Northern Lights

February 05, 2010 (Day 6) — Northern Lights

Schnapps has never really been something that’s shown up in my liquor cabinet. Ever, really. To me, schnapps smacks of high school booze parties, getting wasted out in the country and trying to figure out who was sober enough to drive back into town without killing anyone (ah, to grow up in small town America). Apple Pucker. Hot Damn. Butterscotch Schnapps. Theses were meant for the realm of underage drinkers. Surely, a boozy dandy such as myself would have no such use for pedestrian things such as… SCHNAPPS.

Me (Artist’s Rendering)

And man, I’ve been missing out. It’s something I realized I needed to start adding to my cabinet several years ago, as I got more and more bartending books that called for schnapps. Yet there I was, standing in the liquor store staring at the neon-glow labels of modern schnapps, feeling that same familiar sweaty-handed worry that was associated with surreptitious drinking of high school and college. But finally, upon Jenn’s instance that I start making some cocktails that were a little more winter-geared (like there’s six inches of snow on the ground! … Oh… wait…) more than half of them called for schnapps.

So, like a middle-aged man unaware that he’s too old be drinking Jaegermeister anymore, I bit the bullet and bought some schnapps last night. And tonight: We use it! Tonight’s drink is a little ditty called “Northern Lights,” and is an interesting meddly of bourbon, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice. Without further ado:

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz peach schnapps
• 2 oz orange juice
• 2 oz cranberry juice

Get yourself a rocks glass and fill with ice. Pour the bourbon, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice over ice, mix (again, my mixer of choice is a plastic chop stick).

Northern Lights! No Southern Comfort…

Surprisingly good, actually. The fruitiness of the schnapps and the fruit juice coupled with the sweetness of the bourbon gives it an interesting flavor. It has an almost… maple-syrup taste to it, without the sickening sweetness. As Jenn said (cribbing a line from Canada’s Corner Gas) “It’s zesty, without being too preachy.”

It’s has a good warmth for those winter nights, but not a burn that’s going to put off and remind you of those long nights at CBGB’s slamming down whiskey with the Ramons.

And if Jenn, the consumate bourbon hater, enjoys it, ees good!

Genieße das Leben ständig!

Du bist länger tot als lebendig!

— Mark