25 Nov Thanksgiving Made Easy: The Day After Cocktail Recipe

Thanksgiving Made Easy: The Leftover Day Cocktail Recipe

This week’s posts have been for those of us who perhaps bit off a little bit more than we can chew, had a dish or two more than the oven can really handle, and of course had an emergency come up this morning that threw the whole timetable into disarray. We still wanted to put a good drink into our guests’ hands, one that tastes good, looks good, and shows a little creativity. We just needed to be able to do that with zero time or mental energy. So this week’s drinks took it to the simplest possible level, with just one easy to find liquor and things you always have around the house or were picking up for Thanksgiving anyway.

Well, we’ve made it through Thanksgiving dinner. There were some harried moments, but in the end it was delicious, and wonderful to all be around the big table. We’re still a little tired out from the long day, but there’s still an entire long weekend ahead. Isn’t Thanksgiving the best?

You probably still want your drink to be easy, but maybe you have a little more energy and a little more interest in it being a bit more sophisticated. The perfect style of drink for just this occasion: an old fashioned. We keep this one seasonal with a hazelnut simple syrup.

The Leftover Day Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 oz silver rum
• 1/2 oz hazelnut syrup*

Instructions

• Pour hazelnut syrup into bottom of an old fashioned glass.
• Add the rum.
• Stir just enough to mix.
• Fill with ice.

*Hazelnut Syrup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup crushed hazelnuts (we couldn’t find crushed or even shelled hazelnuts alone; so we bought them in shell, shelled them, and muddled them)

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan.
• Bring to a boil.
• Bowl for 5 minutes. Smell it and taste it. If it has a good aroma and taste of hazelnut, turn off the heat; if not, taste again every few minutes until it does.
• Turn off the heat as soon as the hazelnut flavor is strong enough; it very quickly turns from just right to too thick.
• Let cool.
• Strain.