The Chocolate Covered Cherry

Like Christmas in your mouth any time of the year.

When you think about it, it’s pretty great that with some simple variations you can take the classic egg cream recipe to a whole new level. If you haven’t been thinking about it then you’ve obviously got mismatched priorities. Here’s a simple twist that evokes holiday memories all year round by mimicking the flavors of one of our favorite Christmas treats.

Equipment Needed: Pint Glass, Spoon

Serving Suggestion: Individual

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• Milk (for richer drinks use higher fat milk, $1.19/QT)
• Cherry flavored Seltzer ($1/L)
• Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup (about $4/20 oz bottle)
• 3 ice cubes (free)

Preparation:

• Add the ice cubes into your pint glass and pour in about 1/2 inch of chocolate syrup. Fill the glass about 3/4 full with seltzer and top it off with milk.

We like to coat the ice cubes to spread things out a bit.

• Stir the mix thoroughly and give it a sip. It should be more seltzer-y than milky; add more of whatever you need to balance the taste to your liking.

You could also try orange or raspberry-flavored seltzer for a little variety.

Maple Cream

Egg cream purists will scoff; you will enjoy.

Inspired by a recent write-up in Edible Manhattan we decided to try our hand at making egg creams, a quintessential New York drink that have neither eggs nor cream in them. We hit up our grocery store in search of the real deal, Fox’s U-Bet, the original syrup from the original egg cream recipe and were pleasantly surprised at the flavor options available to us. Using their vanilla syrup we added a healthy dose of our favorite sweetener, maple syrup, to create this fall-inspired variation of this old-school specialty.

Equipment Needed: Pint Glass, Spoon

Serving Suggestion: Individual

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• Milk (for richer drinks use higher fat milk, $1.19/QT)
• Original or Unflavored Seltzer ($1/L)
• Fox’s U-Bet vanilla syrup (about $4/20 oz bottle)
• Grade A maple syrup (about $7/8 oz)
• 3 ice cubes (free)

Preparation:

• Add the ice cubes into your pint glass and pour in about 1/2 inch of vanilla syrup followed by another 1/2 inch of maple syrup. Fill the glass about 3/4 full with seltzer and top it off with milk.
• Stir the mix thoroughly and give it a sip. It should be more seltzer-y than milky; add more of either syrup to taste.
  

Smoky Peach Cobbler

This is what rye and peaches look like in a rocks glass. Discuss.

An overabundance of peaches from our CSA combined with a borderline obsessive quest to make cocktails with every flavor of Fee Brothers bitters flavor brought us boozy inspiration.  Enjoy an adults-only version of an American dessert classic.

Equipment Needed: Rocks Glass, Pairing Knife, Cutting Board

Ingredients:

• 2 oz rye whiskey (around $25/750 ml for decent stuff)
• 15 dashes of peach bitters (about $7/4 oz)
• 3 slices of fresh peach ($2.99/lb)
• 2 ice cubes (free)

Preparation:

• Peel the skin off a peach and cut three thin slices from it.
• Add the ice cubes and peach slices to your glass. Shake in the bitters, measure out your rye and stir thoroughly. Sláinte!

Root Beer Float

You can tell it's classy because it comes with a straw....in a mason jar.

This was the hit of our friend Gillian’s birthday party last weekend. The deceptively sweet mix evokes thoughts of summer and hanging out in Uncle Buck’s back yard (especially the boozy slurring part). We had the added pleasure of using home-infused vodka (the recipe will be coming soon) giving our taste buds an extra rich wallop of vanilla. Skip Aunt Mildred’s vacation slide show and sneak into the kitchen for another.

Equipment Needed: Tall Glass, Spoon

Ingredients:

• 2 oz vanilla vodka (about $26/liter)
• 6 oz root beer ($1.39/2 liters)
• Ice cubes (use your tap, genius)

Preparation:

• Fill the glass half full with ice. Add liquid ingredients and stir. Prost!

Rhubarb Pie

Yeah, we garnished a rocks glass. That's how we roll.

So now that we’ve touched on a bit of everything else, it’s time to teach you how to drink too. Sheesh, do we have to do everything around here? This take on an Old Fashioned was inspired by a recent trip to Tuthilltown Spirits, up in Gardiner, NY and their smooth and delicious whiskeys. Rhubarb bitters can be found in specialty shops like The Meat Hook; get Fee Brothers if you can find them. And remember, real men (and women) garnish.

Equipment Needed: Rocks Glass, Muddler (or) Spoon

Ingredients:

• 2 oz rye whiskey (around $25/750ml for decent stuff)
• 13 dashes of rhubarb bitters (it sounds like a lot, but you’ll be fine)(about $7/4oz)
• 1 ice cube (free, unless you’re an billionaire and use Evian ice cubes)
• 2 strawberries ($3.99/lb)
• 2 pinches sugar ($2.39/2 lb box)

Preparation:

• Put one strawberry at the bottom of the glass, sprinkle it with sugar and mash it with your muddler or spoon.
• Add the ice cube and pour the whiskey in. Add the bitters, stir and garnish with the other strawberry. Skål!