Tea Toddy

Winter in a cold place during the pandemic hasn't been easy with regard to socializing, but thankfully we have a few sets of friends who don't mind bundling up to sit around a fire and talk in the back yard (including our neighbors across the street, which is pretty convenient since we don't have to drive). While at our neighbors' house one evening for a fire, they made hot toddies with bourbon, lemon, and spices. It was so cozy and went a long way to help stay warm. They told me how to make one, and also told me you can make them with tea, which really excited me. I had to try this for myself.

I've heard of lots of people making toddies with either tea OR alcohol, but I have found I like mine with both at the same time!

Notes:

• The alcohol is optional, but if you are making it with alcohol, make sure the tea flavor and alcohol flavor will complement each other. I usually make mine with bourbon for the liquor, and for tea, I like chamomile, a lemon-forward herbal tea, or decaffeinated black tea (Ahmad Evening Tea is great if you can find it) because I often end up drinking them at night and don't want the caffeine to keep me awake. Ginger tea, plain green tea, or a fruit flavored black tea might also be tasty.
  

Verdict: Despite how I came to know of them, these are likely to hold a cozy memory of friends whenever I drink them. They're great for soothing your throat and when you want something to warm you up. If you like warm drinks (tea especially), I highly recommend it.

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RECIPE: Chamomile-Honey Hot Toddy (Garrett McCord, Simply Recipes)

Bourbon Peach Smash

My neighbor generously gave me a bag full of nice peaches recently, and this is one of the things I decided to make with them.

Verdict: It was pleasant, and I even like shrub type drinks, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again. I like fruity drinks, but if there's actual fruit in the drink I like to consume it, and it was hard to eat the fruit out of this one.

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RECIPE: Bourbon Peach Smash (Smitten Kitchen)

Italian Manhattan

Look at this beautiful drink from my friends' wedding. It is bourbon, amaretto, and cherry juice. The glass is apparently supposed to have a bunch of ice in it too but we forgot that part. Oops. That pick with a gummy heart on it is an adorable touch! The bride's father claimed he made up this recipe himself, but knowing him, I'm taking that with a truckload sized grain of salt.

I loved this drink, and ever since the wedding two years ago I have been wanting to try to make it at home. We had scheduled a dinner date with these friends just after their anniversary, and I thought that would be the perfect excuse to try. They may live on the other side of the world and it was evening here and morning there, but through the wonders of modern technology, we cooked dinner and they cooked brunch, made these to drink after the meal, and we chatted for a good long time. We even set up our computer on the other side of the table so it was almost like they were actually there.

It still needs a bit of tweaking to get it to look and taste as good as the one in the photo, but I think we're off to a great start with the below.

Notes:

• I tried the liquid that maraschino cherries are packed in and 100% pure cherry juice, and neither was really the right flavor or sweet enough. (I only tried maraschino cherry liquid in the original ratios and not 1/1/1.) I will try cherry juice cocktail the next time.
• The original drink calls for different ingredient ratios, but I found it most pleasant with a 1/1/1 ratio, especially with 100% cherry juice.
• A friend suggested higher quality amaretto would make a difference (I went for a middle of the road brand).

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RECIPE:

Italian Manhattan
adapted from The Intoxicologist
Serves 1

1 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 1/2 oz amaretto liqueur
1 1/2 oz cherry juice cocktail
Maraschino cherry (optional)

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry if desired. Serve immediately.

Vermontucky Lemonade

I ran across this on Smitten Kitchen and I had fresh lemons, so I decided to give it a try! It's basically maple lemonade with bourbon whiskey (I used Buffalo Trace, and the smaller amount of it). I wasn't sure how maple and lemon were going to taste together but I was curious.

Verdict: It was pretty nice! It was a little bit watered down tasting but I am almost certain it's because of some not great decisions about how I prepared the lemonade. I don't know that I'll go out of my way to make it again since bourbon is not my first choice of things to drink (and if I do drink it I tend to drink it by itself) but I'm glad I tried it, and if someone put this in front of me I'd happily drink it. I'd even try it again if I would make the lemonade properly.
Edit: After thoroughly chilling it and letting it stand in the fridge for a few days I think the lemonade tasted better.

RECIPE: Vermontucky Lemonade

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

I first found this recipe on Pinterest several years ago and made it to bring to an ice cream sundae party, but have made it several times since. Pinterest can be really terrible but this is one of the best things I ever found there. This is simple and incredibly delicious. Every time I make it I am fascinated by how something as simple as browning sugar can make such a difference in taste, and how intense the flavor can get.

I usually put it on ice cream, but it's also good in iced coffee, and I put it on top of a caramel mocha roll cake once (which was delicious).

Tips from making it several times:

• Getting the sugar mixture to the point of browning takes a while but once the sugar starts to brown it darkens quickly, so keep a close watch on it!
• The mixture will spatter when you add the cream, so be careful (the recipe tells you to pour it in slowly and this is important).
• Use the best bourbon you have, or at least something you know you like the taste of. My husband gets mad when I use his good bourbon to flavor this, which confuses me because if I asked to drink that same amount (1 tablespoon!) he would be absolutely fine with it. My favorite so far has been New Holland's Beer Barrel Bourbon, which is aged in barrels that previously aged Dragon's Milk Stout.
• I sometimes add ~1 tsp of high quality vanilla in addition to the bourbon.
• I like to store it in a canning jar. It's easy to get a spoon inside to scoop out the amount you want.
• This will keep for months in the refrigerator, though its magical flavor diminishes a bit after a couple of weeks.

RECIPE: 4 Ingredient Bourbon Caramel Sauce (from Minimalist Baker)

Salted Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin Pie

I never used to like pumpkin pie when I was a kid but I have grown to love it as an adult. My family did not make pecan pie so the first time I tried it was at my husband's family reunions. Now that we are old enough to be starting our own Thanksgiving traditions, I decided it was time to try new kinds of pie too (also because my husband doesn't like fruit pies). I decided to give this one a go because it combines two pies that I like...with bourbon! I love the extra layer of flavor that beer, wine, and spirits can give to foods.

I did not use the crust given in the recipe; I replaced it with Smitten Kitchen's All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough instead because I know how it behaves and I didn't have buttermilk for the other one. Other than that, it was made as written.

Verdict: This is some god tier pie. If you like pecan and pumpkin pie, it is not to be missed. I made another one about a week after Thanksgiving because I liked it so much. Somehow I don't feel like it turned out quite as good as the first time, but it was still really good.

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RECIPE: All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough
RECIPE: Salted Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin Pie