Snow Day Cocktails

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I am feeling a bit bi-polar today.  I have mixed emotions about all the snow we got over night.  On one hand I am loving it.  It’s so pretty and I am psyched my office closed down today for a snow day.  Lots of snuggle time at home and sleeping in today was a great perk.  It is making want to hit the slopes skiing this weekend.  On the other hand it is freaking cold and I know by lunch I will feeling stir crazy being cooped up in the house.  Forget the slopes!  Get me to a beach vacation STAT.  See, bi-polar!

All I know is a day like today calls for alcohol.  When your house bound and can’t drive, some yummy cocktails are perfect.  Whatever your mood (summer or winter), here are a few to inspire.

Brandy Avondale
Courtesy of The Today Show and The Westin Riverfront, Beaver Creek, CO

Brandy Avondale

Brandy Avondale

  • Baileys
  • Tuaca
  • Godiva chocolate liqueur
  • Cream
  • Brandy

Combine equal parts of the above ingredients shaken and strained into a snifter. Garnish with ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa.

Vin Chaud – Mulled Wine
Courtesy Bonjour Paris and Debra Fioritto

Vin Chaud - Mulled Wine

Vin Chaud – Mulled Wine

  • 1 bottle Beaujolais Nouveau or Villages
  • 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
  • 1 small lemon, thinly sliced
  • 1 small orange, thinly sliced

Wrap the following spices into a piece of cheesecloth and tie with a string:

  • 2 cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches long)
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 3 black peppercorns
  • 4 whole cloves
  • For the sugar syrup:
  • 1-1/4 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Add the spice bag, wine, vanilla, lemon and orange slices and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
Ladle into mugs and garnish with a lemon or orange slice along with a cinnamon stick. Serve immediately.

Turks and Caicos Rum Punch
Courtesy Sugar and Charm Blog

Turks & Caicos Rum Punch

Turks & Caicos Rum Punch

  • 3 ounces fresh pineapple juice
  • 2 ounces fresh orange juice
  • 1 ounce gold (or dark) rum + 1/2 ounce to pour on top
  • 1 ounce coconut rum
  • grenadine and lime to garnish
Over a glass filled with ice, pour the pineapple juice, orange juice, 1 ounce gold (or dark rum) and 1 ounce coconut rum. Stir until the liquids are mixed. Slowly, pour a small amount of grenadine over the top of the ice and watch it sink to the bottom. Then add a 1/2 ounce of dark and it will sit on the top. Serve with a lime wedge.
Winter Splash
Courtesy of Teroforma and Drink – A favorite Boston watering hole

Winter Splash

Winter Splash

  • 1.5 oz. Vodka (this can easily be substituted for a gentle gin)
  • .75 oz. St-Germain
  • 1.5 oz. fresh squeezed ruby-red grapefruit juice (fresh squeezed makes a difference!)
  • 2 dashes Peychauds* bitters (if you don’t care for Angostura bitters try this)
  • Squeeze of lime
  • Mint for garnish

For this cocktail, you can either shake in a shaker or add to a glass and stir.

*Peychaud’s Bitters, (taken from the all providing Wikipedia) Originally created around 1830 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, who settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1795,[1][2] is distributed by Sazerac.[3] It is a gentian-based bitters, comparable to Angostura bitters, but with a lighter body, sweeter taste and more floral aroma.

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