Trying to get ahead of the game, I’ve got six people staying with me for a week this holiday season and I would love to make a kind of batch cocktail. I’ve made egg nog in the past and loved it, but I’ve got two avid egg nog haters and one gluten free dietary restriction. Is there anything I can make that is generally well liked but still fun? I like decorating my drinks and making them all fancy. I mostly drink whiskey based cocktails, but I also enjoy every kind of cocktail that doesn’t have gin.
If you like egg nog and want to try something kind of similar, try Coquito. It’s spiced coconut cream and rum. It’s got a similar texture without any eggs and a lot of those holiday spices. Here’s a recipe. It can be batched up and stored for a week or two in the fridge.
The other one I like is Amaro Caldo. It’s just hot water and your favorite amaro. I prefer to use tea instead of plain water. A black tea plus an ounce or two of Montenegro is really tasty.
Oh, sweet! I do really love egg nog, so I’ll have to test this one out even if it’s just for me. I’m not familiar with Amaro though, what’s it like?
Amaro is a very loose category of liqueurs. It’s spirits and/or wine infused with a variety of herbs and other flavors. It’s bitter and often very sweet at the same time, with a complex mix of other flavors. There really is so much variety it’s hard to narrow down, but a couple personal favorites are Cynar (very bitter), Montenegro (kind of sweet), and Amaro Nonino (well balanced).
Amaros are liqueurs, always sweet and usually bitter. Tuaca is the one we call “the winter Aperol” in my house.
My wife makes coquito every year. It’s coconut milk and enough booze that if you have a safe recipe, keeps forever refrigerated. We hand some jars out as gifts and people who come over the house sample this batch next to last year’s.