Custom Cocktails for your Holiday Party Menu

20 Dec Custom Cocktails for your Holiday Party Menu

Everyone needs a little inspiration on what to serve their guests during the holiday season. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or a martini fan, this time of year gives you the perfect opportunity to experiment with your favorite libations. Check out some of our custom cocktail favorites, prepared by Herban Feast’s Food and Beverage Director Sean Klos:

House-Made Eggnog
12 egg whites
12 egg yolks
1 cups baker’s sugar
1/2 quart Old Forester Bourbon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (preferably Mexican)
1 vanilla bean, split (with seeds removed)
1/2 cup brandy (E&J or Christen Brothers)
1/2 cup Caffè Borghetti
1/2 quart heavy cream
1 quart whole milk
1/2 quart vanilla or coffee-flavored ice cream

Directions:

1.  Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Keep both.
2.  Mix egg yolks and sugar
3.  Add in the Bourbon, Borghetti, brandy, Vanilla extract, Vanilla Seeds, Heavy Cream, milk, and ice cream.
4.  Mix until incorporated (if you let the ice cream soften first it will be much faster)
5.  Pour in to large storage container.
6.  Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks. Should look like a meringue.
7.  Fold the egg whites into the rest of the mixture and let that sit for at least three hours.
8.  Whisk again and pout in to a pitcher.
9.  For each cocktail pour into desired glass and top with fresh grated nutmeg. You can use ground if you do not have whole nutmeg.

Holiday Sangria
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large cinnamon stick, halved
4 allspice berries
3 whole cloves
1 star anise pod
2 cups cranberries Fresh if possible.
2 Granny Smith apples, diced
1 750-milliliter bottle Washington rosé
1/3 cup port (Ruby)
1/3 cup Solarno (or any orange-flavored liquor)
1/3 cup cranberry juice

Directions:

1.  In a saucepan, mix the water, sugar, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and star anise. Simmer the syrup over moderately low heat for 15 minutes. Strain into a bowl and add the cranberries and apples. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2.  Strain the fruit, reserving the spiced syrup. In a large pitcher, mix the rosé with the port, Cointreau, cranberry juice, fruit and 3/4 cup of the spiced syrup. Refrigerate until chilled, about

Mulled wine
2 grapefruits
1 lemon
1 lime
200g caster sugar
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
3 fresh bay leaves
1 whole nutmeg (for grating)
1 vanilla pod, halved
2 star anise
2 bottles dry white wine

Directions:

1.  Use a speed peeler to peel large sections of peels from your grapefruits, lemon and lime.
2.  Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the grapefruit juice. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and 10-12 gratings of nutmeg. Toss in the halved vanilla pod and stir in just enough wine to cover the sugar.
3.  Let simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the wine and then bring to boil. Boil for about 4-5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup. This creates a wonderful flavor by infusing the sugar and spices with the wine.
4.  When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine. Gently heat the wine.
5.  After it’s warm (about 5 minutes) ladle it into glasses and serve. Garnish with Rosemary, Thyme or a candied sage leaf for appearance.