Let’s Get Oiled
By Marilyn LaRocque & Jaq Greenspon • Photographs by Steven Wilson
It’s been a year or two, hasn’t it?
Like most of you, we here at David have been dealing with all sorts of tsuris in our lives. There have been great losses, both personally and professionally, profound disappointments, and every now and again, some genuine outpourings of human kindness and generosity to let us all know it’s going to be okay.
However, since we haven’t been publishing the magazine, we’ve actually had the opportunity to do something we never get to do and you all take for granted – We’ve been able to go back and read the magazine for fun, to take a look at the articles we’ve written, the events we’ve covered, and the friends we’ve made over the decade or so we’ve been around.
While reminiscing, we ran across this piece, from December of 2012, when we offered up a whole Hannukah’s worth of new drinks and festive libations. If you can remember that far back, 2012 was the first time during our run when the world was supposed to end. The Aztec calendar was coming to a close and that was going to be it, civilization was shutting up shop.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and we’ve endured several other world ending events since then. We’re a resilient group and part of what makes us that way is community. We can rely on our group of friends and family, our tribe, to support us and help us out when we need it and in return, we do the same for them.
All of which brings us back to the recipes you’re going to read about on the following pages. Since the dawn of civilization, alcohol has been what we drink when we get together, for either religious or secular activities. And while a good beer or glass of wine is always welcome at the end of a long day, we thought that now, at the end of a long year, we’d revisit these drinks we first told you about nine years ago.
These eight drinks (a different one for each night, naturally) are the brainchild of Drew Levinson, former Las Vegas resident and current VP of Business development with Breakthru Beverages Group in Nashville, TN and Andrew Pollard, Beverage Innovation Director at Monin. These two maestro mixologists made up some amazing “mazel tov” concoctions, the ingredients of which can all be sourced locally.
The nice thing about this particular collection is that over the eight nights, there are drinks enough to please all palates. From re-envisioning old classics to decadent originals featuring donuts (Yes! Donuts!) all adults who partake, will find something to make their long winter nights go by a little easier.
Which is all we really want at this time of year, isn’t it? Something to help ease the journey and, even if it’s just for a little while, make us feel a little bit better. This is what we hope we’ve accomplished by re-sharing this little celebration from the ghost of David past.
And so we say, from our family to you and yours, here’s to a wonderful 2022. Let’s make the most of all the good we’ve got.
L’chaim!
Mazel Tov Cocktail
1.5 oz. Damrak Gin
0.5 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz. simple syrup
Top with Martini Sparkling Asti
Garnish: Edible Gold Flakes
Glass: Cocktail
Method: Pour Asti into a chilled glass. Combine all ingredients (sans Asti) in a mixing glass with ice; shake vigorously and strain over poured Asti. Garnish.
Kosher & Dill
2 oz. roasted garlic-pickle-infused Ketel One Vodka*
4 oz. Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary Mix
Top with cracked black pepper/Kosher salt
Garnish: Matzo cracker/dill sprig
Glass: Bucket
Method: Combine vodka & mix into a mixing glass with ice, roll gently and dump into a bucket glass. (It is imperative NOT to shake a Bloody Mary to avoid over-dilution).
* INFUSION METHOD: Begin infusing by pouring one 750ml bottle of Ketel One Vodka into a batching vessel with whole roasted garlic bulb and two whole dill pickles sliced lengthwise. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours until desired flavor is reached. Strain out mixture and store in fridge again.
The Schmoozer
1.5 oz. cranberry-infused Templeton Rye Whiskey*
0.5 oz. Cherry Heering liqueur
1 oz. Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
2-3 dash Angostura aromatic bitters
Garnish: Marasca cherry
Glass: Bucket and Large Format Ice
Method: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, stir gently and strain over a 2-inch ice cube and garnish.
* INFUSION METHOD: Begin infusion by adding 1 cup of dried cranberries with a 1/4 cup of sugar with 750 ml of Templeton Rye Whiskey in a batching vessel. Stir gently. Proceed to infuse for 24-48 hours until desired flavor is achieved. Strain infusion and refrigerate.
Dirty Shtick
1.5 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
1 oz. Ginger-SNAP liqueur
Double shot fresh brewed espresso
2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
Top with Whipped Cream and Fresh Grated Nutmeg
Garnish: Cinnamon Stick
Glass: Hot Toddy Mug
Method: Combine all ingredients in a warm mug, stir and top with vanilla cream. Garnish.
Sloe Nosh
1 oz. Glenfiddich 15 Solera Reserve Whisky
1 oz. Plymouth Sloe Gin
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz. Monin pomegranate syrup (aka Grenadine)
Dash Pasteurized egg white
Top with Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider
Garnish: Rosemary Picked Cherry
Glass: Cocktail
Method: Pour cider into a chilled glass. Combine all ingredients (sans cider) in a mixing glass with ice, shake vigorously and strain over poured cider. Garnish.
Gelty Pleasure
1.5 oz. Smirnoff Whipped Vodka
1 oz. Crave Chocolate Mint Liqueur
3 oz. prepared hot chocolate
2–3 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
Top with Hand-Whipped Cream
Garnish: Shaved Chocolate and Mint sprig
Glass: Irish Coffee Mug
Method: Combine all ingredients in warm mug and stir. Top with hand-whipped cream and garnish.
Day of Rest
1.5 oz. Siete Leguas Blanco Tequila
0.5 oz. Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
1 oz. fresh lime juice
0.5 oz. fresh blood orange juice
1.5 oz. agave syrup (1:1 dilution agave nectar-hot water)
Garnish: Orange & Lime Wheels
Glass: Lowball/Bucket
Method: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, shake and strain over fresh ice. Garnish.
Oy Vey!
1.5 oz. 360 Glazed Doughnut Vodka
0.5 oz. Chambord raspberry liqueur
1 oz. coconut cream (1:1 Coco Real-Half & Half)
Top with Mike’s Hard Raspberry Lemonade
Garnish: Mini Doughnut
Glass: Collins
Method: Combine all ingredients (sans Mike’s) in a mixing glass with ice, shake and strain over Mike’s. Garnish.