The distance from no Thanksgiving cocktail to Thanksgiving cocktail should be short: bottle to glass to hand. But unless you’re aiming to pour rounds of liquor directly on the rocks and call it a holiday, you’ll want to find inspiration in three-ingredient classics.
“They’re easy to put together and are always going to be balanced,” said Kapri Robinson, a bartender in Washington, D.C., and the president of Chocolate City’s Best, which creates opportunities for people of color in the food and beverage industry. “You’re not layering too many flavors, and you’re allowing the spirits to shine.”
Recipe: Perfect Manhattan
There are plenty of interesting routes to take, but decidedly fall-friendly whiskey — with its many options to suit a range of tastes — is a sure winner.
Ms. Robinson points to the spirit’s innate warmth as the key to its appeal in cooler months. “It’s the wood influence,” she said. “When you have spirits that are aged, the wood is bringing in that vanilla, those caramels, those baking spices.”
Land, perhaps, on an Old Pal, the Boulevardier’s drier, spicier cousin, made with rye, dry vermouth and red bitter liqueur; combine bourbon, lemon and honey for a Gold Rush; or the opt for the closely related whiskey sour’s timeless meld of bourbon, lemon and sugar (plus an optional egg white).
Scotch drinkers can unite around the Rob Roy, the often-smoky whiskey mixed with sweet vermouth and bitters — itself a hop (of scotch) away from a rye-laced manhattan. Or you might “perfect” your manhattan by splitting the classic’s sweet vermouth into equal parts sweet and dry. Should you care to take your manhattan through to the pie hour, Ms. Robinson suggests switching out the vermouth for an amaro to set the post-dinner digestive mood.
Recipe: Presbyterian
Another whiskey-based drink for the holiday is the Presbyterian. Lighter and brighter but no less whiskied than the aforementioned drink options, it combines ginger ale, soda water and a whiskey of your choosing. Bourbon leans the drink sweeter; scotch, smokier; rye more spice-forward.
If you’re looking to explore outside the bourbon-scotch-rye trinity, Ms. Robinson suggests slipping a bottle of American single malt or Japanese whisky onto the holiday bar as well. Simply put: Feel free to use any whiskey you enjoy.
Lastly, if you plan to plan ahead, try batching your Boulevardier in advance. The longer you let the combination of whiskey, sweet vermouth and red bitter liqueur sit, the softer and more velvety the drink’s texture will become.
Holidays can be complicated. So keep what you can simple, easy and straightforward — at least when it comes to your cocktail program.
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