It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … Drinks.

Ho, Ho Ho! The Snowball is showing up everywhere you go!

Speaking of snow, we plowed our way through 2 Christmas bowl drinks, so the Christmas Cocktail Project continues:

English Bishop

2 oranges
Whole Cloves
2 Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks
Brown Sugar
375ml Coruba or other Dark rum
32 oz Unfiltered Apple Juice Nutmeg

Pierce Oranges with toothpick and insert cloves. Wet oranges and roll in brown sugar to coat. Place oranges in baking dish and roast in a 350° oven until they brown slightly. In a saucepan, add cinnamon sticks (broken) to dark rum and warm. Remove oranges, cut into wedges and add to heat-safe ceramic bowl (large enough for 1 gallon of liquid). Add ½ cup Brown sugar and muddle together with oranges. When Rum begins to vaporize, add rum and cinnamon to orange-sugar mixture. Take the bowl to a fire-safe location and set on fire. At your discretion, put out the fire by pouring in the apple cider. Serve warm in footed glass mugs, dust top with fresh grated nutmeg.

I cobbled this recipe together from Jerry Thomas’s book and other online sources. The Smell of this one was amazing: The quick-made Pomanders roasting in the oven produced a gorgeous scent that filled the whole house with Christmas. Setting it on fire was a blast as well.

Feuerzangenbowle

1 Orange
1 Lemon
1 Bottle Red Table Wine
10 Whole Cloves
10 Allspice Berries
5 Cardamom Pods
2 Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks
375ml Coruba or other Dark Rum
1 Sugar Hat (Zukerhut)

Using a Channel knife, zest/carve orange and lime into Crockpot on low. Cut Orange and Lemon in wedges and add to pot. Add wine and spices. Let this mixture mull for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, warm rum in saucepan. place tongs on bowl and set sugar hat on tongs. Soak sugar hat with warmed rum and set alight. With a long-handled metal ladle (in a fire-safe location), pour remaining rum over burning sugar to melt into bowl. When the rum and sugar have been added to the bowl, put out the fire and stir. Serve warm in glass footed mugs.

Feuerzangebowle will feature prominently around our annual Christmas Party, which is themed on the peculiar Germanic Christmas icon “Der Krampus.” It’s called “Gruss vom Krampus” and this is the fourth annual celebration. If you’re in the Portland area the weekend of December 7-9th, drop me a line and I’ll shoot you an evite.

-=C