Holiday Spirit

Our guide to home mixology, with an exclusive DIY cock­tail generator and tips from

AMERICA'S

SEXIEST BARTENDER,

as vo ted by you

nen you want some-thing done right, you just have to do it yourself. Wise men will ignore the sexual implica­tions of this, but it's certainly true of cocktails. Unless you're drinking in the best of select boites, you'll make a better drink at home. And you needn't miss out on the latest in mixology, because you're going to create your own cocktails, with a little help. Over the next four pages you'll get bar­tending tips from a master—Nicholle Lottman, America's Sexiest Bartender. You saw her in our November issue and voted by the thousands at playboy .com. We'll also tell you how to design your own cocktails, what whiskeys to buy for the holidays and more. Thirsty yet? Time to mix it up.

DRESS PROVIDED By IKRAM

THE PLAYBOY

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DRINK GENERATOR

— How to design a [your name goes here! signature cocktail ^^^—^^^—

The very first cocktail was a "stimulating liquor, com­posed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters. It is vulgarly called a bittered sling." Or so it says in an 1806 New York newspaper. That sling begat fizzes, juleps, cobblers and, eventually, the pantheon of modern cocktails, including the sainted family of sours. At heart a great many drinks share this original DNA—a base spirit with sugar and something to balance the sweetness. A rule of thumb: two parts spirit, one part sweet, one part sour. Use tequila, triple sec and lime and you've made a margarita. Rum, sugar and lime make a

daiquiri. Brandy, triple sec and lemon is a sidecar. Want to go one step further? Add a splash of a grace note. Vodka, triple sec and lime is a kamikaze, but a little cranberry juice makes it a cosmo. Splash grenadine in a daiquiri and you've made a Bacardi cocktail. Or add a dash of soda or ginger ale to your concoction for a successful long drink. (A whiskey collins, after all, is nothing but a whiskey sour with seltzer added.) Pick your ingredients from the chart below and go play. E-mail us your best efforts via the web at letters.playboy.com and we might just feature your cocktail in a future issue.

Combine the ingredients and shake very hard with ice, then serve over ice or

straight up in a chilled cocktail glass.

SPIRITS

ZSHOTS (OR0NESH0I0F Z SPIRITS)

Bourbon

Blended Whiskey

Canadian Whiskey

Scotch

Irish Whiskey

Vodka

Brandy

Tequila

SWEET

Triple Sec

Curacao

Cointreau

or other orange liqueur

Maraschino

(the liqueur, not the cherryjuice)

Bar Sugar

Simple Syrup

(recipe: t cup water, 1 cup sugar, boiled so the sugar dissolves)

Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

GRACE NOTES

SPUSH OR A DASH

Bitters

of all sorts

Cranberry Juice

Vermouth

Grenadine

Pomegranate Juice

Pineapple or Orange Juice

Cassis

Creme de Menthe

Creme de Cacao

Bizarre Liqueur

of your choice

Club Soda

Ginger Ale

AROUND THE WORLD

IH SIX BOTTLES •

Take the edge off

the holidays

with these exotic

whiskeys

Yes, Virgil, there is no Santa Olans.

It doesn't matter if you've been bad or good, because nobody's reading your list. You're getting Lady Ciaga socks, a membership to the Soup of the Month Club and a rechargeable shoehorn— because people think you're "hard to buy for." Which you're not, of course. In fact, you're the easiest person to buy for. Which brings us to the subject of this sidebar: fine bottles of whiskey. Become your own private Santa and sip your way through our united nations of distillation. United States: Parker's Her­itage Collection Golden Anniversary

($150). Parker Beam himself blended this bourbon from whiskeys made dur­ing his 50 years at Heaven Hill; it's a little something from every decade. Oranges and honey. Ireland: Midle-ton Very Rare ($136). It's been called the world's best blended whiskey, cre­ated in County Cork by Barry Crockett. Toffee, creamy and dreamy. Japan: Sun-tory Yamazaki 18-year-old single malt ($85). Though it's distilled outside Kyoto, this tastes a hell of a lot like a Scottish Speyside. Meaty and spicy, lots of honey. Scotland: The 18-year-old Dalmore ($150). Fourteen years

in bourbon casks and finished off in oloroso sherry butts. Big, rich, cof­fee and toffee, with a slug of Spain at the end. Canada: Forty Creek Barrel Select ($25). Not your father's Cana­dian. Made from rye, barley and corn whiskeys individually pot-distilled and aged, then married in sherry casks. Bittersweet chocolate and walnuts. India: Amrut Peated Single Malt (S60). Whiskey from India? Yeah, India. It's a subcontinental sweet, distilled in Ban­galore. Liquor boffin Jim Murray once named an Anirut the third best whiskey in the world. Figs and spices.

SPLENDOR IN THE GLASS A

will fuel your holiday party till dawn

Tom and Jerry—Here's an alternative to eggnog, because you've had enough sticky cream to last a lifetime. The lactose-free Tom and Jerry is named for a couple of London bons vivants who predated that cat-and-mouse act by a hundred years or so. This recipe comes from Miller's Pub in Chicago, where it's been served from Thanksgiving to New Year's since 1950.

1/ Premix a bottle of half brandy, half dark rum. 2/ In a punch bowl, beat a dozen egg yolks (reserving the whites) until thin and bright yellow. 3/ Beat in two teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of vanilla. 4/ Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold in one pound of powdered sugar. Combine the two egg mixtures. 5/ To serve, ladle two ounces of this into a coffee mug, add a jigger of the liquor and top with two or three ounces of boiling water. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.

The Spread Eagle Punch— Howabouta punch for guests who can take a punch? As hooch-meister David Wondrich points out in his newest offering, Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl ($24, Per­igee), the Spread Eagle was created in the 19th century by "Professor" jerry Thomas. The term referred to the emblem on the seal of the United States, as well as the stock trader's bet (meaning to buy on mar­gin). "What could be more American than going out on a limb in the hope of getting something for nothing?" Wondrich writes. Herewith, a superbowl:

XI Muddle four ounces of sugar with the peels of two lemons. 2/ Add 16 ounces of boiling water. 3/ Pour in one bottle of Islay whiskey, such as Bruichladdich. 4/ Pour in one bottle of rye whiskey. 5/ Stir and serve hot (in a mug) or cold (over ice).

AMERICA'S

As elegant as the martini itself, Nicholle will make you shake and stir

Nicholle Lottt

as lots of regulars at

Cleveland, which is no sur--old knows her way around a stocked bar, and she's got a smile that could, in the immortal words of Raymond Chandler, make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window. We first featured Nicholle in our online America's Sexiest Bartender poll some months ago, along with other bartending bombshells. You voted. So did we. Now here Nicholle is. So what does she have to say about it? Here are five tips from a pro to help you throw the ultimate holiday party.

It's all about prep," says Nicholle. Make sure your bar is fully stocked-f rom liquor and wine to glassware-and do as much work as you can before your guests arrive. "Have your martini glasses chilled," she says. "And remember, ice is your friend. Never run out."

Use fresh lime and lemon juice rather than the premade stuff. Nicholle adds, "If you want to get ambitious, make drinks with fresh mint and basil," such as a mojito or a basil cocktail, her signature drink.

A holiday party? Think seasonally. "Don't be afraid to add vanilla vodka to hot chocolate," Nicholle says, "or peppermint schnapps to liven up an eggnog."

Know your classics. "If someone wants a manhattan, a margarita or a sidecar," she says, "yours will stack up to the best in town."

Always have a bottle of something special stocked away, adds Nicholle. "Say, a bottle of champagne tucked into the back of the fridge-ready for an intimate afterparty."

Apply to be America's Sexiest Bartender at playboy.com/pose.