Much as we might like otherwise, few of us have the cash, time or energy to maintain a full bar. And that can be a bummer, particularly as we move through the holidays and are constantly tempted to pour ourselves (sometimes even our guests) something creative and delicious to help make the season merry.
So this year we’re taking a fresh approach to the holiday cocktail situation. We’re going to limit ourselves to one liquor and build an entire bar’s worth of cocktails around that. This way, no worrying about tracking down obscure (and expensive) liquors. Just stock up on the booze and everything else can be grabbed at the grocer.
We decided to build our bar around gin. It’s an exceedingly versatile liquor that works well with so many flavors. Its spicy notes also mean it plays well with the heavier foods we tend to eat this time of year. And if gin isn’t your thing, most of these ideas also would work well with vodka.
• 9 FRESH COCKTAIL IDEAS USING GIN: Start with 1½ ounces chilled gin:
Grapefruit: Add 2 ounces grapefruit juice and ½ teaspoon sugar to the gin in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain.