Holiday Spirits to Match Any Mood
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One Eight Distilling’s Andrew Hunter creates three drinks to match your holiday spirit of choice
By Tim Ebner | Photography by Jennifer Chase
Has your cup been filled with holiday cheer, or do you need a stiff shot of whiskey to get you through another frantic holiday season?
Regardless of what fills you up, Andrew Hunter, bartender and tasting room manager at DC’s One Eight Distilling, has a cocktail to match any mood.
These are drinks that you can prepare in batches for winter parties, or make in a pinch before the friends come knocking.
But if you’re short on time, just head over to One Eight Distilling’s tasting room in Ivy City, where you’ll find Hunter and his team hard at work preparing drinks that will see you through another year.
So, cheers and bottoms up, because these One Eight spirits can easily match any holiday spirit, good or bad.
Overzealous Reveler
If you know how to have a good time, you’ll enjoy this effervescent drink that has a sharp color contrast, thanks to a floater shot of Fernet Branca, an Italian-style amaro made from a number of herbs and spices perfect for the winter season, including myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile and cardamom.
Think of this as the perfect drink to serve at your New Year’s party, or when you need a post-meal drink to awaken from a holiday food coma. “The drink has a refreshing minty flavor, and it’s slightly herbal and bursting with citrus from the lime juice,” Hunter says. In other words, it’s a party in a glass.
Ingredients
2 ounces District Made, Barrel-Rested Ivy City Gin
1 ounce rosemary simple syrup
½ ounce lime juice
1 ounce Fernet Branca
Rosemary sprig for garnish
To make the drink: Combine the gin, rosemary simple syrup and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain the mix into a fluted Collins glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and top off the drink with a shot of Fernet Branca.
Wintertime Blues
When the days grow shorter and darker near the Winter Solstice, Hunter likes to serve One Eight’s “winterized” version of an Aviation cocktail. It’s a purplish drink that will easily perk up even the grumpiest of grinches. Instead of using maraschino liqueur—what a typical Aviation usually calls for—Hunter opts for orgeat syrup. “Orgeat is an almond liqueur that’s still pretty sweet, but it gives a muted layer of sweetness, plus some opacity to the drink,” he says. “This is definitely the cocktail for people who say they don’t want a drink, but then end up drinking because it’s such an eye-catching cocktail.”
Ingredients
2 ounces District Made, Barrel-Rested Ivy City Gin
¾ ounce Crème de Violette
½ ounce lemon juice
¼ ounce orgeat syrup
Garnish with a star anise
To make the drink: Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain the mix into a martini or cocktail glass. Garnish with a single star anise.
Glitz & Glam
This drink is a holiday Manhattan and exudes classy refinement—for those who can really deck the halls. But why is this cocktail so glitzy and glamorous? It calls for a burst of festive flavors, including a cinnamon- and cranberry-infused vermouth that you can easily make in minutes.
“The sweetness of the vermouth becomes even sweeter with cranberry fruit that’s added,” Hunter says. “It delivers a burst along with some cinnamon burn, then there’s the nuttiness of our Untitled No. 15. I think it’s the warmest welcome you can make.”
This cocktail is also an excuse to break out your showiest glassware. Hunter suggests an elegant cocktail or coupe-style glass, plus you can serve it neat or on a large rock of ice.
Ingredients:
2 ounces Untitled Whiskey No. 15
1½ ounces cranberry-cinnamon sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
Orange peel and dried cranberries for garnish
To make the cranberry-cinnamon sweet vermouth: Pour sweet vermouth into a sauce pot and bring to a boil with 2 cinnamon sticks and a half-cup of frozen cranberries. Allow the cranberries to open up and burst, then remove the mix from the stove and strain the pulp. Finally, let cool and pour the mix back into the bottle. Store in the refrigerator until it’s ready to use.
To make the drink: Add the whiskey, vermouth and bitters to a cocktail shaker with ice and stir slowly. Strain the mix into a cocktail or coupe glass, then rub the orange peel around the rim of the glass. Garnish with an orange peel and a few dried cranberries.
