Let’s Get Blitzen: Cocktail Advent Calendar – Day 12 – Winter Paloma. A quintessential tequila drink gets a holiday swap. Well-suited to Christmas movie marathons and Mexican food.
This is a very simple tequila highball that lets the quality of your spirit shine through. As always, I recommend seeking out a bottle of additive-free tequila blanco like Elevacion1250 or Siempre (both Canadian-owned companies).
As you may have noticed, I’ve made a concerted effort to feature more three-ingredient cocktails in this year’s calendar. Afterall, many of you started reading this blog or following me on Instagram in the early days of the pandemic when I began sharing cocktail tutorials for 3-ingredient classics like the Old Fashioned, Daiquiri, Manhattan, and more.
For those of you have been participating regularly over the years, I’ve also tried to mix in a few more adventurous concoctions. But, on the whole, I wanted the recipes to be more approachable and make participating more affordable by paring back the number of spirits/liqueurs used throughout.
I, for one, have been feeling the pinch of inflation and higher interest rates. It seems like a single bag of groceries will run you $100 these days. My penchant for renovating certainly hasn’t helped the situation either.
The biggest kick in the teeth has been my condo. My long-term tenant moved out in May and I had it listed for sale from the end of May to end of November without a single offer. I think it’s a nice place, thoughtfully upgraded, and many others have said the same. But times have changed since I bought in 2018.
The building is ideally situated if you work on Parliament Hill or downtown Ottawa and it was a 3-minute walk commute to my office when I lived there. But with the rise of work-from-home, everyone wants a dedicated home office and private balcony. I had my desk perched in the window looking on to Parliament and was never wanting for a balcoy because a) the unit faces North, and b) the building has a spacious shared outdoor living space with barbecues, seating, and a pool.
Even with the continued rate cuts from the Bank of Canada, there’s been little interest in the real estate market in Centretown across the board. I’ve had to throw in the towel and am currently seeking a new tenant to staunch the bleeding on the monthly expenses until there are more favourable market conditions for a sale.
Keep your fingers crossed that I find a great tenant soon and don’t hesitate to send any friends, family or colleagues my way if they’re looking to buy in downtown Ottawa (with parking!).
Be sure to tune into my Instagram Stories tonight at 5 p.m. Eastern for a step-by-step cocktail tutorial on how to make this easy-drinking cocktail.
Cheers, friends!
Winter Paloma
- 2 oz tequila blanco
- 1 oz lime juice
- ¾ oz spiced cranberry syrup
- Club soda to top
- Garnish: smoked rosemary sprig
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1¼ cups water
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 strips of orange peel 2-inch thick
- 1/8 tsp salt
-
Add all ingredients to a shaker, excluding club soda, with ice and shake until well-chilled.
-
Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
-
Top with club soda.
-
Garnish with a sprig of rosemary lightly singed with a kitchen torch until smoking.
-
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium low. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not cook longer or the syrup will become jelly.
-
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
-
Fine strain into an airtight container.
