A Warm Cup of Cheer

Rest assured I’m not much of a poet (as you will soon see below).

But one day in late November, as I sat in my office, with bone-chilling winds whipping past my window and the persistent patter of raindrops beating a rhythm in my head, the following rhyme popped into my mind, unbidden but welcome:

As the weather turns colder,
And the holidays draw near,
‘Tis the season to celebrate
With a warm cup of cheer.

In search of a warm cup of cheer, I turned to my bookshelf and pulled down A.J. Rathbun’s witty, well-researched, and gorgeously photographed new book: Dark Spirits: 200 Classy Concoctions Starring Bourbon, Brandy, Scotch, Whiskey, Rum, and More (Harvard Common Press, 2009). I was immediately drawn to the Hot Stuff chapter since it promised “to warm me from the inside out.” I love the soul-soothing recipes it contains, such as Irish Coffee (a classic), Hot Whiskey Sling, and Ambrosia (hot coffee, brandy, and Galliano).

The photograph of Aunt Betsy’s Favorite--a warm, wine-based drink--looked like something I’d want to wrap my lips and hands around. And what’s not to like about a mixture of Cab Sauv, port, brandy, and sweet spices?

Ever the nosy journalist, I checked in with A.J. to find out more about Aunt Betsy. He told me she was a former boss who was like an aunt to him and who (sadly) has since passed on. We agreed that reprinting the recipe would be a fine, fair, and fitting tribute to a wonderful woman.

So in the spirit of Aunt Betsy and other dear departed relatives and friends, I invite you to brew up a batch of Aunt Betsy’s Favorite, gather around the fire, and celebrate the holiday season. 

Aunt Betsy’s Favorite

Ingredients:
24 ounces red wine , such as a dry Cabernet Sauvignon
16 ounces tawny port
8 ounces brandy
4 ounces Simple Syrup
1 orange peel
3 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Directions:
1. Add all of the ingredients to a medium-size saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes. You want it to get good and hot, but not start boiling, or even simmering. Reduce the heat midway through the cooking time if needed.

2. Once the 10 minutes have passed and the room smells wonderful, ladle the mix into heavy mugs. Avoid serving the orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon stick if your pals are worried about clunking up their smiles.

Serves 6

Excerpted from Dark Spirits, by A.J. Rathbun. (c) 2009, used by permission from The Harvard Common Press.

Photograph by Melissa Punch.

--Braiden Rex-Johnson

Photo of Braiden by Ingrid Pape-Sheldon.

Comments

[Tabel20 on December 19, 2009 at 07:23 AM]

Wow nice recipe thanks for the blog :) its cool

By http://www.tabel20.com/

[Nasir on January 05, 2010 at 10:39 AM]

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[connectonlineshop on January 06, 2010 at 08:35 AM]

nice..keep it up

[shopinsummer on January 06, 2010 at 09:43 AM]

great recipe..i will try and share my views......

[perfumeinside on January 06, 2010 at 10:31 AM]

sound cool...

[noshi on January 07, 2010 at 04:08 PM]

this blog has awesome recipes....

[Sweden Study on January 16, 2010 at 01:15 PM]

Hej, I have troed this dish and its really very tasty..I ham in Sweden and was bit problem for the ingredients as I am not good in Swedish so it was hard to collect all but its goood..Thanks for the wonderful blog post

[John on February 22, 2010 at 02:01 AM]

yummy recipes..... :)

[Resa on February 22, 2010 at 02:03 AM]

looking awesome......do u have some more post like this

[Frida on February 23, 2010 at 07:31 AM]

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[SEO Company on March 04, 2010 at 06:58 AM]

I have tried this recipe. IT taste very good. Hope to see some good dish in future.

[Smink online on March 30, 2010 at 09:19 AM]

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