2021 Let’s Get Blitzen: Cocktail Advent Calendar – Day 2 – Candy Cane Vodkow Fizz. The Snowcap Café au Lait was one of the most popular cocktails from the 2020 edition of the calendar so you can imagine my excitement in getting another opportunity to create a holiday tipple using Almonte’s own Vodkow and Vodkow Cream.
This year, my friends at Dairy Distillery encouraged me to try an infusion using their delicious Vodkow. When we were going back and forth spitballing recipe concepts, I got totally hung up on the idea of creating a cocktail inspired by a quintessential holiday cookie. Peppermint meltaways are one of my favourite sweet treats at this time of year and I’m always overjoyed to discover them in a handmade assortment of holiday baking. With this cocktail, I wanted to translate that candy cane cookie premise into a drinkable format.
This post is sponsored by Dairy Distillery.
So, I picked up a large gourmet candy cane and sunk the entire thing into a bottle of Vodkow. Over the course of a few hours, the Vodkow ate away the sugars of the candy cane until it was completely dissolved and left me with a vibrant red bottle of Vodkow with a tremendous peppermint flavour.
The addition of Vodkow Cream, rosemary syrup, a splash of lemon, and an egg white, topped with soda water make for a true cocktail confection. This is a decadent drink that tastes just like my favourite peppermint beltways – or if you’re more of a frozen dessert person, it will likely remind you of candy cane ice cream.
Aside from the incredible flavour and my penchant for supporting local, one of the reasons I love using Vodkow and Vodkow Cream is because sustainability and innovation are core tenets of their business model. The folks at Dairy Distillery use a highly innovative technique to make their Vodkow. If you’ve been on a distillery tour of any kind, you’ll know that all spirits are made by fermenting sugar. What makes the distillation process unique in Vodkow is the *kind* of sugar they use.
The foundational element of this spirit is milk sugar – a natural byproduct of milk production. Milk from 3,500 Ontario dairy farms is sent to large processing facilities where cream is skimmed off the top to make butter and ice cream and concentrated milk proteins make ultrafiltered milk, used by cheese and yogurt makers.
The making of ultrafiltered milk creates a sugar rich liquid called milk permeate. Prior to Dairy Distillery’s innovation, most milk permeate was dumped, creating a strain on the environment and leaving dairy farmers to foot the bill for its disposal.
After achieving great success with Vodkow, the team Dairy Distillery invested in the equipment and know-how to make everything that goes into Vodkow Cream, allowing them to create Canada’s first lactose-free dairy cream liquor.
They’ve developed a spirit that captures the true expression of Canadian-made cream. Less sweet than a traditional cream liquor, a sip of Vodkow Cream starts with the heat of vodka that fades into the buttery smoothness of cream.
The makers of Vodkow Cream are also showing their support for local dairy farmers by using only 100% Canadian milk – the old-time milk bottle its packaged in bears the iconic Blue Cow logo of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, the first spirits bottle to do so.
In combination, these spirits really shine in this Candy Cane Vodkow Fizz to achieve a cocktail that tastes like decadence and would be great on its own or as an alternative to a dessert course.
Be sure to tune into my Instagram stories today at 5 pm Eastern for a step-by-step tutorial on how to make this cocktail.
Candy Cane Vodkow Fizz
This Candy Cane Vodkow Fizz combines made-in-Ontario Vodkow and Vodkow Cream in a cocktail inspired by a favourite holiday cookie: the peppermint meltaway.
- 2 oz candy-cane-infused Vodkow
- 1½ oz Vodkow Cream liquor
- ¾ oz lemon juice
- ¾ oz rosemary syrup
- 1 egg white
- 2-3 oz soda water
- Garnish: candy cane
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup fresh rosemary sprigs
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To make candy-cane-infused Vodkow, simply add one large candy cane to a bottle of Vodkow and let stand until candy cane is fully dissolved.
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Add all ingredients (except soda water) to a shaker and dry shake for 15-20 seconds. Add ice and shake again until well-chilled.
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Strain into a chilled highball glass. Top with soda water.
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Garnish with a candy cane.
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Combine sugar, water, and rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature until completely cool.
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Remove rosemary sprigs and store syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks.
Brilliant!!! Fantastic idea…can’t want to try i.
The photos are way too cute! Extremely well done.
xo