Warming winter cocktails, paradoxically served over ice, are on my mind right now. While the Negroni is still my favorite cocktail, we’re in for a cold spell this week; we’ve just had our first heavy snowfall of the season; events are being canceled again; and it feels like a good time to hunker down and hibernate with this bottle of St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram.
I know some people do Dry January, and feel great. (Maybe some year, if the pandemic is ever over, I’ll try this.) Instead, as a way to recover from holiday excess, I have enlisted my husband, who does the grocery shopping, to try “pantry cooking” with me this month. This means buying only fresh fruit and vegetables and perishables like yogurt, as we did in 2020 when we were supposed to stay home, and cook with what’s on hand in the cupboards, cabinets, and freezers.
Pantry January
Given my current state of mind and with Omicron bearing down, I am starting Pantry January by tackling the liquor cabinet. Since there’s only two of us – the visiting kids having gone back to their respective homes – and we aren’t actually big drinkers, my goal isn’t to empty all the bottles (haha) but to open and at least try the esoteric ones that I bought after browsing through cocktail recipes online or in cookbooks. I hate it when I buy ingredients for a complicated drink made only once, or even worse – never use the ingredient at all because I’ve forgotten where I saw the recipe.
Speaking of forgetting, I completely forgot I had bought this book last year.
Luckily, many of the recipes in Make Me a Cocktail for Christmas are still suitable after the holiday season. (Although I am definitely done with eggnog until next year. And even though my husband might make his homemade coquito again if I asked and we probably have all the ingredients on hand so it would count towards Pantry January, I probably should wait until next Christmas again for that fattening coconut deliciousness.)
Continue reading “Allspice Dram, aka Pimento Dram, and aka My Latest Favorite Liqueur #weekendcooking”