Mixology has become so mainstream, in the best way possible, that it would not surprise me to see my New Year’s Eve host make their own infused simple syrup, ferment a shrub, and shake up a creative take on a classic.
The home liquor cabinet has expanded along with our desire for the new and the nostalgic. In these uncertain times, I’m glad we still have a vibrant beverage culture to spur much-needed conversation and connection.
In the face of micro-dosing, mocktails, and making America gr– I don’t even want to think about it; I’ll take a cocktail.
I’ll probably need a few strong ones to wrap up a year like this. After all, it might be our democracy’s last. Although the kids these days have replaced sex and booze with doom scrolling and dab pens, I think mixology is here to stay as long as it continues to evolve and delight. To bring in the new year, let’s honor traditional cocktails, which had their renaissance in the late 90s, and bask in the wave of experimental mixology.
I’ll start my night with an espresso martini, trendy, yes, but worthy of the hype, mixology at its finest. The flavor profile plays well with the enduring cocktail definition from 1806 as “a stimulating liquor composed of any kind of sugar, water, and bitters.” The caffeine should stimulate me the way Biden stimulated my bank account during COVID-19. Let’s just hope Trump’s tariffs don’t drive up coffee and Kahlua prices or I’ll be drinking cold vodka from a silly glass.
From there, I’ll move into the one-two punch of an M&M, a shot of 50/50 mezcal and Amaro Montenegro, smokey, bitter, sophisticated. Both Mezcal and amaro are having their moments. Mezcal, older brother to tequila, put Oaxaca on the map and opened our palates to the bolder corners of the Mexican liquor repertoire. While amaros, a category of bittersweet botanical liqueurs, provide Old World familiarity.
Around the holidays, I always want an aromatic dark purple drink redolent with baking spices. Think cranberry or pomegranate juice, red wine, cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, orange peel—you get the idea. A warm mulled wine steeped with a clove-studded orange or a cranberry martini sweetened with rosemary-infused simple syrup will do the trick.
2024 saw a trend of savory cocktails, so I might get weird with a hot dog martini, a shot of whisky backed by a warm gulp of salty broth, or a bloody maria (tequila instead of vodka) well after brunch time.
Join the “dirty” crowd and pour olive juice into anything you’d like. The hot dog martini is essentially an extra dirty martini, one can build those savory flavors into your drink with pickle juice, celery salt, mustard-flavored bitters, and garnish with a lil’ smokey, gherkin and a cherry tomato. It’s not weird when you think about how martinis used to be garnished with a pearl onion. Even throwing a micro pinch of salt in the shaker can enhance your cocktails in a way you didn’t know you needed.
If you’re tired of eggnog and still want something creamy yet bubbly and balanced, try my orange creamsicle gin fizz recipe:
2 oz gin
¾ oz orange vanilla simple syrup
1 oz lemon juice
1 egg white
Splash of club soda
For the simple syrup, combine ½ cup of sugar with ½ cup of water, orange zest, and a Tablespoon of vanilla extract in a saucepot. Bring to a boil and strain.
For the cocktail,l add the gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, and egg white to a shaker with no ice. Shake for 20 seconds.
Add ice and shake for an additional 10 seconds
Pour into a glass and top with a splash of soda water
Enjoy.
