This holiday, I gave myself a challenge (because I’m one of those strange people that enjoys putting myself in difficult situations). Could I create a delicious holiday drink with a notoriously bitter ingredient - Malört? I would never force anyone to unknowingly do a shot of it, but I love playing around with it in cocktails to add depth. For those of you who have somehow escaped it thus far, Malört is a spiced wormwood liqueur created by a Swedish immigrant in Chicago in the 1930s. It enjoys great infamy in Chicago and many enjoy forcing it upon their visiting friends as part of the “Chicago handshake” (a shot of Malört paired with Old Style beer).

I set out to create a bouquet of holiday flavors grounded with Malört’s bitterness. My goal was to create a drink that would allow people who don’t often have bitter cocktails to test the waters with a gentle introduction. I chose Hardy VSOP Organic Cognac for the base spirit for its wonderful aromatic smoothness, then added fresh muddled cranberries for a tart burst of flavor. Cranberries also make a beautiful festive garnish, both as is or candied in simple syrup and sugar.

I really enjoy the combination of cranberries and ginger in my cooking, so I mixed in one of my favorite ginger liqueurs, Barrow’s Intense. It can be hard to find a ginger liqueur that’s more spicy than sweet, and this one has the balance I’m looking for when I want ginger flavor.

Finally, I incorporated some fresh squeezed orange juice for citrusy freshness and expressed orange oil on the cocktail after mixing it up. The resulting drink starts out tart, fruity and smooth and finishes with a gentle bitter mouthfeel. It’s festive, yet sophisticated and a really fun way to create something delicious and pleasing with a notoriously bitter spirit like Malört.

The Grinch’s Tonic

1.5 oz cognac
1/4 cup cranberries
0.5 oz ginger liqueur
0.25 oz Malört
0.5 oz fresh orange juice
Candied cranberries, for garnish*

Muddle cranberries in a shaker. Add ice and other liquid ingredients and shake until chilled. Strain into a festive coupe and garnish with a candied cranberry. Enjoy to warm your bitter Grinch heart this holiday season.

* To make candied cranberries, soak fresh cranberries in simple syrup, then allow to dry on a cooling rack. When cranberries are almost dry but still sticky, roll in sugar to coat. Store extras in the fridge for up to a few days.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography.

The thing I love most about my craft is the opportunity to share it with those I love. However, I try to strike a balance between being a good hostess, creating imaginative cocktails and actually enjoying the company of my loved ones. The best way I've found to accomplish all of those things is to create cocktails in punch form. You can make a punch fit any style of party by adjusting the presentation. This particular creation is meant for a festive holiday gathering.

Before we get to the drink itself, let's talk ice. Typical cloudy ice cubes just aren't the most attractive thing to look at and tend to melt fairly quickly due to the air bubbles they contain. You can always cover them up with punch garnishes such as flowers and citrus fruit but there's another, fairly effortless alternative: use a silicon bundt cake pan to make a decorative ring of ice. I picked this one up on Amazon for under $12 and was so impressed with the result. It didn't take too long to freeze (I made mine overnight), looked lovely, and melted slowly. You can fill yours with herbs and fruit if you wish, but I found that doing so discolored the ice and therefore added my garnish separately.

I had picked up a bottle of Far North Solveig Gin while travelling to Duluth, Minnesota and wanted to incorporate it into a festive cocktail that did the beautiful bottle justice. Aside from the eye-catching branding, the gin is really well done. It's made with winter rye grain and features citrus, pine, lavender, thyme and coriander flavors. While I always appreciate a straightforward gin, I get so excited to see distilleries playing with different grains and unique botanicals.

The typical ingredient used for festive holiday color is the cranberry, but I wanted to explore an alternative and settled on concord grapes for both their high pigmentation and rich flavor. You may liken concord grapes to typical "grape" flavor but the fresh fruit is so much brighter and sweeter. I bought them at the height of their freshness and chose to preserve them in syrup form. I added rosemary to the syrup for a savory aromatic note and to complement the botanicals of the gin.

To finish off the cocktail, I added fragrant Meyer lemon juice and Cava, a Spanish variety of sparkling wine. I prefer to use lower cost sparkling wines when I'm adding them to cocktails instead of enjoying them on their own. The Cava category tends to offer a good selection of low cost options with a nice citrus flavor that doesn't steal the show. The resulting punch is wonderfully festive, fragrant and sweet-tart. While it features gin as the main spirit it's got enough other flavors in tow to appeal even to gin skeptics.

Festive Pines Punch

Ratios for 1 serving (scale up as needed):

1 oz gin
2 oz Cava sparkling wine
0.5 oz concord grape rosemary syrup*
0.25 oz Meyer lemon
Fresh rosemary, for garnish

Chill ingredients prior to serving. Scale up the recipe as needed and combine all ingredients other than garnish in a punch bowl over a ring of ice. Stir to chill and combine and then garnish with fresh rosemary. Enjoy with holiday cookies and good cheer.

* To make syrup, combine 1 lb grapes, 3 cups water and 1 cup sugar in a medium pot. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add 3 sprigs of rosemary. Simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, then strain and allow to cool. Store excess in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the punch bowl, cups and tray.