Tree Hugger

“Then he got an idea! An awful idea! The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!” – Dr. Suess, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

I’m celebrating the season this year with a perfect puzzle box from Japanese Karakuri Group artist Yasuaki Kikuchi. The Japanese have a few time honored traditions for this holiday that I’ve been learning about, which are quite different from Western images of the holiday. They love their special food, but you won’t find a yule log. You might enjoy some Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, though, and for dessert, some “Christmas Cake” – typically, strawberry shortcake. You can go shopping in German style Christmas markets, and you should go on a date, like on Valentine’s Day, or you will be labeled as “kuri bocchi” – alone at Christmas! Don’t forget to give gifts (that one sounds familiar). You’ll find festive trees as well, decorated with lights, or if you’re lucky, your tree will be a beautiful puzzle box that hides a secret.

Kikuchi’s Christmas present for 2019 (the Karakuri Group’s annual end of year production tradition) was a perfect little tree of chanchin wood resting on a brick lined stand made from cherry, magnolia and keyaki. Kikuchi has embraced the holiday theme with many of his end of year offerings, but he notes that the tree is one of his favorites, “Because, Tree is a universal and representative icon of Christmas. Second, there is something under the tree. I like this image because it expands our imagination. Third, the mechanism is stable and I think I was able to hide it well.” Indeed the tree has a very clever hidden mechanism keeping its presents safe from little elves. Kikuchi even included some decorations with the tree for do-it-yourself decorating.

I’ve left the tree alone and focused my talents on decorating the cocktail instead. For this year’s seasonal toast I was feeling a little bitter. But I mean that in the best possible way. Bitter spirits like Italian amari might take some getting used to, but once you’ve acquired that taste, there’s no going back. And there is probably no better cocktail for Christmas than a bright red Negroni, after all. If you feel otherwise, I’m afraid you’re just being a grinch.

This holiday Negroni variation is really more of a Boulevardier. But labels don’t matter when you’ve got something this delicious to drink, and anything with Sorel liqueur is delicious. Sorel is the result of a five hundred year old traditional spiced red hibiscus spirit that started in Barbados and traveled to Brooklyn. Jack Summers, the man behind the liqueur, started America’s first black owned distillery with Sorel and has enjoyed high praise and awards since. “Made with Moroccan hibiscus blended with Brazilian clove, Indonesian cassia and Nigerian ginger, this bright red liqueur from Brooklyn is a modern twist on a timeless classic.” To match the Caribbean flavors in the liqueur, I split the base bourbon spirit for this drink with aged rum. Cynar, with its sweetly bitter profile, works incredibly well with the base spirits and sweet spiced liqueur while maintaining its own presence in the drink. This cocktail is so good you’re not going to be able to share it with Santa, which is actually why he is bitter. Merry Christmas!

Bitter Santa

1 oz aged rum

1 oz bourbon

1 oz Cynar

½ oz Sorel

Stir with ice and strain into a favorite glass. No garnish necessary unless you are feeling particularly grinchy.