Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Ho Ho The Mistletoe

Happy Friday! Last week I promised some more seasonally relevant cocktails and I’ve bringing it today. This week I made a great gin cocktail called Under The Mistletoe. What intrigues me is the addition of the fresh cranberries as a muddling ingredient and as a garnish. Good thing I’ll be down at FOB Cape Cod where fresh cranberries are in abundance this time of year…

Under The Mistletoe

4 cranberries
2 orange half-wheels
.5 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces London dry gin
Cranberry juice, to top
Club soda, chilled, to top
Garnish: thyme sprig
Garnish: 3 cranberries

In a Collins glass, muddle the cranberries and orange half-wheels with the simple syrup. Fill the glass with ice and add the gin. Top with a mixture of two parts cranberry juice to one part club soda. Stir with a thyme sprig, leaving it in the glass, and garnish with three additional cranberries.

Yes, I know those aren’t Collins glasses, but you make do with what you have right?

Thyme forward nose, which is a very good thing here. The juniper notes of the gin are very prevalent, but the fresh thyme garnish compliments and really emphasizes the gin’s natural aroma.

The taste is almost the opposite. The gin is there, but isn’t as strong as the aforementioned aroma would lead you to believe. The fresh cranberries are an excellent addition. They add a nice tartness to balance the sweetness from the cranberry juice. I tweaked the original recipe and omitted the simple because I had cranberry juice cocktail and not straight juice. As the writeup in the recipe’s link says, cranberry juice cocktail has added sugars, rendering the addition of the simple syrup moot. If you have pure juice, you need the simple as the tartness from the juice and the fresh fruit would be too much.

I also found that I needed a one to one ratio of club soda to the juice. I made the first batch following the 2 to one suggestion, but found the carbonation lacking, and an additional ounce of club soda got the drink exactly where I was expecting, without watering the cocktail down in a discernable way.

Overall, this is an excellent seasonal drink, that can very easily be scaled up. In fact, I plan on doing exactly that for my family’s Christmas festivities in checks notes oh god 8 days. If you’ll excuse me, I need to do some more shopping…

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)

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Sharkbait
Sharkbait has not actually been bitten by a shark, but has told people in bars that he was for free drinks. Married to a Giants fan, he enjoys whisk(e)y, cooking, the Rangers, and the Patriots.
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Gumbygirl

Woohoo my Blazers!!

scotchnaut

“Do they have patches on the elbows? Otherwise…”

-College Professors

BeefReeferLives

“Six months ago, Cheyenne’s Bryan Pedersen, a former MMA fighter and state legislator, said he wanted to bring professional ice-fighting to Wyoming.
On Tuesday, he delivered.

Pedersen, founder of the Wyoming Combat Sports Commission and the person responsible for hosting the first legal American bareknuckle fighting event since the 1800s, said ice fighting is exactly what the name implies: fighting on ice.
“It’s everything we love about hockey – the fighting,” Pedersen said. “Fighting only. And right here in Wyoming.”

Wyoming state legislator. ’nuff said.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2022/12/06/this-sport-is-all-enforcers-professional-ice-fighting-coming-to-wyoming/

King Hippo

Cheyenne. The city of my birth (Dad was in USAF)

I guess the libtards have made the world too light on concussions.

King Hippo

Duluth Trading seems an odd sponsor for The Cure’s bowl, but ’tis a mad, mad world.

BeefReeferLives
BeefReeferLives

I have had a cocktail very similar to this, but they used (IIRC – details are hazy) rosemary as opposed to thyme for the garnish.

It was delicious and quite festive (& quite potent). Thanks for this, Sharkbait. I’m going to have to try it with thyme instead.

Last edited 1 year ago by BeefReeferLives
King Hippo

I don’t lke the targeting rule. But Jeebus, that was almost attempted murder.

SonOfSpam

Not upheld because (inhales from large bong) Bahamas.

King Hippo

yeah, probably sommet about international waters

Game Time Decision

tepid take: cranberries suck.

LemonJello
Game Time Decision

The Cranberries are great. Cranberries suck

scotchnaut

I have never, ever tasted a good cranberry sauce so I just gave up eating it.

Someone or Other: “What, you’re not having cranberry sauce?”

Me: “Yeah, I don’t like it.”

Someone or Other: “But it’s Christmas!”

Me: “That’s not a good enough reason.”

Gumbygirl

I love a good cranberry sauce, but the stuff in a can is nasty. [shudders]

LemonJello

Maybe its all the MREs I’ve eaten, but I love canned cranberry sauce.

(its probably all the MREs and chow hall food I’ve eaten)

Gumbygirl

Gumby loves it too. The kind where you slice it into rings. Ugh.

Game Time Decision

as we’re hosting and can’t do the canned shit, i get fresh cranberries and make the sauce every year, and STILL DON’T FUCKING LIKE IT.

scotchnaut

I’ve tried making it so that I’d like it (added honey and ginger) and it still didn’t take. It’s a berry that just doesn’t take on other flavors well, imo.

Gumbygirl

It plays nicely with oranges, I think.

King Hippo

I have been watching Gumbygirl’s Blazers, and you’d hope a Bahamas trip would be impetus for a better game. But I guess maybe there’s just jetlag.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Oh wow, this sounds like a delightful Christmas cocktail. Wish I was healthy enough to sample one.

SonOfSpam

This might cure COVID. Don’t know unless you try it.

blaxabbath

— Guy Offering A Glass of Pure Potassium Benzoate

SonOfSpam

That’s good!

Redshirt

Hide your mothers; Zach Wilson is back!

King Hippo

MILF-Hunter Z #OnTheProwl!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

The plan to flush him out of hiding with the MILF Manor trailer worked!

LemonJello

Do you think BNGBUS2 is an available license plate in NY?

Redshirt

NY? Maybe.
NJ? Not a chance.

Last edited 1 year ago by Redshirt
blaxabbath

Good thing I’ll be down at FOB Cape Cod where fresh cranberries are in abundance this time of year…

THEY HATE US CUZ THEY AINTS US!

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Well this sounds lovely, since the gin will cut the (too tart for me) cranberry

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

THIS GIN I CALL IT RAY LEWIS BECAUSE IT CUTS THINGS UP AND LOTS OF RED JUICE GOES EVERYWHERE.