LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2024

GOING GREEN

Cedar-Smoked Rye-Berry Cocktail This drink layers on the woodsy cedar flavour three ways: in a festive syrup, in pretty ice cubes and as a smoke treat ment used on the serving glass. Cranberries (optional), for decorative ice Cedar sprigs (optional), for decorative ice 11/2 oz Canadian whisky 1 oz Cranberry Cedar Syrup (p. 202) Cedar chips, for smoking (optional) 3 oz sparkling water 1. The night before serving, make dec orative ice cubes by nestling cranberries and cedar sprigs in an ice tray; fill with water and freeze overnight. 2. Fill a cocktail pitcher or shaker tin with ice, add whisky and syrup, then stir until thoroughly chilled, about 30 seconds. 3. On a heatproof surface (such as a metal sheet pan) and away from smoke detectors (and/or with the kitchen fan on), prepare an Old Fashioned or lowball glass for serving. Use a culinary torch or lighter to light a cedar chip. Place flamed chip on pan and enclose it with an upside down glass, capturing the fragrant smoke. When smoke has com pletely disappeared, remove glass. 4. Add a few cubes of decorative ice to the glass. Add chilled cocktail and top with sparkling water. Stir gently.

TIP

Use any extra Cranberry

Cedar Syrup to sweeten a salad vinaigrette or spice up winter sangria or mulled wine.

Makes 1 cocktail

EVERGREENS 101

Prep Them Dip branches in lightly soapy water to remove dust and dirt; rinse, and shake and air-dry. Remove brown needles or fronds. Split the bottom few centimetres of stems and place in water.

Get Them Snip evergreen twigs from your own trees, but choose branches above pet height! Or buy boughs at tree lots, flower shops or grocery and hardware stores over the holidays.

Spot Them Pines have little bunches of long, thin needles. Bushy branches with single needles that roll between fingertips are likely spruce; fir needles are flat. Cedar fronds are flat and scaly.

148

———————— HOLIDAY 2024