January's Cocktail Roundup: 5 Cocktails to Start the Year Off Right

  

With quarantine dragging on and the bright sparkliness of the holidays past, we have been creating little events to make the weekends special.  Specifically, we've been bringing back the ritual of cocktail hour.  Granted, it isn't every night, but on special occasions, or when we need a little festivity.  

So here, I give you the 5 cocktails I've been enjoying this past month, with links to recipes.

Gingerbeer Pear Sparkler

This one my husband adapted from an existing recipe for a Pear Sparkler.  It is as follows: 2 parts whiskey, 3 parts gingerbeer, 1/2 part pear simple syrup--mine was made with cinnamon & a little bit of fennel.  The syrup was left over from a baking experiment.  :)

Paloma

There is a recipe for a Paloma in every cocktail book worth its salt.  In fact, it is so simple, that it hardly needs a recipe (I find the simplest cocktails the best), but here is a solid one from Bon Appetit. 

Chicago Cocktail

This is also called a "Fancy Brandy Cocktail" because, you know, champagne isn't fancy enough.  :)  It dates from the 19th century, though this particular recipe is adapted from Harry Craddick's Savory Cocktail Book, 1930.

Moroccan 75

I discovered this one through Sunset Magazine.  They've been publishing a curated selection of cocktails on their Instagram, which I love and, as I'm discovering, I'm a sucker for a champagne cocktail.

French 75

The original, or at least the most well-known of the champagne cocktails.  Another solid recipe from Bon Appetit it has two of my favorite things: gin & champagne.  For those of you that don't like gin, you can barely taste it in this cocktail--the lemon covers the tang and the simple syrup smooths it out. 

Cheers!