ADULT HAMANTASHEN

Purim, as they say, is in the air, and an interesting thought came to me not long after I enjoyed a bit of Gentleman Jack one recent Shabbat afternoon. Checking the bottle to make sure there would be enough left for the upcoming Purim gaiety, an intriguing way to combine two of the festival’s culinary customs dawned on me: Bourbon-laced hamantashen.

Using spirits in cooking is by no means original. Strange, I thought, that I’ve never yet encountered spiked hamantashen.

Surely, they must be out there, I said to myself. And indeed, they are. Others, I found, also came up with the idea of infusing the, um, spirit of the holiday by adding spirits of various proofs to the prune, poppy seed or apricot filling. Rum and Irish Cream liqueur have been used and I imagine the results were more than a little interesting. And yet, on the Internet, nary a mention of Adult Hamantashen.

To correct this oversight, it is high time that a new Purim tradition – spiked hamantashen – be added to the ancient customs.

Not that the idea is altogether foolproof, however. Some precautions need to be taken:

• Bourbon should be used rather than scotch, rye or rum. I could probably come up with some excellent reasons for this, but the fact is I like bourbon and am less partial to the others.

• The bourbon used should be at least eight years old and no less than 80% proof. Wild Turkey, Knob Creek or, of course, my good buddy Jack Daniels.

• Walnuts or dates are the fillings of choice. Prune and apricot clash a bit with the wonderful complexity of the bourbon, and poppy seed is best left for the kids.

So enjoy and may you all have a very, very freilicha (happy) Purim – with or without the assistance of my Adult Hamantashen.