Last-Minute Gift

RECIPE: Nathan Elliott, Bacchus Bar, Portland, Oregon

Photo: Carly Diaz

December 22, 2019

The Last-Minute Gift is a twist on the holiday season’s most notorious dessert: fruitcake. “My hangup with holiday cocktails is that they’re often cloyingly sweet,” says Nathan Elliott, lead bartender at Portland, Oregon’s Bacchus Bar. “I wanted to take the flavors of an iconic fruitcake and rework them into a drinkable cocktail—but one that’s not too heavy or sweet.”

Ingredients

1½ oz. blended scotch
1 oz. spiced oat milk
½ oz. dry curaçao
¼ oz. Cherry Heering
¼ oz. demerara syrup
1 dash walnut bitters

Tools:Shaker, strainer
Glass:double Old Fashioned
Garnish:rosemary sprig and dried fruit

Preparation

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake briefly. Strain over fresh ice in a double Old Fashioned glass and garnish.

Spiced Oat Milk: In a sealable container, combine 1 quart of oat milk with 4 cinnamon sticks, 2 tablespoons of allspice berries and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Seal and shake well, then refrigerate for 24 hours. Strain and bottle for use.