“I love easy-to-make flavorful cocktails that deliver spice notes commonly found in older styles of candy and in winter holiday desserts. The ginger simple syrup and both types of bitters deliver all those flavors while elevating each other. Fresh lemon juice brings out delicate spice notes found in wheated bourbons, which round out the whole nicely. The red wine float gives the cocktail an added layer of tartness without souring it, as well as a more festive look.”
Ingredients
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- 1 ounce ginger syrup (recipe below)
- 2 squirts (about ⅓ of a squeeze dropper) Copper & Kings Old Fashioned Bitters
- 2 ounces wheated bourbon (Maker’s Mark, Weller Special Reserve, Larceny or another)
- ½ ounce red wine float, preferably affordable Zinfandel or Cabernet
- 3 ounces fresh ginger, coarsely peeled and chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup demerara sugar or Sugar in the Raw
Preparation
To a small saucepot, add water and ginger. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes then turn off heat to let steep for 20 minutes longer. Strain ginger water through fine-mesh strainer or cheese cloth and into measuring cup. Add water necessary to make 1 cup and add to saucepan. Add demerara sugar and heat while stirring until all sugar is dissolved at about 165°F. Do not boil syrup. Cool and refrigerate.
To a small cocktail shaker add lemon juice, ginger syrup, bitters and bourbon. Add ice cubes to cover liquid by 1 inch. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds and pour through mesh strainer into tumbler with fresh ice. To add wine float, slowly pour red wine atop cocktail to create burgundy layer.
