Elevate your at-home drinks this holiday season

Elevate your at-home drinks this holiday season

The holidays are going to be a bit different this year. Whether you like it or not, chances are it’s going to be a bit quieter than usual (and if this comes as good news to you, well, your secret’s safe with us). Whether you’re celebrating the season with your bubble or just by yourself, unleash your inner mixologist and bring your at-home bar experience to the next level.  Ring in the new decade with a good drink or three—and say so long to 2020.

 

KRAKEN BLACK SPICED RUM
LCBO, $32.45.

Blended with a mix of secret spices including vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, this aged Caribbean rum is dark, smooth and super seasonal. The flavours shine in simple drinks, like a rum and Coke, or mixed into classic cocktails—but you can do even better than that.

Kraken Winter Cider

2 oz Kraken Black Spiced Rum
3 oz Unfiltered apple cider
0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
0.75 oz simple syrup
Cinnamon stick

Heat up the cider and stir all ingredients in a mug with a cinnamon stick. For some extra autumn flair, simmer the syrup with fall spices like clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.

BUSHMILLS BLACK BUSH IRISH WHISKEY
LCBO, $38.95.

This triple-distilled Irish elixir is made with a whack of single-malt whiskey that’s been aged eight whole years in oloroso sherry casks. The result: a fruity and nutty sip, with flavours of rich jam and dark chocolate. Put some much-needed pep in your holiday step by adding it to your favourite coffee.

Bushmills Black Bush Irish Coffee

1 oz Bushmills Black Bush
1/2 oz simple syrup
3 oz coffee

Float homemade whipped cream method: Pre-warm a tempered glass with hot water while you prepare the whipped cream. Empty the warm glass of hot water and pour in whiskey, simple syrup and coffee, then give it a stir. Gently float the aerated cream over the back of a warm spoon.

Garnish: Grated fresh cinnamon

BOODLES GIN
LCBO, $29.95.

Distilled with a select blend of botanicals to yield a softer, more balanced London Dry profile, Boodles is just as much fun to drink as it is to say. The U.K.-crafted gin is the ideal spirit for a classic G&T or as the base for the cocktail all home bartenders should have in their back pocket: a perfect martini.

Boodles Churchill Martini

2 oz Boodles Gin
1 oz dry vermouth
1 lemon peel or olive

Fill mixing glass with gin, vermouth and ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into chilled coupe or martini glass.

Garnish: lemon twist or olive

MEZCAL CREYENTE

LCBO, $ 59.95.

Anyone who likes a tipple of tequila now and then should give mezcal—its artisanal cousin—a try. This bottle, made with a blend of two 100 percent Espadín agave mezcals, is elegantly smoky, both in aroma and taste, with fruity traces and some light herbal hints. It’s good on its own (buy some copitas the next time you’re online shopping) or mixed up in a tropical cocktail like a paloma. If you can’t go to the beach this year, bring the beach to you.

KRAKEN BLACK ROAST
LCBO, $32.45.

Shimmering with dark complexity, this Kraken is a coffee-flavoured spiced rum that is unexpectedly rich, dark, and smooth—perfect for after-dinner drinks, or heck, even for Sunday morning breakfast in bed. Try it with cold brew coffee or, for an extra-decadent treat, with coconut cream over ice.

THE SEXTON SINGLE MALT IRISH WHISKEY
LCBO, $49.95.

From Alex Thomas—one of the only female master blenders in the world—comes this remarkable, triple-distilled single-malt whiskey. Aged in oloroso sherry casks, it’s a nutty, spicy and fruity concoction with an incredibly rich finish. Enjoy it neat, over ice or in a Barista’s Old Fashioned, a caffeinated twist on the classic cocktail. Roaring fireplace not included.

Barista’s Old Fashioned 2.0 oz The Sexton Irish Single Malt
0.5 oz coffee liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients into a mixing beaker, add ice and stir until cold. Strain over one large ice cube.

 

 

 

 

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