Happy Friday Boozalicious Holiday Libations Post!

If you’re new here, you may not be aware of this, but in my former life (which would be, um… until last August), I was a bartender. A damn good one, too, to which many of my fellow bloggers and bloggettes can attest.

I may have retired from the hospitality biz, but the truth is, it still runs rampant in my blood. I can’t walk into a restaurant or bar without casing the joint; Who’s in the weeds? How pathetic a human specimen is the floor manager? Are the bartenders talented, and (less importantly), do they come with or without a side of attitude? How clean is the bar (looking UNDER the glass racks is key)? Are the servers openly talking about the shitty tip the Brits just gave them? What work needs to be done? And who just came in from a cigarette that’s supposed to be doing it? Are there dirty glasses to clear, silverware to roll, annoyed customers looking around for their checks? (Ow, my brain!)

I take note of all of this the moment I set foot in an establishment; I can’t help it. It’s something of a blessing, but more of a curse. It makes it much harder to enjoy yourself when you notice every TINY LITTLE THING your caretakers do wrong… because trust me, they do wrong much more often than they do right. (When they do, though, they’ve got a regular forever in me.)

As part of my ongoing education as a veteran bartender, I’m always interested to hear what concoctions my favorite drink-slingers have come up with lately. In the name of science, I made my way around to some of my neighborhood bars and their tenders these past weeks, and harassed my peeps to find out what they’ve come up with for the holiday season. And now, my dears, I pass them to you… use them for your seasonal party, to impress a date, or to get through a particular rough Tuesday morning… I won’t tell. In fact, invite me. You really should learn to share.

From Fado Irish Pub:

He hadn’t named it… maybe “Coffee and Tequila Holding Hands Around the Christmas Tree”?

As a shot/martini, or over ice (adjust proportions accordingly for larger/smaller)…

3/4 ounce Patron XO Coffee Liqueur

1/2 ounce Bailey’s Irish Coffee

1/2 ounce Triple Sec

splash Half ‘n Half

Shake, strain for martini or shot.

Sprinkle with nutmeg and slurp it down.

From Chef Geoff’s (Downtown):

Raspberry Chocolate Martini:

2 ounces raspberry vodka

1 ounce Godiva white chocolate liqueur

Shake, strain, drizzle chocolate sauce on top. (Duh.)

And rim the glass with cocoa if you wanna get all fahn-cee about it!

From Clyde‘s in Chinatown:

Winter White Cosmo

1 1/2 ounces of vanilla vodka

1/2 ounce triple sec

1 ounce white cranberry juice

Shake and strain.

Get crazy with some cranberries to garnish, or go trashy with a maraschino cherry.

Stolen borrowed from Sarah Jay over at PaellaPans.com, as an improvement on one of La Tasca‘s sangrias, which was watered down and terrible but I love the idea of a holiday sangria with peaches and cinnamon:

Holiday SangriaMakes about 1 quart.

1 bottle dry red wine
1/4 cup sugar, more or less to taste
2 Tbs. rum, more or less to taste
1 orange, squeezed for juice
1 orange, washed and cut into thin slices
1 lemon, washed and cut into thin slices
1 peach, washed and cut into thin slices
1 stick cinnamon
1 1/2 cups club soda, chilled
Ice cubes for serving

Pour the wine into a large pitcher or a punch bowl. Add the sugar, rum, and orange juice, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange, lemon, and peach slices and the cinnamon stick. Chill the sangria for 8 hours, or overnight. Just before serving, add the club soda and ice cubes.”

There you have it, folks, all the makings for a rambunctious festive Tuesday morning Holiday party!

Happy Weekend! I’ll be sitting on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself e-Christmas shopping, since I caught the malaria that’s going around. Teh awesome.