Let’s Get Blitzen: Cocktail Advent Calendar – Day 8 is classic Christmas Canadiana, the Maple Manhattan. Canada is all over this cocktail, with the exception of the base spirit. Maple syrup AND ice wine, doesn’t get much more quintessentially Canadian! It might sound like this drink would be overly sweet given the combination of maple syrup and ice wine but it is surprisingly well-balanced with the bourbon.
I’m losing track of the days. I’m drunk and delirious from doing this advent calendar. Oh, did you think I had preplanned and shot all of this content back in August, or even drafted an editorial calendar in November? Ha! No, my friends, I live life on the edge.
This is a real fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants enterprise. Will I make it? Will I run out of content? Will you be left having to count to 24 on your own? Or rely on a basic desk calendar that doesn’t come with any alcohol? Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell.
So, it’s day 8, I have shot 12 cocktails. Which means, I need to shoot at least three more cocktails today and tomorrow just to make it to next Saturday. You might be thinking, why not just shoot them on weekdays? Well, I’ll tell you why. At the moment, I’m only set up to shoot with natural light. Unless you’re living in the Southern Hemisphere, you might have noticed that the sun goes down around 4 p.m. these days and doesn’t come up until 7 a.m.
In case you’ve been asleep at the wheel, I have a day job. Which means, the only opportunity I have to shoot with natural light is on weekends. So, yes, I’ve been making 4-6 cocktails each weekend in the two weeks leading up to December to prep for this. It was a hardship, let me tell you – I was a real live-wire around 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Oh yes, I’ve had plenty of people “volunteer” but when you call someone and say, “Hey, wanna get drunk?” in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday, they’re like, “But the farmer’s market,” “But my kid has gymnastics class,” “But I have shit to do.” So, I’ll believe it when I see it friends.
One of my goals for 2019 is to get set up to shoot with artificial light and start tethering so I can see my photos on my laptop after each capture. Sometimes a shot will look great on the screen of your camera but, upon closer inspection, is out of focus or riddled with camera shake.
Like most things, it’s just about making the time. I already have much of what I need to do that, I’d probably only need to invest another $150 in equipment to have the full contingent of elements. Photography is an expensive hobby – if you have camera gear you’re not using, holla at your girl.
At any rate, feel free to take bets on whether we’ll make it through all 24 days or run out of content before then. Pray for me.
Maple Manhattan
- 1 oz bourbon
- ½ oz maple syrup
- ½ oz ice wine
- 1 maraschino cherry, for garnish
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To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 oz bourbon, ½ oz maple syrup, ½ oz icewine. Stir and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Recipe from: Hunt, Michelle P.E. and Laura Panter. "A Canadian in Manhattan." Food & Drink. Spring 2008.
Looks vey fancy!