Cocktail Recipe: Townline BBQ's Up On the Rooftop

Locally, cranberry season runs from at minimum Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, so this ho-ho-ho variation on the enduring classic Cosmo currently being offered at Townline BBQ is both festive, and timely! With major upgrades for specialty ingredients including the excellent all NY-sourced vodka from Billion Oyster Project, and Clear Creek Distillery’s remarkable cranberry liqueur, the addition of toasted holiday spices to the house-made cranberry syrup shouts, “HOLIDAY CHEER!” into the finished drink.

TOWNLINE BBQ UP ON THE ROOFTOP

Ingredients

1.5 oz Culch Billion Oyster Project Vodka
1 oz Clear Creek Cranberry Liqueur
.75 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
.5 oz Stirrings Triple Sec
.5 oz Spiced cranberry syrup (directions below)
2 drops Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters

Garnish: dried lemon wheel   Glassware: 10 oz crystal tumbler or double-old fashioned

Directions: Add all ingredients to a shaker over good bar ice, shake vigorously, double strain over King cube or sphere ice

Pro tip: Clarify your ice cubes by double-boiling distilled or filtered water before freezing.

TO MAKE THE SYRUP:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast zest of 1 orange, 3 star anise, 2 clove, 1 nutmeg (grate some into syrup), 1 bay leaf. Watch for orange peel curling and oils releasing from spices. Add to stockpot. In heavy-bottom stockpot, add: 1 C. cranberries, 1 C. raw honey, 4 C. Culch Vodka, juice of zested orange, ¼ tsp ground ginger. Bring ingredients to just under boiling until cranberries “pop” and reduce to simmer. Steep together on low for 3 hours, press cranberry mixture thoroughly through chinois/cheesecloth + strainer to conserve all liquid, discard solids.

Yield ~16oz, keeps well refrigerated for several months.