It's the Holiday Season
TM and of course that means that we all need some Holiday Cheer
TM. What better way to get your cheer than from a few good libations? Can you think of any better way? I didn't think so!
One of my favorite things about the holidays, ever since I was a kid, was hot, spiced apple cider. The apples, cinnamon, and other spices, all warmly working their way down your gullet in the cold weather....there's just something so relaxing and wonderful about it, that it just begs to be improved with rum. So for the past couple of years I've been experimenting with my own cider recipes to figure out the best way to be merry and warm that doesn't involve plane tickets and beaches.
Below are 2 recipes to help you out with your holiday merriment. First up is my recipe for Rum Apple Punch. I would call it "cider", but outside of the US no one calls it cider...cider in Britain (I've been informed repeatedly) is what we Americans refer to as "Hard Cider". So, out of deference to my buddy, Rich, in "The West Country" (where cider is a religion), I've titled this a "punch". The great thing about this is that it requires no crock pot or all-day steeping of ingredients (although you can do it that way and it's still pretty great). All you'll need is a pot, a stove, and a ladle.
Second is Mrs. Dood's Rumaccino recipe, crafted with great care at numerous parties in our very own kitchen.
Dood's Rum Apple Punch
1 quart apple juice (if you're in the USA, use Martinelli's Apple Cider, which is the best "soft cider" known to man)
2 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (preferably from Tahiti or Madagascar)
1 Tbsp crushed orange peel (fresh)
1 oz gold rum (preferably Jamaican - I use Appleton Estate V/X)
1/2 oz spiced rum (preferably Foursquare from Barbados)
Combine all ingredients into a pot (quart-size will do, obviously).
Do some extra crushing of the orange peel with the handle of a spoon to release more of the oils and flavor into the juice.
Heat over low flame for approx. 30 minutes, or until your kitchen and surrounding rooms smell like warm apples and cinnamon.
Serve in mugs with an extra ounce of rum, preferably Jamaican gold again, although I find that Flor de Cana from Nicaragua works wonderfully, as does Zaya from Guatemala. You'll probably want some method of filtration to serve this as there's a bit of particulate. Either a fine strainer or some cheesecloth will work (or I suppose you could put all of the spices into a spice ball or wrap them in cheesecloth for the steeping if you want to be clever about it).
And from the desk of Mrs. Dood...
Rumaccino
1 bottle Frappacino Light: Mocha Flavor
8 ice cubes
1 oz coffee rum (Brinley Gold)
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Bailey's
1 oz Cruzan Rum Creme
3 small scoops vanilla ice cream
Place ingredients in a blender, set to "Ice Crush" or "Crush Ice" or "Pulverize Frozen Water" and blend until smooth. These quantities make what should be 2 cocktails. While this doesn't possess the same immediate warming qualities of the punch, the rich decadence of the drink more than makes up for it.
Well, there you have it. Here's to a happy, safe, and rummy holiday season.