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Mardi Gras, like Christmas, is a whole season - not just one day.  That being said, Fat Tuesday is the biggest day of celebration, and the date it falls on moves around. You'll find that Fat Tuesday can be any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9. Carnival celebration starts on Jan. 6, the Twelfth Night (feast of Epiphany), and picks up speed through midnight on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

This post is dedicated to my dear friend and apprentice, Sam, who has impressingly become, in a very short time, a masterful liquid chef and home mixologist. I am proud to have taught him many of my trade secrets and he is well on his way to serving me a quality and well-balanced cocktail. I hope to impart more wisdom onto Sam in the coming months. Also, to Ann, his romantic assistant, and friends Julia, an aspiring mixologist and Christie, a friendly, neighborly imbiber, who have all found a better appreciation of good drink-making skills and cocktails.

For this post, you will find various offerings of the classic Sidecar for the "Cocktail of the Month" Program (COM). Choose from one of these versions of the Sidecar for the month of January.

Would you like the ingredients for one of these cocktails delivered to your doorstep? At this time, this program is only available to Central PA. Let Raise Your Spirits do the shopping, make recipe cards, and box up ingredients with step-by-step instructions or have them batch the cocktail and deliver MTO. Either way, you get to keep the products. 

It's that time of year when I like to sit down and enjoy a smooth and warming whisk(e)y in front of the fireplace. I found the perfect whisky to sip this winter and it hails from France. I received this rare bottle, as a token of gratitude, from Danl Cooney of Heavenly Spirits, importer of fine French Spirits, in Massachusetts for my written coverage and promotion of them during "National Cognac Day". I waited for the right time and a special occasion to taste it and it was well worth the wait.

Champagne is something you should consider sipping all year-round. But it’s especially appropriate this time of year, as everyone jolts from holiday party to holiday party. It’s time to get some expert advice on the sparkly stuff. A few myths debunked and some surprising tidbits from the correct glassware (hint - it’s not a flute) to why popping a cork should be graceful.

Spiced Pear

• 1 ½ oz Pear Vodka, such as Grey Goose La Poire or Absolut Pear
• ¾ oz Amaretto Liq
• ½ oz *Spiced simple syrup
• 1/4 oz Lemon juice
• Pear slice for garnish
• Glass – Cocktail

* Spiced Simple Syrup - combine some allspice, cloves, cinnamon stick, orange peel, 1 cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water. Boil, then simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Let cool, remove solids, bottle, and refrigerate.

Here are some seasonal Thanksgiving cocktails you can sip before, during, or after Thanksgiving dinner. You can even enjoy these elixirs on Black Friday or paired with that left-over turkey sandwich over the holiday weekend.

Forbidden Fruit

(Cover photo courtesy of Liquor.com)

An adult version of the 19^th century lemon drop candy, the Lemon Drop (Martini) consists of vodka, triple sec (orange liqueur), lemon juice, and simple syrup that is shaken and strained into a sugar-rimmed Martini/Cocktail glass and garnished with a lemon twist. In some circles, people have begun to mix it with Citrus Vodka, i.e. Absolut Citron, but the classic way is straight vodka.

Whether you're hosting a halloween party or want some cool and different cocktails to share with others, try some of these cocktails this week or over the halloween weekend. RYS will be serving most of these cocktails on Friday night. These are novelty drinks so proceed with caution. They are visually appealing, but not necessarily the best tasting. Have fun with it!