November is my favorite month for so many reasons. The leaves are just barely hanging on to their branches, and their hues are at their most beautiful. The air is cold enough that I can start wearing my favorite cabled sweaters without hiding them under winter coats. I've finally have the time to make apple everything from pie to hard cider. In a few days we will celebrate Robbie's birthday, and in a few weeks it's also my birthday! Both followed by Thanksgiving. Conceptually I love this holiday; family and friends gather around for a cozy feast without any of the stress or expectations of Christmas, ensconced in gratitude. In reality the traditional Thanksgiving dinner is my least favorite holiday meal (give me an Easter ham any day). So this month, I've decided to share some recipes that I'll be using to make our Thanksgiving dinner a little more enjoyable. Feel free to use them to make yours even more enjoyable, if you're already enthusiastic about this meal.
I personally believe any great meal should start with a great cocktail. Whether you and your family sip on these while you cook, or you have one before you move to the dinner table, this is a great cocktail to start your autumnal feast. The base of the cocktail is Art in the Age's Snap liquor. At this point I've made it pretty clear that I'm obsessed with their products; I used Sage this past spring and Rhubarb in the summer. I've been dying to get my hands on Snap for quite a while, but I held off until it was more seasonally appropriate. Snap is distilled with all of the flavors of a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch ginger snap; molasses, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and clove give this spirit a dark, spicy flavor.
The red wine float that tops this cocktail was as much an aesthetic choice as it was a decision about taste. I loved the plum red dissolving into burnt orange in a way that mimicked autumn foliage. Pinot Noirs from the Pacific Northwest work best for this cocktail. They tend to be smoky and spicy with flavors of dark stone fruits. Don't worry about all the extra wine left over, no one will turn it down on Thanksgiving.
Snap and Cider:
2 oz Snap
2.5 oz apple cider (unsweetened and with no spices)
1 oz red wine
Combine Snap and apple cider over ice and shake. Strain into a coupe. With a spoon face down over the glass, pour the red wine over the back of the spoon. This will spread the wine over the cocktail, lessening the impact and allowing it to float on top of the drink.
Enjoy!
XO
Pat