Tag Archives: holidays

Let’s Get Punchy! 3 Holiday Punch Recipes

For me nothing says holiday festivities quite like a big ol’ batch of punch! Many fine parties have begun around a punch bowl. By serving punch, you’ll not only satisfy your unquenchable guests but also save yourself the crazy expense of trying to have a full bar at your shindig.

Even better yet, you can prepare most of these ahead of time! Mixing everything except the bubbly components (if your recipe calls for it!) allows the flavors to marry together. And that makes for some mighty fine punch!

The Long Hello

Fun, easy, and bubbly! This is a great budget friendly punch that will still have a major wow factor among your guests, and is full of classic holiday flavors.
Source 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of Apple Brandy or Calvados
1 cup St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
10 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
1 bottle of Sparkling Wine or Champagne (750mL)
Freshly grated nutmeg
To make an ice mold:
Using a Bundt or tube pan, place pear and apple slices in a circle on the bottom of the container. Slowly add water to submerge the fruit & freeze. Ice ring can be made 1 week ahead.

Directions
Stir Calvados, St. Germain, bitters, and 1 cup of water in a punch bowl. Add ice ring (let the mold sit at room temperature for a few minutes to loosen), then sparkling wine. Ladle punch in glasses and grate nutmeg over each glass. Serves 16.

The Old Gunwhale

Near and dear to my heart, the Old Gunwhale is a personal favorite of mine. I have made this punch time and time again, each time with a wonderful reception from guests. Despite how simple it may seem, I find that the sum is definitely greater than its parts!
Source 

For the chamomile syrup:

8 oz. water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons dried chamomile, or 2 chamomile tea bags

Ingredients
10 oz. Bourbon
8 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
6 oz. Chamomile Syrup
1 bar spoon Fee Brother’s Cranberry Bitters

Directions
In a saucepan, place the sugar, water, and the chamomile tea bags or dried chamomile tied in a piece of cheesecloth. Bring the mixture to a boil, let it cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat to cool to room temperature.

Combine the chamomile syrup, bourbon, grapefruit juice, and bitters in your serving bowl. Add ice cubes. To serve, ladle into a glass filled with ice. Serves 10.

Kentucky Cardinal

This is my wildcard recommendation! In the mood to throw all caution to the wind? Then this gem of a punch recipe may be overkill as far as ingredients go, but if you are looking for a wildly delicious punch, then look no further!
Source

Ingredients

1 bottle of Red Wine (shiraz or a similar fruity wine)
1 cup rye whiskey
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup sweet vermouth
1/4 cup Carpano Antica
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Moscato d’Asti
4 cups sparkling water
Ice Block
Orange twists for garnish

Directions
Combine red wine, rye, brandy, vermouth and Carpano in a pitcher. Slowly stir in the sugar until dissolved. Refrigerate for a few hours until cold. When serving, place ice block in punch bowl and pour chilled mixture over. Top with moscato and sparkling water and serve. Garnish each glass with an orange twist. Makes 25 servings.

A note on serving vessels: Don’t have a Baccarat crystal punch bowl? Kidding, fret not my dearies! Honestly, if you have a punch bowl by all means utilize it! However for the rest of us, I have to say that a stock pot works darn well in a pinch.

Cheers!
– Jackie Blackwell

 

 

 

 

The Bottles Instagram #Regram Holiday Giveaway!!

Interested in these delicious, delicious bottles? We’re giving you the chance to win one! Choose from our sweet selection of: Four Roses Bourbon – Bottles’ Barrel Select, Cantillion Iris Lambic, and If You See Kay Italian Red! giveaway-group

How to enter:

1. First, follow @bottlesfinewine on Instagram.

2. Regram the Giveaway Prize Photo.

3. In your Regram, you must @-mention @bottlesfinewine and #-hashtag #bottlesfwgiveaway!

That’s it!

The Bottles Instagram Holiday Giveaway ends at 11:59PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, December 21st. Three winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 23rd, and winners will also be contacted privately through Instagram direct with details on how to claim their prize!

Giveaway Rules:

-Must be 21+ years of age to enter contest

-We cannot ship to Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah or Vermont. We do not ship outside of the United States.

– Enjoy responsibly!

give-beer

Cantillon Iris 2013

This rare lambic-style beer has been called an “unusual treat that will thrill the connoisseur of traditional Belgian beers – absolutely, utterly unique.”  It is fermented by wild yeasts and aged for two-years in oak wine casks at the Brussels-based Cantillon Brewery. Iris is brewed only once every season and all the beers come from the same brewing. This is why the beer is dated.

give-wineIf You See Kay 

A red blend from Lazio, Italy. The label stops you in your tracks – it’s an image of a strong, pierced and tattooed woman who, in the wine makers’ words, “embodies the principles of living life to its fullest. She embodies the wide-open throttle approach to winemaking…she is about freedom, being true to one’s beliefs and dispensing with conventional thinking and boundaries.” We think the wine has the same bad-ass lust for life, ripe with flavors of juicy blackberry fruit and dark cocoa nibs. Immensely enjoyable.

give-whisk

 

Four Roses Bourbon – Bottles’ Barrel Select.

A very special bottle!! Eric Taylor, Bottles General Manager, journeyed to Kentucky a few months ago to the Four Roses Distillery. He spend a day tasting through many many barrels, and after much discussion and re-tasting, decided on this Bourbon. It features aromas of warm honey roasted hazelnuts and flavors of rich and creamy vanilla, toasted oak and a long cocoa laced finish. A truly unique expression and only available at Bottles!

Good luck!

Cheers! 

The Bottles Team

For official rules click here– 

 

Holiday Party Idea: Self-Serve Bubbly Bar! Free Printable Sign!

When we think of New Year’s, we think of bubbly! A festive way to ring in the New Year with family and friends is to set up a self-serve sparkling wine bar at home. Let your guests have fun creating their own sparkling cocktails! Your guests can choose a simple Kir Royale, or play mixologist as they combine flavors to create a multi-layered concoction. We’ve even made a free printable sign for you to download and place at the bar for the party!

FREE PRINTABLE BUBBY BAR SIGN >

Click the link above to download and print this Bubbly Bar sign!
After you’ve printed it, simple cut out the sign, fold in half, and place at the bar.

THE BUBBLY BAR SHOPPING LIST >

Click the link above to download and print the list of everything you’ll need. Stop by Bottles for all of these ingredients!

 

What You’ll Need for a Bubbly Bar
  • Ice Bucket
  • Jar of spoons (Pouring the mixers straight into your glass will cause the mixer and sparkling wine to combine too quickly. The best way to create a sparkling cocktail is to turn a spoon upside down and let the liquid slowly run over the spoon into your glass. SCIENCE!)
  • Champagne Flutes (check to make sure you have enough for all your guests!)
 
Our Favorite Sparkling Wines
We’ve drawn up a list of our favorite sparkling wines, Cavas, and Champagnes for you to choose from. Chill them beforehand, and place them at a the Bubbly Bar table.

 

  • Grandial – Light and bright, this Blanc de Blancs Brut is made from 100% Chardonnay that gives this sparkling treat a lovely note of green apple on the finish. $9.99
  • Mercat Cava – Wonderfully balanced and complex Cava from Catalonia, Spain.  Notes of lemon and peach meet with an undertone of minerals to create a spectacularly dry sparkling. $16.99
  • Gruet Brut – Sparkling wine from New Mexico? No way! Thank goodness French winemaker, Gilbert Gruet, travelled through New Mexico in the 1980’s and found European winemakers planting grapes in this inexpensive location. He promptly moved his sparkling wine operation from Bethon, France to Albuquerque, New Mexico! $19.99
  • Meinklang Rosé Frizzante – Bio-dynamic, organic and absolutely fun, this Pinot Noir sparkling style has less effervesce than others on this list but makes up for it in the most splendid strawberry notes. $21.99 
  • Mumm Napa – French Champagne house G.H. Mumm found a new home in Napa Valley in the early 1980’s. Notes of melon and vanilla are abundant in this rich and balanced California sparkling. Classic Californian sparkling, bright. $29.99 
  • Charles Heidsick Brut Reserve – From the house nicknamed ‘Baby Krug’ comes the most spectacular champagne I have had in recent memory. Delicate hints of nectarine and peach first come into play followed by a creamy, honeyed finish. Complex and rich, this is a non-vintage champagne that drinks like a vintage bottle twice the price. A fantastic way to ring in the New Year! $69.99
 
Not sure how many bottles of sparkling wine to get for your party?
 
Meinklang Rosé Frizzante
An Assortment of Mixers
Here’s our hand-picked selection of syrups and liqueurs for guests to mix with bubbly.
 
Giffard Crème de Cassis Noir de Bourgogne – $34.99
A dash of Cassis over a glass of champagne = a classic Kir Royale! While a Kir cocktail is a French cocktail with white wine and blackcurrant liqueur, a Kir Royal is a variation that uses bubbly instead.
Pama Pomegranate Liqueur – $14.99
Add a rosy glow to your glass of sparkling wine! Pama has the complex, sweet, yet tart taste of pomegranates.
Giffard Pamplemousse (Grapefruit) – $24.99

 

100% natural fruit crème that makes a great aperitif cocktail when mixed with bubbly.

Quince & Apple Rhubarb Hops Syrup – $11.99

Quince & Apple Tart Cherry Grenadine – $11.99

Quince & Apple syrups are all natural, hand crafted syrups from Madison, Wisconsin. Quince & Apple syrups rely on the best local produce to create a smooth, not too sugary syrup that can be combined with sparkling wine, liquor or club soda to provide a refreshing, non-alcoholic drink.

Let’s talk Champagne!

Champagne is a region in France, home to some of the best Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the world that create delicate, complex and heart stopping wines. Buying Champagne to stock a bubbly bar can get pricey fairly quickly, but there are plenty of other sparkling wines made outside of Champagne that will impress your guests with their grace and balance. Featuring sparkling wines made from different countries and different regions is a great way to have an educational moment in the midst of good, old-fashioned bacchanal.

However, as the clock is about to reach midnight, I pull a few bottles of Champagne from the back of the vegetable crisper, underneath the Swiss Chard and grapes (don’t tell my friends about my hiding spot) and pop the piece de resistance as the clock strikes midnight!

Happy New Year!
– Joanna
Bottles Fine Wine

Great Kosher Wines for Hanukkah

kosher wines for hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah from Bottles! We love to help pair holiday meals with wines that perfectly compliment the herbs, spices and love you put into your family’s feast. Here are four wonderful Kosher wines that will make your holiday memorable.

Alfasi Chardonnay
pairs with Matso Ball Soup
Hints of apple and lemon make this Chilean Chardonnay a great pairing for piping hot soup.

Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon
pairs with  Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
This soft Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon has a nice cedar note that will complement roasted turkey perfectly.
Don Guillermo de Mendoza Malbec
pairs with Red wine glazed Brisket
Hints of cherry and figs with a nice spicy finish, medium-bodied will stand up to a slow cooked brisket.
Cantina ‘Gabriele’ Vino
pairs with Chocolate Ganache Cake
What better way to finish off a great meal than a glass of sweet red wine that is both smooth and light!

Our neighbors at Whole Foods Waterman Street in Providence have a great Hanukkah and Thanksgiving dinner menu, where you can find these food pairings and place an order!

We have a great Kosher Wine Selection!

Visit our wine store today >

 

A Guide to Choosing Thanksgiving Wines

Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner is a big deal and picking the wines to be served can be a nerve-racking challenge. To take some of the difficulty out of it, we’ve come up with this handy guide to help navigate the choppy seas of choosing wine for Turkey Day.
  • Serve wines that you like. Thanksgiving Dinner isn’t the best time to serve wines that you’re not familiar with. We recommend serving wines or at least varietals that are tried and true. For example, though Beaujolais and Gewürztraminer are widely considered to be perfect Thanksgiving pairings, it’s best not to serve them unless you know that you and your guests will like them. Also, if there’s wine left over from your dinner, you want to make sure that you like the wines because you’ll be the one drinking them the days following your Feast. Remember: if you’re a rewards member, we can look in your purchase history and tell you exactly when and what that bottle of wine was that you loved.
Every day I’m hustlin’!
  • Do some research a few weeks before your dinner. So it’s been decided that you’re hosting – Great! Hopefully you’ve been given a few weeks notice so you have some time to try out potential wines for your Thanksgiving Dinner. You will see special orange tags all around the store with wines that we have chosen especially for the big dinner and we have a giant wine display that features wines that we feel are perfect pairings for Thanksgiving. Lastly, if you have any questions, ask any of us, we are really good at making wine and food pairing recommendations.
  • How much wine will you need? The short answer is more than you think. Let’s break it down: One bottle = four glasses — Each guest will have at least two glasses of wine (even if there will be cocktails and/or beer available), so at a bare minimum you will need one bottle for every two people attending. So for example, if you’re having 10 people over you’ll need 5 bottles of wine. Remember, this is a feast and while Aunt Mary insists that she’ll only have one glass, chances are high that this is the one time of the year that she’ll get crazy and have two.
  • How many different wines should you get? At the bare minimum two: one white and one red. However, there is a world of wine out there and this is the time to enjoy all of your favorites. We are big fans of starting with Sparkling, even an inexpensive one is great to share while you’re watching the game, standing around the kitchen or with pre-dinner snacks. When you finally sit down to dinner, we like recommend having a couple of different styles of whites and reds open – wines that are of contrasting styles, for example a light Pinot Grigio and a rich Chardonnay or an elegant Pinot Noir and a robust Rhone.
  • What pairs with Turkey? The best answer is “What ever you like to drink!” We think Turkey is pretty easy to pair wine with because the flavors are not super strong or pronounced. However, pressed to choose wines to pair with just Turkey, we’d recommend (in no particular order): Beaujolais Nouveau, White Burgundies, Pinot Noir from Oregon, Gewürztraminer, Red Rhones (Cote du Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape, etc.)
Feel free to visit us, call, or email us for help with wine for Thanksgiving. We’re all here to help!
Cheers!
General Manager
Bottles Fine Wine, 141 Pitman Street, Providence, RI
(401) 372-2030
info@blog.bottlesfinewine.com

 

Pecan Pie Recipe & Wine Pairing

Pecan Pie recipe and dessert wine pairing idea
Photo: David Dadekian
‘Tis the season for pie: apple, pumpkin, pecan, & custard galore! Pecan pie is a traditionally Southern recipe that Edible Rhody Magazine has added a Rhode Island twist to, with the addition of Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spiced Whiskey. We’ve paired this Thanksgiving recipe with one of our favorite dessert wines, Viu Manent Noble Semillon, a naturally sweet wine from Chile.

The word pie has been used in terms of food since the 1300’s and over those centuries, the plethora of pies has increased with all different types. Pecan Pie is one of those and is said that to be created by the French shortly after settling in New Orleans and being introduced to the Pecan, but no one knows for sure. Typically associated with the South, Pecan pie is usually eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Viu Manent Noble Semillon Thanksgiving Dessert Wine Pairing
With its home in Bordeaux since 1960, the Semillon grape is naturally sweet and vulnerable to Botrytis or Noble Rot. This concentrates the sugars of late harvest wines, making it a perfect candidate for sweet white wine such as the Sauternes from Bordeaux, and the Viu Manent Noble Semillon from Santiago de Chile. When vinified, it takes on flavors of stone-fruits such as apricots, peach, & mangos with back flavor of citrus, nuts & honey with a silken texture. Perfect for Pecan Pie, this wine will bring out that roasted, nutty sweetness of the pecans, the creamy caramelized custard, and the buttery flaky crust.
Pecan Pie
Pastry Team, Easy Entertaining Inc., Providence
4 tablespoons (½ stick) Rhody Fresh butter, melted and cooled
1½ cups corn syrup
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spice whiskey*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
3 large fresh farm eggs, slightly beaten
1 pie shell, unbaked*
1¾ cups pecan pieces
Cream cheese frosting* (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter with corn syrup, sugar, whiskey, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and mix well. Spread pecans evenly in 10-inch unbaked pie shell (in pie dish or tart pan) and pour egg mixture over pecans. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake an additional 20–30 minutes or until set but still loose in center. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Serve slices with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Makes 1 pie or tart. * This seasonal release can be substituted with Uprising, another whiskey made by local distiller Sons of Liberty, or your favorite bourbon.
* Pie Dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup ice water with ½ teaspoon salt added
3 tablespoons sugar
In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar. With a large fork or pastry cutter (or by pulsing with a food processor) cut the butter into the flour until the butter resembles small peas. Slowly add water until a dough forms, kneading and working dough as little as possible but enough to form a workable dough.
Pressing dough, form a 6-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll dough to form a 12-inch circle. Place in pie dish (or tart pan); crimp edges and proceed with recipe.
* Cream Cheese Frosting
8 tablespoons Rhody Fresh butter, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) Narragansett Creamery Angelito cream cheese
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese, scraping sides of bowl. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. (If too thick, add a scant teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.)
 
 
edible rhody, ediblerhody, brussels sprouts, seasonal ri

Visit Bottles Fine Wine to get this wine.

Happy Halloween! Try Our Spoooky Cocktails!

This Halloween we’re showcasing our most chilling concoctions with free downloadable printables–perfect for your next self-serve bar! Feeling a little Lovecraft-inspired? Try The Lurking Fear. Taking a nice walk through walls? Phantasma may be more your speed. Completely brain drained? Mix up the Re-Animator. All with just 3 ingredients in each!

printables, lurking fear, phantasma, re animator, cocktails, halloween, free

Download Cocktail Signs PDF here!

SELF SERVE BAR SET-UP
– Have an ice bucket with tongs, a cocktail shaker, bottle opener, bar spoon, and rocks glasses.
– For mixers, have Angostura bitters, simple syrup, ginger ale, club soda, tonic water, and ginger beer.
– Include handles of a few staple liquors like Bourbon, Vodka, and Rum.
– Pre-slice a bowl of garnishes (oranges, lemons, limes)

Let your guests play bartender! Everyone has variations on how they like their drink mixed. A self serve bar with helpful cocktail recipe signs lets them make the perfect drink to their own taste.

Ready for something with more than 3 ingredients? Check out this month’s Halloween cocktails below!

The Last Word

Ingredients
3/4 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur – Luxardo
3/4 Fresh Lime Juice

Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks.

Corpse Reviver #2

Ingredients
1 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1-3 drops absinthe – Mata Hari

Directions
First, “rinse” your glass with a few drops of absinthe by swirling and coating the inside of the glass, discarding the extra. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour the rest of the ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Blood & Sand

Ingredients
1 oz blended scotch
1 oz blood orange juice or Stirring’s Blood Orange Martini
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
3/4 oz Cherry Heering brandy

Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks. Garnish with an orange peel.

Find more videos and cocktail ideas on our YouTube channel and our Cocktail Recipe Page.