November rain

Cocktails to make November better

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

Ask anyone what their favourite month is, and I’m 99 per cent sure that no one would ever say “November.” It’s all the cold and depression of December, while simultaneously being experienced during the hangover of October. Even though Halloween and Thanksgiving are over, that doesn’t mean you have to stop the celebration. After all—there’s always day drinking! Here’s a couple of cocktails to keep your spirits up during this chilly precursor month.

Grape expectations

In truth, this is a classic Sazerac—and by “classic” I mean real old school. Originally a Sazerac was made with cognac instead of rye. This changed sometime in the 1800s as France was dealing with a massive pest infestation that threatened their normally lucrative wine industry. Despite the fact that French wine survived, the Sazerac was forever changed—in my opinion, for the worst. Hence this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 tsp sugar

3 dashes bitters

1/2 tsp ice water, or a small ice cube if you’d prefer

1 shot of cognac

1/4 shot of absinthe

1 strip of lime peel

In a tumbler, mix the sugar, bitters, and water (or add the ice cube). Stir this until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cognac, then stir again. Before pouring the cocktail into a serving glass, use the absinthe to coat the inside of your glass, then dump out the remaining absinthe. The idea is that you want the absinthe to “wash” the glass. Pour the cocktail into the glass, then twist the lime peel over the drink, before using the peel to garnish it.

Diamondback

Sadly, I can’t take credit for this one’s snappy name. This recipe is a straight-up diamondback, which originated in Baltimore. I’m not normally a rye person—hence why the previous recipe featured cognac, instead of the Sazerac’s usual rye—but there’s something about the way it is used in a Diamondback that makes it very palatable. To me, this cocktail is quintessential “fall.” It’s classic, but spicy at the same time. It also doesn’t hurt that this drink is probably the easiest on the list to make.

Ingredients:

2 shots rye whiskey

1 shot applejack

1 shot green chartreuse

1 cherry

Use a tumbler, and fill it with ice. Pour in all the ingredients, stir extremely well, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with the cherry, but as you’re drinking it, and the mixture of high proof alcohols begins to numb your tongue, bite into the cherry. The sweetness will re-awaken your taste buds.

Snuggle Buddy

I have no problem admitting I’m a fan of creamy cocktails. I love a good White Russian or Brown Cow, and if I had my way I’d start every day with a dash of Baileys in my morning cup of coffee, but that is socially unacceptable. In any case, here’s a Snuggle Buddy, a cocktail of my own design, the drink I prefer to actual physical contact with other people. The Snuggle Buddy never judges, it only loves.

Ingredients:

1 shot Fireball whiskey

1 shot RumChata

1 tsp of carob or cocoa

1/2 tsp cream

In your serving glass, combine the carob/cocoa and the cream. Stir until it makes a paste that will sit in the bottom of your cocktail glass. Pour in the RumChata, and then the whiskey—no need to use a tumbler this time. Stir with a small spoon, adding ice cubes if you’d prefer it cold. Top with a sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon.