Tipple | Fireside Old Fashioned

Make a woodsy variation on the classic Old Fashioned for a chilly January evening by adding smoky maple syrup for a warming fireside tipple.

FIRESIDE OLD FASHIONED

Serves 1

½ tsp maple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

60ml bourbon or rye whiskey

Orange-peel coin, to garnish

Rosemary sprig, to garnish

1 Stir the maple syrup, bitters and whiskey together in a lowball tumbler. Taste and add another ½ teaspoon of syrup, if desired.

2 Squeeze the orange-peel coin, peel side face down, over the cocktail to spritz orange juice over the top.

3 Add ice, stir for 10 secs, and serve with an added sprig of rosemary.

Bartender’s note: You can make an Old Fashioned with spirits other than whiskey – try this recipe with brandy, apple brandy, aged rum or a barrel-aged gin, too.

Taken from New Camp Cookbook: Fireside Warmers by Emily Vikre (Harvard Common Press)

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Tipple | Snowball with Vanilla or Gingerbread

Not for throwing, a snowball is the classic Christmas tipple, made extra festive with added gingerbread.

Serves 1

50ml Advocaat

10ml vanilla or gingerbread syrup

Squeeze of half a lime

Lemonade

Cocktail cherries, to garnish

1 In a cocktail shaker, add the Advocaat, syrup of choice and lime juice, shake to combine (if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, use a jam jar).

2 Pour into your glass, top up with lemonade and garnish with a cherry.

This is just one of the old school tipples and nibbles from our December issue feature, ‘Merry and Bites’. It also includes recipes for a Mulled Punch, Espresso Martini, Sidecar and a Cherry Brandy Fizz, alongside plenty of kitsch nibbles to get any party started. The recipes and photography are by Catherine Frawley.

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