caramel and vanilla and a great strength to form the backbone of balanced cocktails. 

To further enhance the sweet, spiced, earthy depth of this cocktail, I added some of Bittercube's Blackstrap Bitters. Crafted by a duo of Milwaukee-based cocktail consultants, Bittercube Bitters feature extremely well blended flavor combinations without any artificial ingredients. I've enjoyed all of their flavors but the Blackstrap variety truly made this cocktail shine with a deliciously aromatic mix of sarsaparilla, molasses and cinnamon. If you decide to give Bittercube Bitters a try, I strongly recommend investing in their mini sampler pack.

I chose to serve this cocktail with club soda for the obligatory bubbles and crushed ice to make it maximally refreshing. The resulting drink is comparable to a delightfully spiked root beer with a hint of herbal character and a molasses finish.

The Root & Chalice

• 2 oz Grander Rum (aged rum)
•  0.5 oz Pearl Soda Company Dancing Dragon Syrup
• 6 drops Bittercube Blackstrap Bitters
• 2 oz club soda

Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass until chilled, then strain into a soda fountain glass and top with crushed ice. Serve with a straw and an optional slice of dehydrated lemon for some extra sunshine. Enjoy while recounting tales of your craziest college shenanigans. 

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses.