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Congratulations! We made it to December…

which means you’ve earned a cocktail…or 12!

As a part of the 12 Drinks of Christmas series, I’m showcasing 12 festive cocktails that are sure to make your holidays merry. All in the name of making spirits bright, right?!

Today’s cocktail is called the Grinch Grog, and it is inspired by one of my all-time favorite Christmas stories, How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

The Grinch Grog; part of the 12 Drinks of Christmas Cocktail Series

I like to imagine that up there on the top of Mount Crumpet, the Grinch has his own way of celebrating the season, especially after his heart grew three sizes. This cocktail captures what I believe to be is the essence of Who-Ville and the Grinch. It’s got a nice bite of rum, but it’s still a little fruity. It’s got essence of Christmas spice, a velvety foam topping, and most importantly, it’s green.

The green tint in this Christmas cocktail is achieved by mixing just a dash of blue curaçao with orange juice– how clever is that?!

The rest of this cocktail comes together with the help of some really lovely rums like Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry Rum, Soggy Dollar Dark Rum, and Hamilton Pimento Dram. What exactly is Pimento Dram, you ask? It’s a spicy rum based liquor that’s bursting with allspice flavor, which is basically like Christmas in a bottle.

Also featured in this cocktail are Falernum and Orgeat, both are classic tiki ingredients boasting flavors of almond, citrus, and ginger.

The foamy top comes from the addition of a fresh egg white. Before you get all freaked out, yes! It’s safe! No, it doesn’t change the flavor…it actually adds a wonderful body to the drink, and serves as a nice snowy white canvas for some freshly grated cinnamon. They key to the foam is to first give the cocktail what’s called a “dry shake,” that is, a shake with no ice before later adding ice and shaking again. You really want to shake this mix–the longer the shake, the stronger the foam!

Grinch Grog Cocktail

Part of the 12 Drinks of Christmas Series, this cocktail offers a festive twist using classic tiki flavors!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 oz orange juice
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• Dash of blue curaçao (just enough to turn the orange juice green)
• 1 oz Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry Rum
• 1 oz Soggy Dollar Dark Rum
• 1/2 oz Hamilton Pimento Dram
• 1/4 oz Falernum
• 1/4 oz Orgeat
• 1 fresh egg white (can use pasteurized egg whites if you prefer, but it may not froth as nicely)

Instructions:

1. Carefully break the egg white into an empty cocktail shaker–you don’t need any ice just yet!
2. Combine the orange juice and lemon juice in a glass cup (You can use the one you plan to serve the drink in. This helps you to be able to see the color of the drink in the next step.)
3. Add the dash of blue curaçao– you’re looking for a sort of murky light green color. Once you have the color as green as you like, you can pour the mix into the cocktail shaker with the egg white.
4. Combine the remaining ingredients in the cocktail shaker, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds– still no ice in the shaker, the “dry shake” helps to emulsify the egg white.
5. Add ice to the shaker, and shake again for another 45-60 seconds. The longer the shake, the better the foam!
6. Fill a glass with crushed ice, and pour the cocktail into the glass.
7. Once the foam settles, grate cinnamon on the top of the cocktail before serving.