reveillon cocktail

2 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy (or Calvados)
1/2 oz Pear Eau de Vie
1/2 oz Allspice (Pimento) Dram
1/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge, Punt e Mes, or Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1 dash Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters

Stir or shake with ice and strain. Garnish with a star anise pod or cinnamon stick (here, garnished with a strawberry slice).

One of the other cocktails made for the "Vermouth and Apertif Wine" session was the Réveillon cocktail created by Chuck Taggart of GumboPages. This beverage was Chuck's attempt to capture "winter in a glass" and with the allspice dram and other flavors, he did a good job. The recipe gives the option of shaking, despite the ingredients seeming to ask to be stirred, in order to put a snow-like froth on top of the cocktail. The drink started out dry at first and the sweetness sensation slowly built up over the first few sips. With a fruity base on the forefront, a wave of spice and vermouth flavors followed on the swallow. I cannot be more colorful than Ted Haigh who tasted this back in December of 2005 and exclaimed, "Oh, this is delightful!" and then added, "It's like sucking on Santa!" Oh my...