An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

Lifestyle drinks of the coughing and congested

I’d had ideas for a variety of posts.

For instance, I got an iSi Gourmet Whip Pro for Christmas, and I’m very excited about doing tons of stuff with it!

But…holidays…and then, like everyone else in DC, I got sick.

Blech.

So while watching the end of the football games today I decided what I really needed was a hot toddy.? It’s kind of just something I threw together so what the heck.

Hot Toddy
One cup decaffeinated Earl Grey tea
Honey
Half a lemon, squeezed
2 ounces Chairman’s Reserve rum

Mix in a cup.

Well, heck, it’s making me feel better.? Might need some more.

Once I figure out my Tumblr issues, and feel a bit better, we’ll get ya some more substantive posting.? Promise!

Guess who is who!

Happy holidays from Scofflaw’s Den!

If you’d like a drink, I’ll suggest…

Errr, it’s football season.? I’m drinking a lot of cheap domestic beer.

Still, have a good one with your folks, and check back next week for some cool stuff!

Hopefully I’ll have thought of that cool stuff by then.

MERRY HOLIDAY STUFF!

Yep, it’s that time of year where our weekends (and the occasional weeknight) are filled with Holiday parties and merriment.? The Christmas Spirit has hit me pretty hard this year.? I’ve been watching Christmas movies and singing carols.? I have my first live tree whose named Elmer.? Now all I need is some snow and I’m going to be as happy as an Elf on the North Pole.

One aspect of this season in particular is that a lot of people ask for cocktail ideas or the contribution of a beverage or two for their party.? Of course I’m not one to turn down either and I’m more than happy to contribute to the quality quaffing of the season.

Obviously there are several usual suspects when it comes to Holiday drinks – Hot Buttered Rum, Mulled Wine, Spiced Apple Cider, & Egg Nogg just to name a few.? And while all of these are great options I wanted to add something else to the list.

This past Saturday Sylvie and I went to a Soup & Cookie holiday party at our friend Josh’s house co-hosted by his lovely gal Jenny.? I was tasked with bringing Egg Nogg to the party and I was happy to oblige.? My go-to Nog is the easy-as-pie recipe from Jeffrey Morganthaler. But being a Scofflaw, I couldn’t just leave it at one drink.? I wanted to come up with an original cocktail that was boozy, non-too-sweet, and really made me think of Christmas.? Even further, I wanted a cocktail that brought the flavors of what I feel are Victorian-esque Christmas desert flavors.? So what could that be?? Plums!? Fruit Cake!? Spices!? Brandy!? Oh for the love of Santa Claus, FIGGY PUDDING!!!

Now just to turn these ideas into a cocktail.? Here’s what I came up with:

Christmas Pudding
1.5 oz Brandy
1 oz White Port
.50 oz Bonal quinquina
.25 oz Cointreau
.25 oz Allspice Dram
.25 oz Trader Tiki’s Cinnamon Syrup
3 d Fee’s Plum Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange peel and maraschino cherry.

Before you say anything, yes that’s lemon peel as a garnish in the picture.? I didn’t have any fresh oranges on hand so I used what I had.? Sue me.?? To me, the flavors that combine in this drink really hit all the high notes of what I was looking for.? It’s boozy, that’s for sure.? But you also have the spices, citrus, and a bit of a dried fruit character from the white port and the Bonal.? The Plum Bitters adds another layer of fruit and helps to marry the sweetness and spiciness from all the ingredients.?? I definitely want to give this recipe a try with a tawny port in place of the white port.? I think that will heighten the dried fruit flavors even more.? If you try it, let me know the outcome.

So tell us what your favorite Christmas cocktails are!? Do you have a unique recipe or an old standby?? Leave us a comment and share.

Cheers!

The joke is probably about my photography skills.

Well, just in time, I got back from Orlando for Repeal Day!? HUZZAH and stuff.

This year Gabe from cocktailnerd.com joined Rick from kaiserpenguin.com in joining us here in DC.? Unfamiliar with the protocols of renting a tuxedo, you can see in the picture to the left that Gabe went for the redcoat outfit.? Rick rocked out the Watson look while Marshall – well, what can I say?? The guy just is a snazzy dresser.

Me, I rocked the same tuxedo as last year, but my pics (that I remembered to take) don’t have me in them because, uhh…well, you know, I took them.

After a Friday night hitting a number of places (PS7, Proof, Poste, The Gibson) then playing Rock Band 2 until 4:30 AM and torturing Rumdood with my singing, we hit 2 Amy’s (I’d never been!), Ace Beverage (of course), and a costume store, plus Goodwill, before having a couple of pre-event cocktails.? From my house we met up with Sylvie, Kelley, and JR at Eatonville, then to the party.

The party was fantastic.? Lots of spectacular mixologists served up an array of delicious beverages in rooms themed to decades.? Rachel Sergi did a clementine based one, while Adam Bernbach and JP Fetherston did a Mad Men room with sloe gin fizzes and martinis.? Jess Crandall and Jason Strich rocked out with lemon drops in the ’80s, while nearby Owen Thomson and Gina Chersevani had on jumpsuits and bubble-wrap in the future.

David Wondrich, Dale DeGroff, and Tal Nadari

Not everyone was DC-based.? Jeffrey Morgenthaler from Clyde Common in Portland, OR, shared a table with local Chantal Tseng of the Tabard Inn – him with his amazing eggnog and her with a killer bathtub gin punch.? Other great folks in the cocktail world such as David Wondrich, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, Dale DeGroff, and Tal Nadari were there.

And, of course, there were all kinds of folks from around town – I mean, honestly, if you’re not working that night, you needed to be there.

I made it about 15 minutes, maybe, into the after-party before I needed to leave.? Same as every year, I’m lame, whatever.? I can always make up an excuse for each year.? I have a great one for this year!

Next year I’m hoping to see even more of our blogger brethren there.? You should start planning now!

If you did go, what was your favorite drink?? (And don’t say what was in people’s flasks!)