By Jackie Zykan
With over 20 years of experience in beverage alcohol, and a love affair with the natural world, I am delighted to share some of Kentucky’s finest distilled spirits alongside fresh, local, and seasonal botanicals.
Our memories are inundated with scents, and none more significant than those which call upon the nostalgia of the holiday season. The practice of stove top potpourri is one far less common these days amid the options of candles and diffusers. However, there’s something irreplicable and sacred about the intentional gathering of dried herbs and spices to simmer and fill your home with aromas of the season. For the holiday cocktail feature, I wanted to bridge the gap between this seemingly antiquated past time and the world of the hot toddy. This particular recipe embraces mulling spices and a very charming little evergreen to fill your home with warmth and unforgettable cozy memories.
This recipe is conducive to any Kentucky Bourbon you have available; however I do recommend using one which does not exceed 45% alcohol by volume. Not a bourbon fan? Rum or brandy can also work wonders in this build. When drinks are served warm, alcohol presence can be exacerbated in the final result. To maintain balance while sipping, keep the proof down to a minimum. In addition, warm drinks tend to be sipped quickly before they lose their temperature. For responsibility measures, a reduction in proportion of spirit in a warm drink recipe is advised.
Featured Kentucky Flora: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
On a recent trip to explore foragable aromatics in the northeast, I was introduced to the darling little leaves and berries of wintergreen growing along the trail. Much to my pleasant surprise, this fascinating little evergreen grows in Kentucky amid the shade of hardwood forests. Known as a natural breath mint, the leaves and berries are edible and delightfully refreshing, despite being more closely related to heather than mint. Also known as eastern teaberry, checkerberry, and box berry, this charming little native expresses a potent and familiar scent. While it is minty in nature, the plant is part of a different genus entirely and expresses a sweeter mint scent which does not come from menthol. The culprit for the mint-like aroma in wintergreen is methyl salicylate, which is structurally similar to aspirin. The presence of this compound has led to wintergreen’s use in herbal medicine applications for inflammation and pain relief. The leaves can be soaked in hot water to create a tea perfect to balance the intensity and overwhelm that the holiday season can sometimes bring - whether from overindulgence or stress from travels.
Mountain Tea Toddy
8 oz Hot Water ½ oz Spiced Honey Syrup* 1 oz Kentucky Bourbon, 80-90 proof 5 Dried Winterberry Leaves 1 Dried Orange Wheel Assorted Dried Cranberries and Winterberries
Directions: Combine ingredients in a mug, stir.Mocktail Variation
Mocktail Variation
Simply omit the bourbon in the recipe to enjoy as a spiced herbal tea.
Spiced Honey Syrup
yields ~12 oz (~20 cocktails) 1 cup water 1 tsp whole cloves 1 tsp whole allspice 3 cinnamon sticks 2 star anise ⅓ cup whole dried ginger or ¼ cup fresh sliced ginger 1 cup honey
Directions: Combine all ingredients except honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer to reduce by half. Add honey, allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then strain. Keep syrup refrigerated.
Batching A Warm Cocktail
Warm drinks are made easy to serve to a crowd by leaning into the ever-useful staple: the crock pot. For this recipe, scale up the following as needed depending on the size of your slow cooker. Maintain the temperature by using the low heat setting or “warm”, and to serve simply ladle into mugs as desired.
Batch Recipe (Per Quart)
32 oz Water 4 oz Kentucky Bourbon 2 oz Spiced Honey Syrup 20 Dried Wintergreen Leaves 4 Dried Orange Wheels
Drying The Tea
This recipe relies on a whole ingredient tea blend, which is just to say the components have not been ground or reduced in their original form. This results in a visually gorgeous cup of tea and subtle flavors due to large pieces steeping. To dry the ingredients for this recipe, I would recommend starting with your cranberries and citrus slices first as they will take the longest. Spread cut fruit on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep in a warm oven until dried. You can also use a dehydrator if you have one. The winterberry leaves will dry relatively quickly and are done once they are crisp and have changed color from dark forest green to a lighter sage. I like to start with the fruit on the sheet pan, then as it is about halfway dry, I add the leaves to finish the process out. Store dried ingredients in an airtight jar. This makes a lovely gift for any tea or cocktail loving host!