How’s Your Drink: 5 Cocktails to Ring in the New Year

If your reservations haven’t been made at one of your favorite New Years Eve spots around Dallas and Fort Worth, do not despair; there are still some choice restaurants and venues to choose from. For those planning to spend the holiday at home surrounded by friends and merrymakers we did some leg work this week to ensure your year end plans are kicked up with some awesome drink choices from the area’s better barmen. Here are five elegant cocktails especially made for New Years Eve that will have you mixing like a pro.

The first is from Windmill Lounge located on Maple near Inwood and owned by Louise Owens and Charlie Papaceno. The Windmill serves some of the areas best specialty cocktails along with a few well chosen menu items that includes Panini’s and a remarkable chili. Recently, a barman named Charlie made us something special called the Nuevo Anos, which was a play on the classic flip.

Windmill’s Nuevo Anos

1.5 oz Ron Zacapa rum

1.5 oz heavy cream

1 egg white

2 tbs apple butter

1 tsp honey syrup

Dry shake all the ingredients to emulisfy

Add ice then shake heavily and pour into a tall flute garnish with freshly grated nutmeg

The next is from chef Michelle Carpenter at Zen Sushi in the Bishop Arts district. “Although we do not technically have a bar we do offer some great cocktails and our guests have responded well. We change our drink menu seasonally using the fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables we have available,” said chef Carpenter. And what they rolled out for us this evening was quite impressive. The trick is to use very freshly grated ginger.

Zen’s Moscow Mule

Juice of 4 limes

¾ tbs brown sugar

1 oz grated ginger

2 oz Monopolowa vodka

Shake vigorously and pour

Since we’re talking Oak Cliff,  Bolsa and barman Eddie “Lucky” Campbell  (never call him a mixologist) offers three fantastic drinks. (Bolsa uses herbs from Tom Spicer’s garden for their house made mixes which makes them extra fresh and potent.)

Bolsa’s The Sophisticate

2 oz Makers

1 tsp Bar sugar heaping

1 drop vanilla (they make their own but it takes 45 days)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Tiny pinch cinnamon

½ oz soda

2 silver dollar slices of orange rind

Pour all wet ingredients into cocktail shaker, squeezing the oils from one rind into the mix. Stir 56 times (yes, he counts) and strain over ice. Squeeze remaining rind in the drink and serve.

From another Dallas hotspot, The Warwick Melrose Hotel’s The Library, comes this:

Melrose Manhattan

2 oz Maker’s Mark

½ ounce cherry liquor

½ oz tawny port

Mix ingredients into shaker, stirring well and pouring into a glass full of ice.

Here’s one from chef Richard Chamberlain  (Addison’s Fish Market Gril and Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop Housel):

Chamberlain’s New Years Eve Martini

2 oz Sobieski vodka

½ oz pomegranate cranberry juice

½ oz kefir lime lavender simple syrup (made inhouse by steeping kefir limes, lavender and sugar)

½ oz pomegranate liqueur

½ oz fresh lime juice

Mix all ingredients together in an iced shaker, mix well and pour into martini glass that has been rimmed with gold sugar and garnish with a green sugar tipped fortune cookie, then serve.

Finally, from A Step Up Lounge (Marsh and Walnut Hill), bar manager Billy Mitchell was happy to oblige our request for a new years Eve cocktail suggestion: a simple but powerful martini.

(photos by Robert Bostick)