DRINK: Get cozy with three wintry cocktails — including a very grown-up hot chocolate — from Yosemite’s Tenaya Lodge.
Cocktail
Crisp, wintry days and chilly, star-filled nights have arrived at Yosemite, and cozying up by the fire — or the bar — is more appealing than ever. So we turned to the mixologists at Yosemite’s Tenaya Lodge, where the inn’s Jackalope’s Bar & Grill pays homage to the mythical antlered jack rabbit-antelope. The resort, which includes a spa, ice rink and snowshoeing trails, is in Fish Camp, near the park’s southern gate.
Their suggestions included Jackalope’s spicy, veggie-filled High Sierra Bloody Mary, a velvety, sophisticated Luxardo Old Fashioned — with a sweet Luxardo cherry garnish to balance the rich bourbon — and a decadent Chocolate Spice and Everything Nice. The latter is a grownup hot chocolate, perfect for sipping by the fire, with a spiced rum kick to balance the sweet chocolate and butterscotch notes. Cheers!
High Sierra Bloody Mary
Serves 1 Salt for rimming the glass 2½ ounces Grey Goose
vodka 10-inch celery stalk with
leaves 8-inch long carrot stick 10-inch green onion stalk 1 pickled asparagus spear Major Peters’ Bloody Mary Mix or your favorite mix Lemon wedge Lime wedge Skewered garnish: 1 slice yellow pepper, 1 pearl onion, 1 green olive and 1 gherkin pickle
Salt the rim of a 22ounce glass. Fill glass with ice cubes. Pour the vodka over the ice. Stand the celery, carrot, green onion and pickled asparagus in the glass. Add enough bloody mary mix to fill the glass ¾ full, and stir with celery stalk. Cut a small slice in the citrus wedges so the lemon and lime can perch securely on the glass rim. Thread the remaining garnish on a skewer, place it over the glass rim and serve.
Luxardo Old Fashioned
Serves 1 Note: Simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar brought to a boil to dissolve the sugar, then cooled.
1/8 ounce simple syrup 2 drops Angostura aromatic bitters 1 /8 ounce Luxardo cherry syrup (from the cherries jar) 1 ½ ounces Makers Mark
Bourbon Garnish: 1 orange slice and 2 Luxardo maraschino cherries
In a double rocks glass, muddle the simple syrup, bitters and cherry syrup. Add a large ice cube. Pour bourbon over ice and stir to blend ingredients. Garnish with cherries and orange slice.
Chocolate Spice and Everything Nice
Serves 1 1 ounce Captain Morgan
Rum 1 ounce butterscotch
schnapps 4 ounces of your favorite
hot chocolate, warmed 1 ounce whipped cream, sweetened with sugar to taste ¼ ounce grated dark
chocolate
Pour rum and schnapps into a glass mug. Top with hot chocolate. Garnish with whipped cream and top with grated chocolate.