A Long-Awaited Spring

Living in the Midwest, you get used to unexpected seasonal patterns. Some years, we get graced with a beautiful spring but usually it's a bit of a climate roller coaster. Don't get me wrong, I love seasons. It's the change and uncertainty that make us Chicagoans appreciate nice weather when it happens and to fully take advantage of it. After six months of winter and several April snow showers, I was thrilled to see crisp green buds appearing on trees and fragrant flowers popping out of the ground. Even with some unavoidable variation in temperatures, we've been spending every evening dining on the rooftop and delighting in the sunset displays. For me, springtime evokes a transition from anticipation to wonder as life and color return to the outside world.

I wanted to capture the coming of spring in a brunch-friendly cocktail just in time for Mother's Day. My goal was to create something delicate, fragrant and wonderfully smooth. I had recently gotten my hands on some St. George California Citrus Vodka and let its crisp floral flavors inspire my brainstorming process. Gravitating typically to gin or whiskey, I hadn't previously found a vodka to write home about. I typically approached vodka as an ingredient to disappear and allow the other components of the cocktail to shine. This vodka, however, is so ridiculously delicious that it can easily be enjoyed neat at room temperature. Built on a foundation of Barlett pears with no additives, the vodka is then infused with Valencia orange, Seville orange, and bergamot peels. The resulting spirit shines with bright citrus and herbal notes with an almost sweet juicy finish. 

I thought the vodka would pair nicely with a jammy flavor so I incorporated some cold-brewed hibiscus tea. Hibiscus has a stunning natural hue and a vibrant tartness that I thought would enhance, rather than overpower, the vodka's citrus notes. Then I decided to get a little weird and try out an ingredient that has always mystified me in cocktails: yogurt. Though it sounds bizarre, Greek yogurt in particular can add to a cocktail's tartness while also imparting a creamy texture. I promise that it doesn't taste like eating a spoonful of plain yogurt - you just need to be smart about the other ingredients you mix it with. I chose to work in a wildflower honey syrup to take the bite our of the yogurt and blend it in as a more complimentary rather than center-stage component. The honey worked beautifully to tie everything together and balance out the tartness of the hibiscus and Greek yogurt. 

I finished the drink with some stunning edible flowers I spotted at Whole Foods. I have been hunting for these in stores for some time and haven't yet had the chance to plant them in my own garden. Whole Foods packages up a variety in the refrigerated herbs section - just be sure to get them shortly before you plan to use them as they do spoil quickly. I love how the flowers enhance the vibrant character of this cocktail and create an extra special treat for whoever you choose to share it with. The resulting cocktail is lightly tangy with notes of citrus and jam rounded with a creamy sweet smoothness. It's delicious at any time of day, but I think it would be especially wonderful with brunch.

A Long-Awaited Spring

• 1.5 oz St. George California Citrus vodka
• 1 oz cold-brewed hibiscus tea*
• 0.5 oz wildflower honey syrup**
• 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• Edible flowers, for garnish

Add all ingredients other than flowers to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until chilled and frothy. Strain into a Nick and Nora or other stemmed glass and garnish with 1-2 edible flowers. Enjoy outdoors to complement the delicious brunch you prepared for your mother.

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

A Bountiful Harvest

Have you ever tried a savory cocktail? Many of you are likely familiar with the Bloody Mary, a brunch staple that often comes loaded with a feast of garnishes. I've never been able to warm up to the Bloody Mary myself, probably due to the high acidity, spiciness, and overall heaviness of the drink. Other savory drinks I've tried have been an interesting experience but I wish I could have tried a little taste rather than having to finish the entire cocktail.

With the fall harvest of our rooftop garden bringing in copious amounts of tomatoes and basil, I decided to try my hand at crafting a savory, tomato-based drink that I could enjoy. My first dilemma was which particular tomatoes to use and how to best prepare them for the purpose. I started with cherry tomatoes and tried simply muddling them but wasn't thrilled with their sweetness or the inconsistent texture of the resulting juice. Grape tomatoes proved more savory, and I was able to get a great texture by blending them and straining out any remaining solids. You could probably use roma, kumato, or heirloom tomatoes as a substitute (let me know how your drink turns out if you do).

Instead of making a typical syrup, I tested an infused salty solution with black peppercorns, fresh basil, and sea salt. I loved the manageable ting of spice added by the peppercorns and the freshness of the basil when paired with the tomato flavor. I further played up the basil aromatics by pinning some fresh leaves to the drink as garnish. Note that leftover salt solution could be a great flavoring component for a soup. I also incorporated balsamic vinegar as a complement to the tomatoes and basil. It helped pull together the creamy, yet tart finish of the drink while balancing all of the components.

From the start, I knew I wanted to use egg white in this cocktail to test out the savory side of foam. The acidity of the tomatoes was sufficient for foaming the egg white and the resulting frothy finish created a striking visual contrast and a firm top layer for sprinkling with freshly ground peppercorn.

For the spirit, I chose a vodka that would add character to the drink rather than getting lost among the other ingredients - KOVAL Organic Rye Vodka. This vodka is similar to KOVAL's white rye whiskey, but triple distilled for more smoothness. It blended beautifully into the drink while adding a depth of grain flavor that worked wonderfully with the savory palette. 

The finished cocktail is substantial yet fresh, with the creamy texture of the spiced foam blending effortlessly into the tomato body. The notes are lightly peppery, pleasantly acidic and aromatic.

A Bountiful Harvest

• 1.5 oz rye vodka
• 0.5 oz balsamic vinegar
• 0.5 oz peppercorn basil salt solution*
• 10 grape tomatoes
• 1 egg white

Blend and strain grape tomatoes, then add to a shaker along with other ingredients. Dry shake for approximately 10 seconds, occasionally releasing the pressure in the shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled, then strain into a champagne flute or other stemmed glass. Top with fresh cracked pepper and garnish with 1-2 small basil leaves. Enjoy while strolling through an abundant fall garden.

*To make infused salt solution, add 1 cup water, 1 tbsp cracked black peppercorns, and 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns to a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add several basil leaves and simmer for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool before using.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography. You can find the West Elm items from this shoot, here, here, and here. The cocktail shaker and jigger are by Viski.  

Vice Grip

My tolerance for spicy foods is basically nonexistent though I've been challenging it diligently ever since leaving for college. This tends to be pretty typical when you're Eastern European and grow up primarily with salt, (small amounts of) black pepper, parsley and dill. Somehow, I went from a fairly limited spice exposure to deciding upon Mexican as my favorite food category. I love the brightness and variety of the seasoning and the way the different ingredients balance each other out if mixed in just the right way. While I prefer mixology over cooking, I appreciate the cross-functional concepts you can apply if you're avidly learning both skills. 

I chose to create this drink to channel that flavor vibrance and to find a way to enjoy spice in liquid form as much as I've grown to approach it in cuisine. My thought process led me to the classic screwdriver cocktail - a drink that's very straightforward but often leaves you wanting. I aimed to take the concept of vodka and orange juice and to dress it up with better ingredients and a fiery kick. Perhaps the most critical way to improve on the classic is to pick the right vodka.

Though vodka is often disregarded as a spirit that is simply neutral, I believe that a good vodka will disappear amidst other ingredients while a great vodka will blend smoothly and add flavor interest. I was thrilled to incorporate BET Vodka, a particularly great Wisconsin spirit made from co-op grown sugar beets. It starts smooth and therefore plays nicely with most cocktail ingredients, but also adds a bit of a peppery body and a lingering vanilla sweetness. I don't often get excited about vodka, but BET left quite an impression with both its flavor profile and beautiful minimalist branding. 

Instead of orange juice from a carton, I used the juice of an entire fresh navel orange. It takes a bit more effort but it is so incredibly worth it. Not only is fresh juice additive-free, but the flavor is so much brighter immediately after extraction. Oranges are also fairly easy to find throughout the year and affordable to grab in bulk. If you'd like to make this drink for a group and don't have an efficient way of juicing fresh oranges, grab some freshly squeezed juice from the grocery store on the same day you make this cocktail. Just remember that you'll still need fresh orange peel for the syrup.

To finish the drink, I crafted a syrup with orange peel and habanero pepper. Adding the spice element in syrup form gave me plenty of control over the final flavor balance of the cocktail. I worked with incredibly spicy habanero peppers, so I just added one to my syrup for a minute to get the level of spice I was looking for. Make sure to taste the syrup as it's simmering. If you'd like more spice, simply throw in another pepper or leave the one pepper in for a little longer. 

The resulting cocktail is bursting with citrus freshness and a pleasant spice finish. It's perfect for a hot summer day but would be equally lovely to break up the gloom of a rainy autumn or cold winter.

The Vice Grip

• 2 oz vodka
• Juice of 1 fresh orange
• 0.25 oz orange habanero syrup*

Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into chilled glasses. Garnish with a habanero pepper and enjoy on a scorching summer day. 

*To make orange habanero syrup, combine 2 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar, peel of 1 orange (try to avoid the pith) in a small saucepan and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1 chopped habanero pepper and simmer for another minute. Strain out the solids and store excess in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. The pepper oil will separate to the surface so be sure to give the jar of syrup a shake before using it next.

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

Fourth of Rosé

When I think of summer libations, strawberries, lemonade and rosé wine instantly come to mind. While they're all excellent on a standalone basis, can you imagine how fantastic they'd be mixed together? I tested this theory with a punch-format cocktail and found the result to be absolutely wonderful. The natural red hue of this punch makes it a great fit for your Fourth of July entertaining, but it's a recipe you're bound to enjoy all summer long.

One of my favorite features of this punch is that the ingredients can be prepared fairly far in advance and the final prep is effortless. Since the fruit components are preserved via infusion and cordial, you can find the freshest fruit when it's available or well-priced and use it before it has the chance to spoil. To give the punch a bit more of a kick (pun intended), I incorporated strawberry hibiscus infused vodka. The nice thing about a fruit infusion is that it provides so much flavor that you can, and should, use a more mid-range spirit - I picked an organic vodka from Trader Joe's, which I'm convinced is made by Prairie Organic but with the friendlier price tag of $13.99. I recommend using organic fruit for infusions as alcohol will pull any pesticides from the fruit along with the color and flavor. Luckily, organic strawberries are much easier to come by in the summer. Hibiscus is best bought in bulk online, but you can also use a hibiscus tea from the grocery store.

Note that you'll need to plan ahead for this component of the punch as fruit infusions reach their peak after 5 days. 

Instead of using fresh lemon, I chose to work with lemon cordial. I discovered lemon cordial when collaborating with the Bar Manager of Chicago Distilling Company on a bar takeover and have been using it in pretty much everything since then. Lemon cordial is effectively a lemon syrup, something akin to limoncello but quicker to make and non-alcoholic. Lemon juice is best enjoyed on the day it's squeezed, but lemon cordial allows you to preserve that flavor brightness and achieve both tartness and sweetness with one ingredient. The basic premise is to boil lemon peel with water and sugar, mix in lemon juice, pour into a sterilized glass bottle and store in the fridge (more details in the recipe below). I also recommend adding some citric acid to strengthen the tartness, but you can substitute with fresh lemon juice when preparing the actual punch if you prefer. 

The rest of the punch is quite straightforward - rosé as the main component and club soda for a bit of fizz. I found this particular rosé to work beautifully with the other ingredients, but most fruit-forward varieties should fit the bill. If you want to class up the punch for the 4th, float some rinsed white spray roses in the punch bowl or garnish with fresh blueberries. The resulting drink is fruity, balanced and unbelievably smooth. 

Fourth of Rosé

Individual format:

• 1.5 oz strawberry hibiscus infused vodka*
• 2 oz rosé wine
• 0.5 oz lemon cordial**
• 1 oz club soda

Or, to serve 12:

• 2 and 1/3 cups strawberry hibiscus infused vodka*
• 1 bottle rosé wine
• 3/4 cup lemon cordial**
• 1.5 cups club soda

Stir all ingredients with ice to chill and pour into your favorite celebratory glassware over ice. If making in bulk, simply mix in a pitcher or punch bowl with a bit of ice. For an extra festive experience, garnish with white spray roses and blueberries. Enjoy while reliving your childhood amidst firework fun. 

* To make strawberry hibiscus infused vodka, add 2 cup chopped strawberries, 2 tbsp dried hibiscus flowers and 1 bottle of vodka to a sealable glass jar (split into 2 batches if you don't have a 1 jar that's big enough). Put the jar in a dark place (like a cupboard or pantry) and allow to infuse for 5 days, shaking occasionally. After 5 days, strain with a fine mesh strainer. The infused vodka should be fine to store at room temperature if you remove all the fruit solids. 

** To make lemon cordial, heat the peel of 3 lemons, 3 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar and 1 tsp citric acid in a saucepan for about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice of 7 lemons. Allow to cool, then strain. Store excess cordial in a glass container in the fridge. 

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses and pitcher. If you're local to Chicago and want to learn how to craft some delicious punches in person, check out my upcoming class with KOVAL and West Elm.

Awaiting Spring

It may have been an absurdly mild Chicago winter and temperatures may still be oscillating but I have officially decided that spring is upon us. Is there a snowstorm in our future? Probably. Does that need to dampen my excitement for abundant sunshine and the return of color to the world? Not at all. 

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I wanted to celebrate my heightened spring spirits with a refreshing and floral cocktail. My wonderful photographer and friend, Belen, offered up a bottle of Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka for the occasion. Generally, I stray away from flavored spirits because I find them overly sweetened, poorly flavored or simply limiting. A bottle of plain vodka can be used for a much wider array of recipes if you're not seeking to highlight a single infusion. However, successful flavored and infused spirits can save you effort and elevate the complexity of your cocktails. 

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Crop's Cucumber Vodka impressed me with it's smoothness and accuracy of flavor. The cucumber element felt natural, fresh, and easy to work with. In the past, I've loved pairing cucumber and elderflower flavors. I decided to try something new with this cocktail but to stay in the floral realm for a fragrant spring feel. Conveniently, I have a ginormous jar of dried lavender flowers in my pantry. As a relevant side note, if you ever choose to work with lavender in home cooking or mixology, it's significantly cheaper to stock up on it in bulk. I picked up a pound on Amazon and haven't made a dent in it after over a year of semi-frequent use. 

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I finished the cocktail off with some lemon for a hint of tartness and club soda for a lighter, more refreshing feel. If you're feeling adventurous with your garnish, you can fairly easily recreate this cucumber ribbon at home - all you need is a medium sized, preferably firm cucumber and a veggie peeler. Simply peel a few strips off the long edge of the cucumber to get to the flesh, then run the peeler carefully along the cucumber from end to end. You'll be left with a long ribbon that has peel on the outside and flesh on the inside. Form the ribbon into a squiggle shape with your hands, then run a cocktail spear through and adjust as needed. 

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Awaiting Spring

• 2 oz Crop Cucumber Vodka
• 0.5 oz lavender syrup*
• Juice of 1/2 small lemon
• Club soda, to top
• Fresh cucumber, for garnish

Mix vodka, lemon juice and lavender syrup in a shaker and shake with ice until chilled. Strain into a collins glass over ice, then top with club soda and garnish with a cucumber ribbon or slice. Enjoy repeatedly until spring finally arrives. 

To make in bulk for an event, mix an entire 750 ml chilled bottle of Crop Cucumber Vodka, 1 cup of lavender syrup and juice of 7 small lemons in a large pitcher or punch bowl (you can add fresh cucumber slices for presentation). Top with chilled club soda and serve over ice. 

*To make lavender syrup, add 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar to a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, then add 1 tbsp dried lavender flowers. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then strain and allow to cool. Store excess in fridge for up to 3 weeks. 

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography.

A Grand Entrance

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, meaning it's time to marginally freak out about hosting or contributing to the greatest feast of the year. After years of helping my family with cooking and taking my first shot at hosting both families with my husband, I've learned to seek that perfect balance between dishes that are impressive yet reasonably simple to prepare. This is one of the few occasions you can depend on for meaningful interaction with all your family or friends. You want to spend that time engaging with them and experiencing the meal for yourself, not running around madly until you collapse on the nearest couch.

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I'm here to help you achieve just that on the cocktail front with three inventive autumnal beverages. Either prepare all three as you progress through the evening or select your favorite to share with the lucky guests. As always, I'll provide the inspiration and you'll choose your own adventure. 

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The first cocktail of the series is inspired by my FAVORITE relish recipe and is the ideal libation for welcoming your guests. A sweet-tart syrup of cranberry, raspberry and orange shapes the main flavor profile while ginger liqueur adds a a hint of spice, lime maintains balance and club soda bubbles keep it festive. I chose to feature vodka in this cocktail for flavor neutrality but you could experiment with bourbon or rye whiskey if you or your guests prefer it to vodka. As an added bonus, this cocktail can be prepared individually or as a punch, just scale up the recipe if needed. 

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A Grand Entrance

• 2 oz vodka
• 0.5 oz ginger liqueur (I recommend Domaine de Canton)
• 1.5 oz cranberry raspberry orange syrup*
• Juice of half a lime
• Club soda to top
• 3 cranberries for garnish

To make individual drinks. mix first four ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake until chilled and strain into a stemmed glass. Top with a splash of club soda and garnish with fresh cranberries on a cocktail spear. To make the drink in bulk, scale up the recipe for your desired quantity and add first four ingredients (ideally chilled) to a punch bowl. Top with club soda (no more than 1 oz per drink) right before serving and add some floating cranberries, raspberries and/or orange slices for decoration. Enjoy while welcoming your loved ones to gather around the Thanksgiving table.

*To make syrup, add 6 oz cranberries, 6 oz raspberries, 3 strips of orange peel (try to avoid the white pith as it adds bitterness), 2 cups water and 0.5 cup sugar to a small saucepan. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until berries start to fall apart. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, using a spoon to press out all the liquid. Allow to cool and store excess in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Note that this recipe makes about 16 oz of syrup (or enough for roughly 10 drinks) so scale it up if you're planning for more.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the lovely glasses, dishware and other table adornments.

White Ukrainian

As you might have guessed, this drink happens to be a play on the infamous "White Russian." My version is (creatively) dubbed the "White Ukrainian" due to being thought up by a white Ukrainian (me). However, the only tie to Eastern Europe, as with the original recipe, is the vodka. 

In theory, the original White Russian seems like a decadent and extremely satisfying cocktail - boozy, rich, roasty-toasty and sweet. My main qualms with it were:

1. It was simply too rich to drink on regular occasions,
2. Mixing it with citrus-based drinks over the course of the evening would give me quite the stomach ache, and
3. I felt like the vodka was overpowering for my liking.

Basically, I wanted a lighter, more well-balanced and dairy-free alternative that I could enjoy sans guilt. With those goals in mind, I tested out almond milk instead of cream and played with the ratios of coffee liqueur and vodka. I also experimented with craft coffee liqueurs as alternative to Kahlua. Some of my favorites include Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso Vodka and St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur (for the record, I absolutely love anything made by St. George and recommend you give their gin and other products a try). If you're local to Chicago, West Loop-based CH Distillery has also recently partnered with Dark Matter Coffee to make their own take on coffee liqueur (which is next on my boozy shopping list).

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My favorite feature of this cocktail is the creamy coffee flavor, and craft coffee liqueurs tend to outperform their mass-produced counterparts. Think more coffee and less syrupy sweetness. To keep the coffee flavor highlighted, I used less vodka for the same amount of liqueur recommended in a traditional White Russian recipe. I also used more almond milk than the recommended amount of cream, as almond milk has a lot less fat and therefore thinner flavor. If you're a fan of other nut milks (coconut, cashew), feel free to experiment!

The last ingredient is optional but really makes the White Ukrainian shine: espresso. I first tried a White Russian with espresso on a weekend adventure to New Orleans and couldn't get enough. It's the perfect solution to the extreme indecisiveness and lack of motivation your get upon finishing dinner on a weekend. If you need to pump yourself up for going out while also satisfying your craving for dessert, trust me, this will do it.

What if you don't have a fancy expensive espresso machine? That's completely fine. My super versatile espresso tool, the Aeropress, cost me around $30. I've been using it for over four years now and still love the simplicity, efficiency and flavor it offers. Alternatively, you could sub in a strong cold brew coffee for a similar effect.

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The White Ukrainian

• 1 oz vodka
• 1 oz coffee liqueur
• 1 shot espresso (optional)
• 4 oz sweetened almond milk

Pour all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until cocktail is chilled and a light foam has formed. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with cocoa nibs, cinnamon sugar or the awesome blend of sugar/chocolate/coffee beans from Trader Joe's (pictured in the ingredient shot above). Enjoy along following a steaming bowl of borscht while decked out in your best blue and yellow attire (5 points if you get the blue and yellow reference -> points are redeemable for Valcohol).

Cliffs of Moher

With all of the gimmicky artificial green beverages popping up around this time of year, I took on the challenge of finding an all-natural and flavorful alternative to bring on the St. Patrick's Day cheer. Confession: none of the ingredients in this drink have much to do with Ireland. However, the color is PERFECT and the flavor is tart, fruity and packs a punch. Hence the name, reminiscent of the beautifully vibrant Irish coastline.

I found kiwi/green apple juice (the extremely Eastern European carton shown below) for the cocktail base. I'm in love with juices from that part of the world because (a) I'm from there and (b) they tend to only consist of natural colors and flavors without being too costly. If you don't have a Polish or other Eastern European grocery store nearby, consider making your own puree from fresh kiwi and green apples and mixing in some sugar and water to make the consistency similar to juice.

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I stuck with vodka for the liquor because I wanted a more neutral spirit that would get lost in the vibrant bouquet of flavors featured by this cocktail. You really don't need anything fancy, just something to play nicely with the other ingredients (in other words, stay away from the plastic handles). To round out the flavor and keep the drink from getting too sweet, I incorporated a bit of lemon juice and green apple shrub. Shrub is essentially drinking vinegar infused with herbs or fruit. It may sound strange, but I've found that I keep returning to it for added depth in my drinks. If you've ever tried a stronger kombucha, the flavor profile of shrub is quite similar. The cool thing is that you can even make your own! I'll report back once I give homemade shrub a try and have some tips to share. (Don't worry if you're not a fan of vinegar - the amount in this cocktail is so small that it's almost imperceptible).

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The Cliffs of Moher

• 2 oz vodka
• 2.5 oz kiwi green apple juice
• 1 tbsp green apple shrub
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until a light foam has formed and the shaker is chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Enjoy while dreaming of letting your Border Collie run free with the sheep of the Irish coast. 

Valcohol Holiday Punch

If there's one lesson I learned about mixing for parties, it's to choose 1-2 cocktails and create them in bulk to accommodate your guest count. My cocktail journey started with making drinks for my friends on big events like New Year's Eve, graduation and, you know, the occasional Thursday night in college. I loved focusing on the process and making sure everyone got a beverage that fit their palette, but I found that I had very little time to partake in the festivities myself. Granted, sometimes mixing one drink at a time is a nice escape from a large party - you focus on something you love while people come to you and chitchat when they're ready for another drink. You also get to look after everyone's levels of drunkenness and make sure they're getting water if they need it. It all depends on the event and what role you're looking to play.

Last weekend, Will and I traveled back to Minnesota for the annual O'Connor family Christmas, hosted by his parents. Socializing with his family is always a blast so I knew it would be best to whip up a large batch of Valcohol goodness and then sit back to enjoy the quality company. I had never before used a bowl for serving cocktails in bulk, but Will's mom discovered a beautiful punch bowl and glasses that had belonged to her grandmother, and so commenced operation Valcohol Holiday Punch.

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My considerations in creating the Punch recipe were to:

• Stay away from colors that would stain clothes, carpets and furniture (always a safe bet for a large get-together),
• Stick with a liquor that is likely to appeal to the most people,
• Use ingredients that are easy to find in bulk, and
• Mix with flavors that made me nostalgic for the holiday season.

Given these considerations, I landed on the following general ingredients: vodka, apple, ginger, lemon and thyme.

Nom.

I highly recommend using Trader Joe's when you're looking for juices to mix with as they tend to have interesting flavor combinations and less sugary options than your typical grocery store. Another perk is that TJ's juice is usually way cheaper for the quality. For this cocktail, I chose their Honeycrisp Apple Cider because it actually tastes like apples and mixes wonderfully! TJ's also has great deals on ginger beer - they have Reed's brand available for cheaper than most grocery stores and their private label is just as good. When it comes to vodka, you don't need anything fancy for something this flavorful - just a decent bottle that will mix well. I used Kirkland Signature brand from Costco which would roughly be on par with Absolut. 

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Now let's talk ratios. When making a cocktail in bulk, I start with the ratios for a single cocktail, figure out roughly how many cocktails I expect to be consumed (1-2 per drinking adult is a good start) and then do some multiplication (I may or may not use Excel). The key is not to blindly trust your math. Always sample your creation before serving as you never know if it'll taste slightly different when made in bulk versus on the individual scale. Lucky for you, I've already done all the math for this punch and can tell you exactly what and how much to buy. All you need to do is mix it up and be the hero of your next holiday party!

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Valcohol Holiday Punch

(Makes roughly 25 cocktail servings)

• 2 64 oz bottles Trader Joe's Honeycrisp apple cider
• 4 12 oz bottles ginger beer
• 6 cups vodka
• 12 oz lemon juice
• Fresh thyme (for garnish)

Mix all liquid ingredients (preferably chilled) in a large punch bowl (it may be a good idea to start with half the quantity to see if more will fit in your bowl or if you need to split it up between multiple containers). Prep punch glasses with a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. If you have an ice bucket, set that out for guests to use as they prefer, otherwise, also prep punch glasses with ice. Sit back and enjoy your party!