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Welcome to “Cookbook of the Week.” This is a series where I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While finding a particular recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has a magic all its own.
I am obsessed with the winter holiday season. It feeds into all of my slightly unhealthy tendencies—shopping, snacking, use of glitter—and gives them space to flourish for four to six weeks. One more of my great seasonal passions is holiday entertaining with festive cocktails. Not the brooding G&T or fluttery Aperol spritz but cocktails that function as a treat—ones that are celebratory, ones that require loved ones to be gathered ‘round. You can probably understand why my choice for Cookbook of the Week, at this point in December, is Gather Around Cocktails.
About the book
While I chose this with the holiday season in mind, this cocktail book isn’t just centered around beverages for winter holidays, but has loads of “drinks to celebrate usual and unusual holidays” too. You can find the right cocktail for a Groundhog Day party, a Purim Rager, May the Fourth, or even mocktails for Dry January.
The author, Aaron Goldfarb, describes himself as “a Brooklyn husband and dad who likes to throw a great party.” Most of that, I can relate to. (I’m a Brooklyn mother of two cat-children.) This cocktail book doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff, either. Goldfarb has a short preamble in the front, mostly describing what you’re about to jump into, and kicks it off with a syrups and sweeteners section that you’ll be directed back to throughout the pages.
Goldfarb’s creativity and obvious inclination toward being silly and having fun with your beverages is what really sold me on this collection of repeatable cocktail recipes. In the section For Hanukkah Menorah Lighting, he has a Jelly Doughnut Beertail, which looks tempting, followed up on the next page with The Rum Fire Shots Menorah. It is a stack of shots mimicking the shape of a menorah. They are all on fire. It’s incredible.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann/Gather Around Cocktails
A great cocktail book for someone who celebrates every occasion
You know the type: Your mother-in-law who is always throwing a party; your nephew who celebrated National Grilled Cheese Day last month and National Dalmatians with Bowties Day last week. Anyone from New Orleans. There are some folks who can find joy in all occasions, big and small, and this is a book that seems to have been written for them. Obviously, if they like alcohol then they’ll get a lot more out of it.
The recipes you can expect
You won’t find boring recipes in Gather Around Cocktails. There seems to be a little twist with every recipe; something that makes you think, “Ooh I didn’t expect that.” You must expect to put a little work in with making the occasional syrup, and having an adventurous palate will help, as well. Each recipe has the serving size written at the top right, the type of party it’s matched for (like A New Year’s Eve Blowout or New Year’s Day Gathering) on the top left, and a headnote with useful tips, and an easy to read recipe. This formatting makes it a breeze to flip through as you look for your occasion, and if you’ll need to scale up the recipe or not.
Gather Around Cocktails has an array of batch sizes too, from single-servings to massive batches—such as Ponche Navideño, which serves 16 to 24 cocktails. I rather like those options because having a group of friends over might be a party of four, or a bash for 20. With this book you don’t have to math your way up and calculate dilution for a large party; you can just choose among the batched recipes. Likewise, you don’t have to reverse it for just one serving.
Like eggnog, for example. (Foreshadowing!)
The drink I made this week
I dive headfirst into the Christmas season, and surprisingly, this book doesn’t start with January holidays; it starts with winter ones. I didn’t have to go far to find the most Christmas-y drink: eggnog. Goldfarb kicks things off with his Homemade Eggnog recipe, and it looks fluffy and delicious. Sadly, it is for 10 to 15 people, and I am just one. Well it seems like Aaron Goldfarb has had this happen to him before too. because the next pages are replete with single-serving eggnog recipes and notes about eggnog from other countries.
Once I discovered Spiced Mexican Chocolate Nog, I knew I had arrived. “Makes one cocktail.” Perfect. I scanned the six-part ingredient list and got to work. I’m not vegan, and I have no problem drinking raw eggs, but I had an open can of coconut milk in the fridge that I’ve been trying to use up. Plus, Masala Chai blend is an ingredient in this cocktail and I simply cannot resist.
The only hesitation I had was that the main alcohol used is mezcal, which I don’t normally go for. However, I trust coconut milk’s power to tame harsh flavors so I went along with the recipe. I’m glad I did. This is a holiday nog I would gladly make again for myself or batch up for others. The smoky notes from the mezcal play nicely with the chai seasoning and chocolate bitters, while the coconut milk mellows everything out with its fats, and of course, brings in a delicious flavor of its own.
It’s listed as a good cocktail for a Vegan Christmas Bash, and I couldn’t agree more. The coconut milk is beautifully thick and velvety, something you’d normally get from the egg and heavy cream. I didn’t miss those ingredients at all. Plus, if you’re a coconut lover then you’re bound to be smitten, vegan or not.
How to buy it
Now is a great time to grab a copy of Gather Around Cocktails. Do a practice run this coming week and settle on which cocktail best fits your New Year’s Eve party. For additional party inspiration, check out my write up of Batch Cocktails for even larger party prepping.
