Specialty Drink for the Holidays

[Bushman]

Besides what we make on a regular basis, I know some of us make a special drink for the Holiday and am hoping people share their ideas here. Below is what I am making this year and the recipes come form the book Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits. I first made a Caramel Cordial to be used in the drink I will be serving, that is why I just finished earlier this week a birdwatchers for a neutral to add: Below is my first step but I made a larger batch as you will see by the photo.

Caramel Cordial
1 cup birdwatchers proofed to 85%
1 cup Brandy proofed to 80%
2 vanilla beans split
1-1/4th cuts Caramelized Simple Syrup.

1. Combine the birdwatchers, Brandy, vanilla and simple syrup in a jar. Stir
2. Seal the jar and put in a cool dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of vanilla and caramel. About 2 days.
3. Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean jar.

If you need a recipe for the Caramelized Simple syrup let me know and I will post it here.

Next step is to make the drink from the Caramel Cordial.

Caramel Mule
Ice cubes
2 oz Caramel Cordial
4 oz ginger ale
3 dashes of bitters, such as Angostura
1 caramel candy
Wedge of lime

Fill glass with ice. Add Caramel Cordial, ginger ale and bitters; stir, garnish with candy and lime wedge.

[nerdybrewer]

This makes me wonder how carmelized Panela would work?
Now I have to do some experimenting!
Thanks Bushman!

[Bushman]

This makes me wonder how carmelized Panela would work?
Now I have to do some experimenting!
Thanks Bushman!

Let me know where you go with it

[Mikey-moo]

To me panela smells of caramel already... but a panela syrup could be awesome

[nerdybrewer]

I did some quick look at the interwebs and found out PDQ not to use any brown sugar type sugar as it just can't take the heat required for caramel.
I'll be making mine with good old white granulated sugar.

[Oldvine Zin]

A few months ago I made a simple syrup with panela, was not impressed with the result and thought that it was a waste of good panela

OVZ

[Bushman]

Interesting discussion and glad to know but to get this back on track I am still wondering if others have a special drink they are preparing?

[Oldvine Zin]

Bushman sorry that I went OT, I'm planning to have an espresso laced vodka ready to celebrate the new year. Was planning on having it ready for a Christmas morning pick me up but this damn corn sugarhead is taking it's time fermenting

OVZ

[Bushman]

That is one of my cold morning drinks when I am out fishing on the boat. Good choice!

[Mikey-moo]

Every year I plan to make eggnog. Sometimes I even buy the ingredients. Never actually made it :-(

[still_stirrin]

Interesting discussion and glad to know but to get this back on track I am still wondering if others have a special drink they are preparing?

Peppermint and wintergreen schnapps.

Just macerate some hard candies in a bottle of neutral, shake, and chill. It makes your "think" of a snowy Christmas night, even though there's no snow outside the window....not here at least.
ss

[bitter]

Sounds really yummy!

B

[Bushman]

Interesting discussion and glad to know but to get this back on track I am still wondering if others have a special drink they are preparing?

Peppermint and wintergreen schnapps.

Just macerate some hard candies in a bottle of neutral, shake, and chill. It makes your "think" of a snowy Christmas night, even though there's no snow outside the window....not here at least.
ss

Sounds like an easier drink to make than mine, think I have a few peppermint candy canes hanging around!

[nerdybrewer]

As far as being on track goes:
I took about a half gallon of my Apple Brandy from 2015 and made a spiced brandy.
Boil up some apple juice concentrate (Washington apples, not chinese please)
Add a little cinnamon, a lot of nutmeg and a little ginger
Once it's a bit of a syrup cool it down, strain out the solids, add to apple brandy until it tastes right.
Bottle in cute 250 ml bottles as gifts to family who already know what I do.
Save some for the eggnog of course.

Spiced Apple Brandy, aged since Fall of 2015

[nerdybrewer]

Now here's what I did with my caramel, it turned out awesome BTW.
First I looked up a couple Youtube videos and watched it being made.
Pro tip (thank you Bobby Flay) is to use a bigger pot than you think you need.
Anyone who has attempted this knows why.

Got out my 3 quart high sided pot and added about a half cup water.
Brought the water to boil and added a bit more than a cup of white sugar.
Added 1/3 cup Panela and a teaspoon vanilla extract and a half teaspoon coarse sea salt.
boiled the heck out of this and monitored temperature with a digital probe.
Once it read above 300F I turned the heat off.
Let it cool a bit, should have monitored temperature for this next bit as it might have gone smoother had I let it cool to below 212F.
Added about 2/3 cup heavy cream, it would have been good to be wearing some heat protection at this point - didn't injure myself but it was uncomfortable when the steam came shooting out of the pan.
Stirred the mixture until it smoothed out and then poured into a 1 pint mason jar.
As it cooled it solidified.

This morning I popped the jar into the microwave and after a minute it was molten and creamy again.
Added a tablespoon to my morning cup of espresso.
This is going to be fun!

[nerdybrewer]

So I just added caramel to about 600 mls Panela rum.
Wonder how that would mix with heavy cream?
Off to try it now!

[still_stirrin]

...a half gallon of my Apple Brandy from 2015 and made a spiced brandy...Boil up some apple juice concentrate...Add a little cinnamon, a lot of nutmeg and a little ginger...Bottle in cute 250 ml bottles as gifts...

Hey...I WANT one of those!!!

[still_stirrin]

So I just added caramel to about 600 mls Panela rum.
Wonder how that would mix with heavy cream?
Off to try it now!

Ha! And you thought "panty droppers" were magic....

[DeepSouth]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOajt7BAaqa/

This is an egg nog recipe I made Christmas Eve.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

[Bushman]

Well the drink was a hit last night however I am not sure what the caramel candy garnish did for the drink as the ice just hardened it so not sure it add any more caramel flavor to the drink than was already there from the Caramel Cordial.

[nerdybrewer]

To my caramel rum I added half cup espresso made from Dead Man's Reach coffee beans and a packet of starbucks dark chocolate cocoa mix.
It's awesome!

[Truckinbutch]

SOH makes a Kahlua that will get you right swimmy headed .

[jedneck]

SOH makes a Kahlua that will get you right swimmy headed .

yup. my SOH threatened me with bodily harm if I touched her bottle.

[Bushman]

To my caramel rum I added half cup espresso made from Dead Man's Reach coffee beans and a packet of starbucks dark chocolate cocoa mix.
It's awesome!

You probably have a lot of snow around your place, sounds like the perfect drink!

[Oldvine Zin]

To my caramel rum I added half cup espresso made from Dead Man's Reach coffee beans and a packet of starbucks dark chocolate cocoa mix.
It's awesome!

You probably have a lot of snow around your place, sounds like the perfect drink!

Sounds good but friends don't let friends drink starbucks - you can do a lot better on sourcing dark chocolate
OVZ

[Rastus]

Howdy all,
its been a while since i have been around but this thread i have to jump in on.

i have been running my molasses rum/ vodka for a while... I usually store it at distilled strength till i am ready to use some or make a recipe. so last year i tried this one and it is a repeat this year and is quite popular with my loved ones.

Ginger Drink:

filled a mason jar 1/4 full of sugar crystalized Ginger chopped to small pieces. topped off with 89% ABV molasses rum.
I guess any of your home brew would work.

let it soak at least a week... more is better. before drinking i diluted to drinking strength... 40%ish

drink time.... take your glass about 8 oz. fill with ice, add 1 shot of the ginger Likker then top off with Ginger ale.

most folks are asking for more...

Merry belated christmas to all of you

Rastus

[Bushman]

Thanks for your recommendation Rastus, my son liked my drink but said I should try it with ginger beer rather than ginger ale as per a Moscow Mule. Have you tried yours with ginger beer to compare?

[nerdybrewer]

To my caramel rum I added half cup espresso made from Dead Man's Reach coffee beans and a packet of starbucks dark chocolate cocoa mix.
It's awesome!

You probably have a lot of snow around your place, sounds like the perfect drink!

Sounds good but friends don't let friends drink starbucks - you can do a lot better on sourcing dark chocolate
OVZ

Yes, but it was handy.
I don't go there myself, I like Ravens Brew coffees.
I'm all in on the coffee bean deal, got my own roaster and order coffees from around the world and have the roasts I enjoy.
That being said I can't do it any better than Ravens Brew, so when I buy I like to buy theirs.
The Dead Mans Reach roast is awesome and I'm drinking it right now, a couple years ago while in Ketchikan I bought the T-shirt.

[Rastus]

i do like the ginger beers personally, but in attempting to appeal to the masses i had to moderate. i do get a fairly strong ginger flavor from the soaking? i guess its like a tincture almost.... i have had several brands one called Cock and Bull and Goslings makes a ginger beer being in rural alaska i have fewer choices... but i manage.

[Rastus]

Nerdy brewer said:
" I like Ravens Brew coffees.
I'm all in on the coffee bean deal, got my own roaster and order coffees from around the world and have the roasts I enjoy.
That being said I can't do it any better than Ravens Brew, so when I buy I like to buy theirs.
The Dead Mans Reach roast is awesome and I'm drinking it right now, a couple years ago while in Ketchikan I bought the T-shirt."

Hey Nerdy was glad to meet you last July, Guess we never had time to get onto the coffee wagon too bad we could have compared notes.
i just read your little post here ... boy do i love my coffee too!
i had a buddy at work that invested in a nice automatic coffee brewer and a roaster and all that ... i took on the coffee roasting myself and really found it to be a hoot! when we ran through 2 of them fancy roasting machines,after they died i gave up and had some green beans hanging around the house for a couple of years... it was gnawing on my brain like a rat trying to get out of my skull but, every time i looked at prices on the fancy roasters i got depressed and my wallet would pucker up and pull away...
then one day i saw something on youtube.... it was roasting with a hot air popcorn popper... i just happened to have a popcorn popperyII which was a recommended popper, my wife picked up at a yard sale for 3 bucks.
SHAZAAM!!!! IT WORKS GREAT!!! and i cannot help but wonder if there is a way to make a homemade roaster that can put a higher volume of beans out at a time.

so that was 3 years ago and still have the same popcorn popper working away. theres many places to get beans but i have always been treated right by Coffee bean corral.... on the web... if i am overwhelmed by the choices i call up Richard and he helps me through my choices. and he can fit 20 pounds of green beans into a large flat rate priority mail box.
theres a mexican bean from Chiappas that has been pretty nice stuff at an affordable price... but yes you can explore the world of coffee one cup at a time.

sorry for the hyjack of the thread...