1 ounce Irish whiskey

1/2 ounce Kahlua

4 ounces hot coffee

Combine ingredients, and top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Muddle 5 raspberries.

Add 1 ounce fresh lemon juice

2 ounces of Zubrowka, Polish bison-grass vodka

1/2 ounce of honey syrup (equal parts honey and hot water)

Dash of Angostura bitters !

Add ice, shake and strain into a glass.

Add soda water if desired.

The Christmas Eve meal, or Wigilia, is the most special gathering of the year for Polish families. Tonight we will drink shots of Zubrowka with our traditional meal, as well as these cocktails. Wesołych Świąt!

1 ounce bourbon

1/2 ounce Aperol

1/2 ounce Amaro

1/2 ounce lemon juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

3 ounces hot tea

Combine in a heat-proof glass. Careful, don’t boil the alcohol content out of the drink! Garnish with a cinnamon stick or a twist of lemon.

It’s cold, and getting colder here in central Virginia–and the winds are howling outside. I am thankful that Youngest Son is now safely home with us, and thankful that we still have power and a well-stocked refrigerator. But I am hugely disappointed: I had planned activities for us to do as an alternative to our traditional family Christmas activities, since it will be only the three of us this year. We were going to leave this afternoon to spend 24 hours in Staunton, Virginia: a candlelight tour of the farms at the Museum of Frontier Culture, an overnight at the iconic downtown hotel, brunch at a classy restaurant, and a matinee performance of A Christmas Carol at the American Shakespeare Center. But bah humbug–the tour is cancelled due to super-cold temperatures in the mountains, and the play is cancelled because the cast has Covid. This is now a two-cocktail kind of evening.

1 1/2 ounces cherry brandy

3 whole cloves

1 ounce lemon juice

2 dashes Angostura bitters

3/4 ounce pure maple syrup

4 ounces red table wine

Combine first 5 ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, strain, add wine and an orange twist.

The news says that two-thirds of our country is impacted by nasty winter weather. The rain has been steady (and cold) all day in Charlottesville, and I suppose I am glad it’s not snow. I am almost done with the cooking, the cleaning, and the wrapping, and now it’s time to relax for the evening.

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce Blue Curacao

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

sanding sugar for the rim of the glass

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until your fingers feel frozen!

Today is the winter solstice! Husband and I greeted the summer solstice in Homer, Alaska, so I included one of my favorite souvenirs in the photo: an ornament–made of reindeer poop!–which we purchased in Anchorage. “Recycling at its best,” proclaimed the accompanying card. I haven’t actually hung it on the tree, but it does make for a great conversation piece.

12-15 rosemary leaves

pinch of salt

1/2 ounce pure maple syrup

2 ounces Polish vodka (of course)

2 1/2 ounces pink grapefruit juice

Muddle rosemary, salt, and syrup lightly in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add vodka, juice, ice, and a sprig of rosemary.

Today I raise my glass in honor of my late father, my beloved Tata. I was playing Polish Christmas carols as I cooked– I miss hearing him sing. And yes, he did have rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes and a belly that shook when he laughed. It’s no wonder he loved Christmas.

2 ounces silver tequila

2 ounces cranberry juice cocktail

1 ounce lime juice

1 tablespoon light agave nectar

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until the frustrations of holiday shopping start ebbing away. Strain into a glass. You can add some cranberries to merrily float around the top. (I didn’t feel the need to rim the glass with anything–after seeing the prices at the grocery store, I was salty enough.)

Enjoyed: Saturday, December 10, 2022.

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Seasonal Old Fashioned”.

Ingredients: Elijah Craig rye, orange, cherry bitters, and amaretto.

The occasion: Every December, Husband and I plan a “date weekend” as a Christmas gift to ourselves. This year, we selected Roanoke, mainly to see one of our favorite musicians (Louisiana guitarist Tab Benoit) perform on Sunday night in nearby Rocky Mount, Virginia. As for Saturday, I purchased tickets for the Mill Mountain Theatre’s matinee show, Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn. But we needed to eat lunch first.

My rating: **** out of 5. The drink was delicious, with only a bare hint of amaretto at the end of each sip. I think the rye may have been too spicy for the amaretto, almost cancelling it out. The amaretto was the “seasonal” component of the drink, but given the muddled fruit, perhaps an orange liqueur would have been a better alternative–I definitely associate citrus with the winter holidays.

Final thoughts: Roanoke is a charming little city, and plenty of families were downtown to browse, shop, eat, and drink. I selected Crescent City for our meal mostly because of its location–we could sample some bourbons and then walk to the theater! Win, win! We were welcomed us with a beautiful bar, plenty of festive decorations, and a solid selection of whiskeys at very reasonable prices. Husband finally got to try Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea Bourbon, which disappointed me because I couldn’t taste the brininess. But Husband’s second shot, Old Forester 1897 Bottled In Bond Bourbon, was his favorite of the day.