Buzz
The festive season tends to bring about overindulgence, and now those indulgences are catching up with me. Beyond the usual fatigue and mild bloating, my seasonal excitement is starting to subside, and it turns out that Christmas Claire may have gone a little overboard with food and alcohol purchases (yet again).
For example, rather than picking up a ready-made port wine cheeseball—a convenient processed snack found at any grocery store—I decided to make one from scratch. It turned out well (and was appreciated), but of course, a port wine cheeseball requires port wine, so now I have an almost full bottle of cheap, overly sweet port wine sitting in my kitchen, taunting me.
I had some of it on Christmas Eve, and, frankly, it wasn't great (although it worked perfectly in a mix of shredded cheddar and cream cheese). I'll probably cook with it, but I'd also like to drink it since, after all, it's an alcoholic beverage. Fortunately, when combined with bonded bourbon, the fruity, sweet port creates a pretty tasty old-fashioned-style cocktail.
By now, you’ve probably realized this isn’t a recipe for a drink made with high-end, expensive port. This is for the cheeseball port, or the eight-dollar bottle you grabbed at Trader Joe’s because it seemed like the festive thing to do. This is for the port someone brought to your office holiday party, which went unopened, so you took it home because you’re not one to waste.
In this case, port acts like a syrupy sweetener, but it also gives you the chance to say you’re ‘making a cocktail’—you’re not sipping straight bonded bourbon, not yet. And, while it may be a ‘cocktail,’ it’s a drink you can throw together right in the glass, which is great since who has the energy for stirring, shaking, or any of that extra fuss. To make it, you’ll need:
2 ounces bourbon, bottled in bond is ideal (rye will work too)
1 ounce of whatever port you bought this holiday season
3 dashes of Angostura bitters
Fill a lowball glass with ice, then pour all your ingredients over the ice. Give the glass a swirl, or stir it with your finger, and enjoy. If you’d like to add a garnish, a twist of orange zest would complement it nicely.
