Cocktail, Anyone?

These traditional drink recipes allow you to celebrate with style this season!

Hot Buttered Rum
(makes 1 serving)

2 tablespoons Hot Buttered Rum Mix 
1 shot rum (1¼ ounces)
2/3 cup boiling water
1 strip orange zest

Put the Hot Buttered Rum Mix and the rum in an 8-ounce heat proof glass mug. Stir. Add the boiling water and stir again. Twist the strip of zest and rub it around the rim of the glass, then drop it in. 

Hot Buttered Rum Mix
(makes about 10 servings)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup vanilla ice cream, softened
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg

Put the butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the ice cream, brown sugar, and spices and process until combined. (Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little grainy.) Scrape the mixture into a container, cover, and store in the freezer until needed.)

Cranberry Martini
Makes 1 serving

2 ounces (¼ cup) cranberry vodka (such as Finlandia)
1/3 ounce dry vermouth (2 teaspoons)
Splash of cranberry juice
3 candied cranberries on a cocktail pick (recipe follows)

Chill a martini glass. Pour the vodka, vermouth, and cranberry juice, into a cocktail shaker half filled with ice cubes. Shake, then strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with the cranberries.

Candied Cranberries
Makes 1 cup

½ cup water
½ cup sugar 
1 cup cranberries 

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the syrup is at a rolling boil, add the cranberries. Immediately remove from the heat and cover the pan. Allow the cranberries to steep for 15 minutes, then strain the cranberries from the syrup. Discard the syrup or save it for another use.

Spread the cranberries in a single layer on a wire cooling rack, discarding any that may have burst, and allow to dry for 30 minutes to an hour.

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