The holidays are over. Done. Finito. And if you’re anything like us, you haven’t yet taken down the Christmas tree, even though it’s beginning to go bald. Denial has set in.
But the time for tinsel is drawing to a close, and coming to terms with January’s dreary disposition is inevitable. What’s needed now is a little oomph. Something to look forward to. Something to take the edge off. We’re not suggesting that you drink the winter blues away. No, not at all. Just ease them with a drink (or five).
Though a decadent cup of Eggnog is always endorsed, its accepted seasonal parameters have ended. Hot Toddies are always appropriate, as is a mug of spicy, mulled Glogg, but with January comes the resolution to be riskier and perhaps to try new things. So, instead of a Toddy, we’d suggest the Mott and Mulberry, bartender Leo Robitschek’s apple cider and amaro-tinged Whiskey Sour.
If let loose in a pantry of baking spices, we’d mull everything from October until the bluebirds begin to sing, so we were especially tickled upon discovering Andrew Bohrer’s Crimson and Clover, a lovely lavender-colored concoction of gin, lemon and mulled wine syrup all swathed in a sweater of egg white. Beyond that, French 75 Bar’s Chris Hannah combined every luxurious cool weather flavor (allspice, star anise, rye and amaro) we could want in his Winter Waltz, while Damon Boelte of Prime Meats fortified the typical buck with Scotch and spicy ginger beer for the Glasgow Mule. Lastly, the bourbon-laced Weathered Axe by Chicago’s Danny Shapiro gets winterized with a bouquet of aromatic rosemary (when summer rolls around, it’s mint all the way).
So, no, we do not endorse the drowning of sorrows or shading of blues with a cocktail. We simply offer these humble drinks to sip on while considering the alternatives.