Christmas Cosmo

It's like drinking a Christmas tree!

Who doesn’t love a Cosmo? And who doesn’t love Christmas with family? Well, that’s why Jeezus gave us his blood as alcohol – to make celebrating his birthday with our family just a little bit easier… Okay, maybe I have the whole transubstantiation thing backwards, but I’m not much of a Christian… I just Thank The Lord Donald Fucking Trump for letting us say “Merry Christmas” again. #sarcasm

I actually don’t really love most Cosmos because they are a bit too light on the vodka and heavy on the sweetened cranberry juice, hence their “girly” Sex in the City reputation. But have no fear, oh ye fearless and fierce women (and men) who want a bold drink for the holidays! My version of the Cosmo uses unsweetened cranberry juice and rosemary. The cranberry is more sour and the rosemary infused vodka adds a distinct pine needle flavor and aroma. Rosemary infuses really quickly, only taking a day or so, but if you want to make this faster, crush up the rosemary (fresh is better, but dry will work as well if you don't have it) and infuse in the fridge for a few hours at least. Then, when you pour your vodka in your shaker, keep the rosemary in there and add even more before shaking. I’m a big fan of adding things into the shaker to get more flavor, especially the husks of citrus that you use for lemon/lime/orange juice. For this recipe, I quarter the lemon after I squeeze it and add the pieces into the shaker to get more lemon flavor from skin. I also had some leftover fresh cranberries from Thanksgiving (yes, they were still fresh) so I crushed them and threw them in as well. You might even try some orange zest and fresh orange juice in yours if you like it a bit sweeter. And that’s the whole fun of making cocktails – taking an exist recipe and experimenting with different ingredients and proportions. That’s how I come up with all my drinks and I encourage you to do the same!

Christmas Cosmo

• 2 oz. rosemary/cucumber infused vodka

• 1 oz. Lemon simple syrup

• ½ oz. lemon juice

• 2 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice

Add all to shaker with ice, shake, strain, pour and garnish with 3 cranberries skewered with a rosemary sprig.