Let’s Get Blitzen: Cocktail Advent Calendar – Day 21 – Scrooge Sparkler. I’ve named this sparkling cocktail after the Dickensian miser because it seems like the kind of upmarket Ebenezer would make and keep all to himself.
Too many fancy French ingredients to go sharing the wealth with the proletariat.
Boulard Calvados is an upmarket apple brandy from the Normandy region of France. Made with blended varieties aged 2 to 5 years, this brandy is very special and has prominent aromas of baked/fresh apples and supplementary notes of pear, peach, and vanilla. It’s delicious on its own and well worth the investment at just over $50 per bottle at the LCBO.
I’ve used this spirit before in the autumnal treat – the Apple Sparkler.
The St-Germain elderflower liqueur used in this tipple is another special French liqueur – also hovering around the $50 mark for a full-sized bottle. Featured prominently in my most popular blog post ever – the Elderflower Rosé Sangria.
This is one of my absolute favourite liqueurs – probably tied with Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse grapefruit liqueur which you can’t even get at the LCBO. You could always a case through the LCBO but then you have a lot of grapefruit liqueur. Personally, I plan to pick up a bottle when i’m the States next week.
One of the best parts of traveling to the U.S. to see my parents is the plethora of private alcohol retailers with expansive selections of little-known liqueurs and spirits. The only challenge is paring back my shopping cart to align with customs limits.
Aside from a new bottle of Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse, I’m planning to pick up a bottle of blood orange liqueur that appears throughout my favourite cocktail book: Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails.
What’s your favourite liqueur that you’re planning to sip on over the holidays? Let me know in the comments below.
Scrooge Sparkler
- 1½ oz Calvados apple brandy
- ½ oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur
- 2 dashes absinthe
- 3 oz sparkling wine
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Combine all ingredients except sparkling wine in a mixing glass. Stir over ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. No garnish.
Recipe from: Fauchauld, Nick, et al. Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2014.
There is a pecan liqueur called “Rivulet” that is absolutely to die for on ice cream, in terms of a marvelously complex flavor. Also, Saskatoon Berry liqueur is just a fun Canadian addition to your liquor cabinet!