Holiday Spirits —— Hot... ...and Cold

Nothing pleases the amateur barman's ego as much as inventing — or serving — a new drink that is enthusiastically received by his guests. All year long he's correctly given credit for his fine wines and brews, his gins and whiskies and rare brandies. What his bottlemates are actually praising, however, are brewers, distillers and vintners rather than the host himself.

During the holidays, a seasonal change occurs. 'Tis the season when entirely new grogs are offered up to the saturnalia. Even the most finicky of bibbers is glad to sample what he's offered, instead of making his own choice. Of course, along with the holiday fun of really asserting himself at his own wassail bowl, he assumes a few essential duties. In compounding a new drink, he first conducts his own pilot study, taste-testing the drinks at least 24 hours in advance. Since he'll offer all guests the same liquid formula, with no questions asked, he makes sure that his new drink is neatly balanced, providing the kind of aftertaste that keeps his party glowing and going. His potables must be potent. The standard ounce-and-a-half jigger in the usual mixed drink should be elevated to two or three ounces. Recognizing the prodigious holiday thirst of his guests, the host lays (concluded on page 200)Holiday Spirits(continued from page 109) in a liquid inventory large enough to allow all present to attain complete euphoria. If he's mixing cold drinks, the liquors, glasses, juices and sparkling waters must be chilled to a deep frost beforehand. He neither undershakes nor overshakes. If he's ladling hot drinks, he is certain that his ingredients are what the Irish call screeching hot. He mustn't be timid when creating holiday libations; they should be prodigally rich in flavor.

Happily, the one ingredient which always favors holiday drinking is rugged weather. Raging winds, snow or rain can be counted upon to make any grog seem infinitely smoother and richer than it would be under fair skies. The usefulness of climatology in the fine art of bartending was keenly appreciated by Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues in the early days of the Supreme Court. All members of the highest bench concurred that the specially imported "court madeira," as it was called, not only helped them to speed up their decisions but also improved the skill with which their decisions were made. Custom, however, discouraged madeira drinking except in wet weather. Before the bottle was uncorked, Chief Justice Marshall always sent a colleague to the window. If the weather was inclement, it provided the justices with justification for a liberal libation. If there was sunshine, Marshall was ready with an unchallengeable argument. "That is all the better," he'd say, "for our jurisdiction extends over so large a territory that the doctrine of chance makes it certain that it must be raining somewhere in the district which we have to administer," after which, the deep-brown madeira was duly poured.

As an accompaniment to modern holiday mixology, we favor the salty, unadorned viands — thinly sliced West-phalian ham, anchovies on freshly and copiously buttered hot toast, huge queen olives stuffed with celery and almonds, and imported smoked salmon, as thin as paper, curled on crisp rye wafers.

We offer as inspiration to keepers of the festive bar, six new holiday drinks. Each formula serves two.

[recipe_title]Gin and Jerry[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. gin[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. yellow Chartreuse[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]3 ozs. orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 egg[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Ground cinnamon[/drinkRecipe]

Pour gin, Chartreuse, orange juice and sugar into saucepan. Heat almost to boiling point, but don't boil. Beat egg in narrow bowl with rotary beater until egg is very light and foamy. Slowly, while stirring constantly, pour hot liquid into bowl. Pour into preheated tom-and-jerry mugs or punch cups. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

[recipe_title]Pineapple Champagne[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 split brut champagne[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. pineapple liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. calvados[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 pineapple cocktail spears[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients thoroughly before assembling drinks. Prechill saucer champagne glasses either in refrigerator or in cracked ice. Pour liqueur and calvados into glasses. Place a pineapple spear in each glass. Pour champagne into glasses. Stir lightly to merely blend ingredients.

[recipe_title]Mulled Scotch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. Scotch whisky[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. Forbidden Fruit liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. grapefruit juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 teaspoons honey[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 slices of orange[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 whole cloves[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 pieces cinnamon stick[/drinkRecipe]

In a saucepan, heat Scotch, Forbidden Fruit liqueur, orange juice, grapefruit juice and honey up to boiling point, but don't boil. Stir well to dissolve honey. Press cloves into flesh of orange slices. Pour hot liquid into preheated mugs. Float an orange slice on each drink. Place cinnamon stick in each mug for stirring. Drink improves after a minute as aroma of spices gradually ripens.

[recipe_title]Hot Port Flip[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]6 ozs. port wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. cognac[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 teaspoons sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 teaspoon instant coffee[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 tablespoons heavy cream[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 egg[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Freshly grated nutmeg[/drinkRecipe]

Pour wine and cognac into saucepan. Add sugar. Stir well. Heat well, but don't boil. Stir in instant coffee. In a narrow bowl beat egg with rotary beater until egg is very foamy. Stir in cream. Very slowly, while stirring constantly, pour hot liquid into egg mixture. Pour into preheated punch cups or mugs. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

[recipe_title]Winter Berry Cocktail[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]3 ozs. blended whiskey[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. strawberry liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. dry vermouth[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]6 large strawberries[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 teaspoons seedless strawberry jam or raspberry and red-currant preserves[/drinkRecipe]

Stir jam or preserves until soft. Remove stems from strawberries. Roll berries in jam until well-coated. Into cocktail shaker with ice, pour whiskey, strawberry liqueur, lemon juice, vermouth and sugar. Shake very well. Strain into prechilled outsize cocktail glasses. Float strawberries on top.

[recipe_title]Cardinal Cocktail[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. light dry rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. orgeat (almond syrup)[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. grenadine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. triple sec liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. lime juice, freshly squeezed[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 slices of lime[/drinkRecipe]

Pour rum, orgeat, grenadine, triple sec and lime juice into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and long. Strain into old-fashioned glasses. Add ice cubes if necessary to bring liquid to rim. Cut each lime slice halfway to center and fit onto rim of each glass.

Having tasted the results of Playboy's mistletoe-tinged mixed company of creations, you may now add personal variations on the yule-fuel theme to your own potables.