Getting Started

I got started with winter cocktails several years ago when my daughter was home for a couple of weeks at Christmas time. We started testing recipes for our annual Christmas cocktail party which, up until then, had featured crantinis, wine and beer.  We tried many drinks, simple and elaborate.

What I found was that many trendy cocktails feature one or more exotic liquors that you use for one party and then they sit in your cupboard, unused, for years. I mean, who doesn’t have the dregs of a bottle of cassis or crepe de menthe tucked away somewhere?  I try to avoid anything I don’t think I’ll ever use again. That being said there are a few things I’d never used that have become staples on the Ramsey winter cocktail supply list. Goldschlager, for instance. Sweet vermouth.

Another thing I learned is that great cocktails require great ingredients. You cannot make great rye based cocktail with Alberta Premium, nor can you sub in low end tequila for Don Julio or Patron. The exception, I think, is with hot sweetened drinks. Don't waste your Havana Club Ritual Rum on a hot toddy.

Equipment

Zester

Cocktail Shaker

Glassware
Blender

Ingredients

Ice cubes
Rimming salt
Simple syrup
Bitters
Cocktail olives, preferably soaked in vermouth

Snacks

A cocktail is a sipping drink. I basically never have two cocktails before dinner.  And while you are savouring that deliciousness, some nibblies are in order. A handful of nuts, smoked oysters and crackers, a small charcuterie plate. It’s not necessary to go overboard on a full spread of canapés. Unless you’re having a party-then by all means, you'll want the full spread.