5 festive drinks and a mocktail to toast with this holiday season

Nothing says the holidays like a festive beverage. But these aren’t your standard Old Fashioned or Cosmo. Mixed drinks have become more refined — they are artisanal cocktails crafted from immersive mixology where fresh ingredients and science are at play.

Local bartenders provided the Tribune-Review with their best easy recipes for the amateur, budding mixologist at home this holiday season.

But don’t try this at home: operate a torch to smoke wood chips to infuse bourbon for the signature Smokestack at Lawrenceville’s Industry Public House.

“It takes some finesse, and unless you have a fire extinguisher, it’s a good idea to leave those kinds of drinks to the professionals,” said Steven “Shipwreck Asunder” Kalajainen, the bar captain at Industry Public House.

Great taste and smokiness without the flame are possible with Shipwreck’s recipe for a toasted marshmallow Old Fashioned.

“It has a warm campfire feeling,” he said. Now, if Shipwreck was making the drink for you, he would use an atomizer sprayer to apply a fine mist to top it off with a layer of Islay Scotch.

Aimee McCune and Deanna Tomlinson, mixologists at The Venue in downtown Greensburg, have a host of holiday drink specials at the ready.

One of the most popular — not just at Christmastime but year-round — is their raspberry fields cocktail, made with Stolichnaya raspberry vodka, Chambord, fresh lemon juice and fresh raspberry puree.

“People really love when we have cocktails made with freshly squeezed juice,” Tomlinson said.

Professional bartenders also put the effort into infusing simple syrup with fresh ingredients.

Devin Goyak, a mixologist at the Bitter End cocktail bar in Etna, uses fresh herbs and fruits to add to his simple syrup. Armed with a chemistry background, he makes a variety of simple syrups flavored with mint, rosemary, lavender, cinnamon sticks and more.

Simple syrup lives up to its name — it’s quite simply dissolved sugar in water — but it can get complicated.

Goyak created his candy cane martini that “tastes like Christmas,” and adding fresh mint sprigs in the simple syrup “gives it a bit of a fresh, minty kick.”

“It’s easy,” Goyak said.

For him. Bartenders have techniques and the tools to produce a variety of herb-infused simple syrups that aren’t so easy if you don’t have the utensils.

For the candy cane martini, Goyak said to muddle the mint and simple syrup in a tumbler or shaker and add the drink ingredients and ice in the same tumbler. Then, cover and shake. Remove the top and place a large strainer over the top of the tumbler to catch the ice and pour directly into a small sieve strainer over a chilled martini glass.

Goyak prefers Belvedere or Tito’s vodka for smoothness, along with Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps liqueur and simple syrup for a “well-rounded candy cane in the end.” However, he warns, “you have to be careful, the Rumple Minze is 100 proof.”

Goyak developed the drink because candy canes are nostalgic.

“I like to create what other people can enjoy and spread a little happiness,” he said.

Nikki Wright, owner and lead bartender of Freeport beverage catering business the Bubbly Bar, suggests the popular tequila-based pomegranate ginger paloma for the holidays.

“It tastes like heaven,” she said. “It’s sweet and fruity. If you top it with the ginger beer, it gives it a mulish taste. You can build the drink on top of the ice and just shake. Home bartenders can get as fresh as they like with this drink — squeeze the juices with the tart tastes and top it off with ginger beer.”

She uses store-bought pomegranate or fresh grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave or simple syrup, which becomes a bit more complicated when adding fresh ginger and mint, she said. But totally worth it (see recipe).

The black walnut Manhattan is a favorite seasonal drink for Ivan Rojas-Gallardo, lead bartender at the Holiday House at The Maverick in East Liberty.

“It makes you feel warm and reminds me of cozying up to the fire with family,” he said.

It’s a complex but approachable drink for someone who doesn’t typically consume spirit-forward (alcohol-heavy) cocktails, he added.

While Rojas-Gallardo favors certain ingredients, particularly fresh herbs for some beverages, he describes himself as a traditional bartender.

“I just want to make a good drink like an Old Fashioned with maybe a twist or two of rosemary,” he said.

For one of his mocktails, pomegranate rosemary lemonade, Rojas-Gallardo uses rosemary-infused simple syrup. Using fresh rosemary is crucial, he said.

“There is still moisture in the plant and, when we make simple syrup, that moisture transfers the flavor of the herb during the cooking process.”

Rojas-Gallardo gravitates to classic drinks, adhering to the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Cheers.

Liquid merriment from local bartenders

Toasted marshmallow Old Fashioned

From Steven “Shipwreck Asunder” Kalajainen of Industry Public House in Lawrenceville.

2 ounces bourbon

2 dashes cranberry bitters

¼ ounce marshmallow syrup

Black walnut Manhattan

A riff off an old classic by Ivan Rojas-Gallardo of the Holiday House at The Maverick in East Liberty.

2 ounces George Dickel rye whiskey

1 ounce Averna Amaro liqueur

3 dashes of black walnut bitters

Pour ingredients in a pint or mixing glass and stir with ice for 20 seconds, strain into drinking glass with large ice cube and garnish with Luxardo maraschino cherries.

Candy cane martini

From Devin Goyak of the Bitter End in Etna.

1½ ounces Belvedere vodka

1 ounce Rumple Minze

½ ounce dry vermouth

½ ounce simple syrup

Shake and double strained into chilled martini glass. Garnish with wrapped mini candy cane.

Pomegranate ginger paloma

From Nikki Wright of the Bubbly Bar in Freeport.

2 ounces tequila

1 ounce specialty simple syrup

½ cup pomegranate juice

¼ cup grapefruit juice

1 ounce lime juice

Ginger beer, to taste

Heat ½ cup water and 1 cup honey in small saucepan on low, stirring until honey fully dissolves. Peel a 3-inch piece of ginger and add to saucepan. Optional: ½ teaspoon of cayenne for spice. Stir in ½ cup fresh mint leaves. Turn off heat and cover with lid. Let steep for at least five minutes or up to 30 minutes for stronger flavor. Top with ginger beer.

Raspberry fields forever

From Aimee McCune and Deanna Tomlinson of The Venue in Greensburg.

1 jigger Stolichnaya raspberry vodka

½ ounce Chambord

1 freshly squeezed lemon wedge

fresh raspberry puree, to taste

½ ounce Triple Sec

½ounce cranberry juice

Mocktail: pomegranate rosemary lemonade

From Ivan Rojas-Gallardo of the Holiday House at The Maverick in East Liberty.

1½ ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ ounces pomegranate juice

¾ ounces rosemary simple syrup

Club soda, to taste

Mix equal parts raw cane sugar and water, about a ½ cup each in a saucepan on low medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, let sit for half-hour to 1 hour. Strain rosemary out. Build the drink over top of ice in a Collins glass. Top with club soda and stir.

Staff writer Patrick Varine contributed to this report.