Festive Fridays: Bitter Sweet Christmas Cocktail

It’s finally here, 2020 Festive Friday cocktails! Now, usually I’m full of sparkle, joy and sugar plums this time of year, but in true 2020 fashion, this season hits a little different. I still love the lights, the hope, the sentiment but there is so much to miss this year. Silly things really, in the scheme of things. But, I’m really going to miss the holiday brunches and parties, the trips to the theater, dressing up for church, sleeping at my parent’s house on Christmas Eve. Soul quenching traditions. This year, I’m trying to focus on what I’ve learned, what’s truly important and getting myself on track to kick 2021 out.of.the.park. Are you with me?

As you know by now, I’m very family oriented. Everything I am, every idea I have or thing I love seems to stem from my family. Something that influenced me as a child- a shared memory, a story passed down, a piece of art or décor that sparked my imagination, laughter, conversations, adventures, or just the love I feel for my family. And this week’s Festive Friday cocktail is no different.

My Pop-pop’s (I always love hearing what people call(ed) their grandparents!) drink of choice was a Sidecar, which is delicious, so I used that as my inspiration. I also wanted the first drink to be seasonal but refreshing, crisp like snow. So instead of doing a traditional Sidecar, I did a grapefruit version. We also used bitters and sugar for the rim, hence the name: Bitter Sweet Christmas Cocktail.

Ingredients:

Rim

Cardamom Bitters
White Sugar

Drink

2 ounces Cognac
1 ounce grapefruit liquor (we used Combier Pamplemousse Liqueur)
1 ounce fresh pink grapefruit juice (about a quarter of a grapefruit)
5 mint leaves
4 ice cubes (2 for shaking, 2 for the glass)
Crushed ice

Directions:

Wet half the rim of a rocks glass with the Cardamom Bitters
Roll the wet rim in white sugar (we sugar just half the rim)
Add two ice cubes to the rocks glass
Slap 5 mint leaves between your hands to release oils, add to rocks glass
Add Cognac, grapefruit liquor and fresh grapefruit juice to the shaker with 2 ice cubes, shake
Pour shaker into rocks glass
Add crushed ice to fill the glass (if you don’t have crushed ice, wrap about 8 ice cubes in a tea towel and hit with a rubber mallet until ice is crushed)
Add more mint leaves for garnish

A potent but refreshing & nostalgic Christmas cocktail.

If you’re looking for more cocktail ideas check out previous Festive Fridays: