Holiday parties call for holiday cocktails. Instead of the same old same old, why not sip from a different cup this year? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite drinks for you to try. Enjoy with friends and enjoy responsibly.
Ferrari Perlé
Can it even be a party if there isn’t something sparkling, bubbly, and golden? This holiday season we invite you to open a bottle from the fast lane. Ferrari is no stranger to the winner’s circle and their Trento is the official sparkling wine of the Formula1. This Italian Trentodoc is a velvety dream and the perlage is as superb as one would expect from the Perlé name and heritage. You’ll find hints of sweet almond blossom and reinette apples on the nose with a touch of spice and a hint of bread crust. From the mountain side of Trentino, the flavors are seductive and elegant in which one finds light fruity notes of ripe apples, pleasant hints of yeast, sweet almonds and a faintly aromatic quality that is typical of Chardonnay.
“This must surely be the benchmark for all Italian sparkling wine. Made from 100% Chardonnay, it has a toasty, biscuity nose but once sipped there is a refreshing, crisp acidity. Bright and clean, this is seriously good.”
-Wall Street Journal
MEZCAL AMARAS
Take a sip of this complex drink with notes of cacao and leather, bell pepper and mineral, and ponder how all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. To create mezcal, mescaleros take the core of the agave plant, called the piña, and roast the plant in conical pites in the ground. It is a tradition of Mexico that has a world wide demand. Nothing says your holiday break just started like a cocktail glass filled and dancing with Mezcal. Mezcal Amaras Cupreata, is crafted from thirteen-year-old agave plants in Tixtla, Guerrero, that have soaked up the terroir, imparting the rich complexity and arid dimensions of land with an Egyptian type mill and cooked with oak. Award winning for six years this is a special Mezcal that calls for celebration.
It sets in motion a journey into a universe of intricate flavors, deriving from the richness in the different species of wild agaves, carrying richer characteristics and bring to life unusual herbaceous notes that take you on an excursion into the forests of Guerrero.
-Mezcal Amaras
ITALICUS
Perhaps snow days are making the sugar plum fairies whisper stories of summer sweetness to you. When you need just a touch of July in Christmas Italicus is the perfect addition to your cocktail menu. Rosolio di Bergamotto, translates into “Morning dew of bergamot”, and it’s no surprise that this was the drink of choice for the Italian king and his court back in the day. Giuseppe Gallo, the founder of Italicus, was inspired to bring back this fabled drink from the Amalfi Coast. This sweet citrus dream takes aperitivos to the next level and it’s so easy to mix in a beautiful spritz or a Negroni Bianco. Your guests will thank you.
PALMAZ VINEYARDS
Palmaz Vineyards is celebrating twenty years in the vineyard and over that time they have stayed true to traditional methods while including modern technology. By using intuitive farming, they are able to meet the needs of the individual vine to help create a truly sustainable winery.
This year Palmaz Vineyards of Napa Valley are offering two 375ml bottles, one each of 2020 Amalia Chardonnay and 2019 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy for yourself or have shipped with personalized packaging to all of those who made it onto your “Nice” list.
MONKEY 47
European, exotic, nature loving and, well, quirky. Maybe it reads a bit like a dating profile but if you and your crew love a good G&T it looks like you’ve met your match. This award winning and deeply complex gin isn’t your every day drink. Based on the recipe from the Wing Commander Montgomery “Monty” Collins of the Royal Air Force, in 1945, the watch lover, cricket enthusiast, and globetrotter, was not only born in India and spoke five languages, but he loved nature and he loved gin. After the war he devoted time to help rebuild the Berlin Zoo and even sponsored a cute little egret monkey that he named Max.
He even opened a hotel in the Black Forest that he named Zum wilden Affen – “The Wild Monkey”, in honor of his monkey Max. He found that Germany offered many things but an excellent gin, not so much. Over the years he created a recipe with 47 local ingredients and it was this recipe that was rediscovered around the turn of the century. Now people the world over get to enjoy Monty’s hard work and dedication to the drink and the monkey he loved so much.
This year as you are laughing with friends and family, holiday cheer spilling over the rim of your glass, raise a toast to Monty, to Max, and to many more Christmases together.
PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY
- Photo Credits:
- Monkey 47
- Ferrari
- Italicus
- Mezcal Amaras
- Palmaz Vineyards