Christmas Mason Jar Cocktails

Although my fabulous sister had mixed emotions about the Faux Columbia Room experience that I designed for her at Thanksgiving, I was determined not to let that stand in the way of designing a Christmas experience for her.

Planning the Christmas Cocktail Experience

At Thanksgiving, one of the participants in the Faux Columbia Room experience declared that the Chiltern Aviation tasted like medicine. So I took the Classic Aviation out of play, because the only difference was that that the Chiltern Aviation used a sweet blueberry lavender syrup and the Classic Aviation used a crème de violette liqueur. Since there was still one full jar of the Classic Aviation left over from the Thanksgiving experience, I only had three jars to play with. To minimize the mix of emotions, I decided that I was just going to go with a classic cocktail that I knew that my sister liked, then do a riff on that, and then make an experimental Christmas cocktail.

The first cocktail that I mixed was a Negroni, which is my sister’s standard pre-dinner order when we go out together. Typically, a Negroni is an equinox cocktail made of gin, Campari, and sweet red vermouth. However, when I catered my friend’s farewell party in September, I did some research and found a recommendation for mixing the Negroni with 4 parts gin, 3 parts Campari, and 3 parts sweet red vermouth. My sister declared those proportions acceptable when I brought a bottle up to our youngest brother’s wedding earlier in the year, so I decided to stick with them for the Mason jar. Once I decided that I wanted to use 5 ounces of gin, I let the calculator figure out that I needed to use 3.75 ounces of Campari and 3.75 ounces of sweet red vermouth to complete the cocktail.

The second cocktail I mixed was a riff on the Negroni. When Little Z came to visit me in mid-December, we went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant on the way from the airport to my house. They offered a “Cask Negroni,” which was made with Aperol instead of Campari. At the time, I couldn’t recall ever having tried Aperol, but I knew it was an orange liqueur that was a bitter like Campari, but a touch sweeter than Campari. So I ordered the Cask Negroni - and I liked it better than the Classic Negroni! I flirted with mixing the Mason jar of Aperol Negroni as an equinox cocktail, but decided against it. If the proportions worked for the Classic Negroni, they should work for an Aperol Negroni too.

The third cocktail I mixed was completely different. It was a Faux-quito: a quick and easy fake Coquito, which is a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink. While a real Coquito requires doing things with coconuts to get coconut milk and mixing that with several types of rum (or so I think), the Faux-quito only has two ingredients. It is made up of three parts toasted coconut liqueur and one part cinnamon whiskey. And if that is too strong, the toasted coconut liqueur can be increased to four parts. Since I had some leftover in the cocktail shaker that wouldn’t fit in the jar, I tried it. It was very good!

Executing the Christmas Cocktail Experience

The second time she was presented with the Mason jar cocktails, my sister reacted more warmly toward them. When I stated that the light purple Classic Aviation was off the table because someone thought it tasted like medicine, my sister corrected me by saying that it was still in play for the two of us.

As expected, my sister started off with a Classic Negroni, which she liked. When my youngest brother offered to refill her glass, he balked at serving from a Mason jar. My sister defended the concept that I mix with my fancy liquors at my house and bring the batched cocktails to the holidays so our parents don’t have to stock what they don’t drink or don’t like. Which was exactly my thinking as well!

Eventually my sister moved on to the Aperol Negroni, which she also enjoyed, but not as much as the Classic Negroni. She enjoys the bitterness of the Campari, whereas I enjoy the slight sticky sweetness of the Aperol. Something to consider the next time I mix the Mason jars.

Refreshing the Christmas Mason Jars

My sister and I only drank the two jars of Negroni out of the batch of four Mason jars because our time together was fairly short. But, the next day, I was driving westward to spend a few days with Little Z and her parents. So I needed to think of some nice classic pre-dinner cocktails and after dinner cocktails. The Classic Aviation was definitely a classic pre-dinner cocktail, and the Faux-quito was rich enough to be a dessert cocktail. So I just needed to think of one more of each.

Since Little Z liked my Aperol Negroni at the restaurant in mid-December, I decided to make a Classic Negroni as my other classic pre-dinner cocktail. Because Mama Z is famous for her Manhattans, I thought she might appreciate a whiskey-based cocktail. So I didn’t stray too far in mixing a jar of Boulevardier, which is an equinox cocktail of bourbon, Campari and sweet red vermouth. But that would make a nice after dinner drink to follow a Classic Negroni.

Of course, in packing to visit Little Z, I didn’t stop with just the Mason jars. I also packed the bottle of Pimms No. 1 and a few cans of ginger ale, because Little Z loves a good Pimms Cup. I packed the bottle of elderflower liqueur in case I was able to stop for prosecco or cava because Little Z is also fond of the spritzes. Finally, I packed Mason jars of homemade Cocoa Orange 44 liqueur and homemade Buddhacello liqueur because Little Z had been looking forward to them. We had bought a Buddha Hand to make into Buddhacello when she visited, but it hadn’t been steeping long enough for me to feel comfortable in making it into liqueur.

Executing Round Two of the Christmas Cocktail Experience

It was almost an eight-hour drive west to Little Z’s parents’ house. When I arrived there, I was informed of a further change of plans. I had known that Little Z’s parents had gone south, and would be back late the next evening. What I didn’t know was that Little Z had decided that she didn’t want to pack and sort her boxes during our time together. She had invited other friends up to join us at the house, one of whom might be flying in later that evening. So rather than scurry around to get ready to embark on the packing and sorting project, I hauled my things up to my quarters and presented Little Z with her drink options. She chose the Classic Aviation. I added the required 2½ ounces of lemon juice, gave the jar a good shake, and poured us two glasses. We settled in to chat and monitor Little Z’s friend’s progress on her text messages while dinner heated on the stove. As it turned out, both Little Z and her friend really enjoyed the Classic Aviation.

The next day, more of Little Z’s friends arrived in the evening – a married couple and a friend from DC. This time, when presented with the drink options, Little Z chose the Pimms Cup. I pulled the bottle of Pimms and the recipe and started to mix it in the Mason jar vacated by the Classic Aviation. Unfortunately, the recipe called for dry curacao, which I left at home. Fortunately, I took a chance that Gran Marnier wouldn’t do much harm. Little Z loved it, and passed her drink around to her friends. The two gentlemen wanted that also, so I poured for them and finished the bottle of Pimms in making a fresh batch. The lady had a glass of the Faux-quito and was happy with that, because she thought it tasted like a Snickerdoodle cookie.

After dinner, Little Z’s friend from DC wanted to try the Boulevardier, but that turned out to be too strong for him, so I diluted it with ginger ale. It was really tough to tell the Boulevardier and the Negroni apart by their color, but the strong bourbon smell of the Boulevardier gave it away. I opted to drink the Negroni.

Later in the weekend, once Little Z’s parents came home, we also tried the Cocoa Orange 44 liqueur and the Buddhacello. I was a little concerned about the Cocoa Orange 44 because I remembered that when I originally served it at chocolate dinner, it was a very harsh liqueur. I couldn’t remember whether I had added sugar syrup to all of it before bottling. Fortunately, I did and the liqueur was fairly smooth. The Buddhacello was also very good, despite being kept in the refrigerator since January 2016.

By the time it came to leave Little Z’s parents’s house, I had two empty Mason jars and two half empty Mason jars. Mama Z enjoyed the Faux-quito and the Boulevardier so much, that we transferred the contents of the Mason jars into other jars for her and Papa Z to finish after our departure.

The Verdict

Prebatching fancy cocktails in 16-ounce Mason jars over the holidays has been a fun way to experiment with different liqueurs and to share that fun with family and friends. I really enjoy seeing which ones are popular and which ones are not, and how the tastes differ.

The Recipes

Classic Negroni
1 ounce good gin
¾ ounce Campari
¾ ounce sweet red vermouth

1. Stir well.
2. Pour over ice.


Aperol Negroni
1 ounce good gin
¾ ounce Aperol
¾ ounce sweet red vermouth

1. Stir well.
2. Pour over ice.

Boulevardier
1 ounce good bourbon
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet red vermouth

1. Stir well.
2. Pour over ice.

Faux-quito
2 ounces toasted coconut liqueur (Mr. Stacks makes a decent one)
½ to 2/3 ounce cinnamon whiskey (e.g. Catch Fire)

1. Stir well
2. Pour over ice.

Orange 44 Liqueur
Adapted from the Instructables website to satisfy one of the Old Comrades’ requests for an orange liqueur. The recipe on the website uses 6 tbsp sugar instead of 44 sugar cubes, but I prefer to keep the symmetry.

1 well washed large juicy orange
44 whole coffee beans
44 sugar cubes
4 cups of high test vodka

1. Find a clean glass jar with a mouth large enough to fit the orange through. The jar also should seal tightly.
2. Randomly stab the orange with a sharp knife and place a coffee bean in the stab wound. Repeat until the entire orange is covered and all 44 coffee beans are used up.
3. Place the 44 sugar cubes at the bottom of the jar.
4. Put the coffee bean studded orange in the jar.
5. Cover with vodka. Seal tightly.
6. Leave in a cool dark place for 44 days, periodically shaking the jar to help dissolve the sugar.
7. On the 45th day, drain out the flavored liqueur from the jar into clean containers. Discard the coffee studded orange. You may have to dismember it to get it out of the jar because it will have swollen a little.
8. Store the liqueur in a cool dark place, or in the refrigerator.


Buddhacello
I looked up “What to do with Buddha Hand?” on Chowhound and found this idea to adapt to my own evil devices.
1 medium sized Buddha Hand citrus fruit (look in Whole Foods around January)
1-2 thumb sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced and quartered (optional)
1.75 liter bottle of 100-proof vodka
5 cups sugar
5 cups water

1. Finely grate the peel from half the Buddha Hand citrus fruit (should be at least ½ cup finely grated peel). Try not to grate in the pith, but it’s not bitter so it’s okay if you do.
2. Strip the peel from the remainder of the fruit in long strips with a sharp knife. It is okay to get some pith with the fruit. It is also okay to toss in some full fingers.
3. Put grated peel, strips of peel, ginger (optional) and vodka in a glass container, cover tightly, and set in a cold dark place for about two weeks. Shake occasionally.
4. When time is up, make a syrup using the sugar and water. Mix sugar and water in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil, and slowly boil for about an hour.
5. Strain solids out of vodka using a fine mesh strainer. Press hard to get as much liquid as possible from the solids.
6. Strain again slowly through a double layer of coffee filters. Replace and throw away the filters if they get clogged. Be sure to force out as much liquid as possible.
7. Add about half the sugar syrup to the infused vodka, taste, and keep adding until it tastes sweet enough. (I used it all)
8. Pour into clean final glass containers and set aside in a cool dark place for at least another two weeks.

• It is okay to put the entire Buddha Hand in the vodka instead of grating and stripping the peel from the fruit. Just extend the soaking time from two weeks to two months. I tried that in November 2015, and came out with a stellar batch of Buddhacello in January 2016.
• The original recipe was ¼ cup grated citrus peel, 750ml 100-proof vodka, 2 cups sugar and 2½ cups water.
• Other “limoncello only” discussion threads on Chowhound recommend grain alcohol instead of 100-proof vodka.