Sonoma authors’ new cocktail book gives three classics a holiday twist

Carey Jones and John McCarthy are the Sonoma County-based writers and cocktail mavens behind Food & Wine magazine’s “Liquor Cabinet Roulette” column and authors of “Be Your Own Bartender.” Now they’ve returned with a new book, “Every Cocktail Has a Twist” (Countryman Press, $25), that dissects 25 classic cocktails — from the Aperol Spritz to the Whiskey Sour — and offers a range of variations on each, yielding more than 200 cocktail recipes, plus tips on how to mix and match your own innovative cocktail twist.

Here are three of their signature recipes featuring wintry flavors, perfect for getting cozy this holiday season. The Jack Rose Toddy, for example, combines the classic Jack Rose cocktail with a hot toddy to make a hearty, warming drink featuring applejack, pomegranate juice and maple syrup. Lo-​Fi Gentian Amaro brings an inviting warmth to the cozy Winter’s Nap cocktail, which includes rye whiskey and Amaro Montenegro. And the dark rum-based Holly Jolly combines celebratory flavors with cranberry, ginger and orange. While any orange liqueur works, “Grand Marnier tastes awfully nice, especially during the holidays,” the authors write.

Jack Rose Toddy

1½ ounces applejack

1½ ounces pomegranate juice

¼ ounce 100% maple syrup

1 dash Angostura bitters

2 ounces hot water (just off the boil)

1 lemon wedge for garnish

1 star anise for garnish

DIRECTIONS: In a heat-​safe glass, combine the applejack, pomegranate juice, maple syrup and bitters. Top with the hot water and stir to combine. Squeeze a lemon wedge into the glass and drop it in along with the star anise.

A Winter’s Nap

2 ounces rye

1 ounce Amaro Montenegro

1 ounce Lo-​Fi Gentian Amaro

1 strip orange peel for garnish

1 star anise for garnish

DIRECTIONS: In a mixing glass, combine all the ingredients except the garnishes. Fill the mixing glass three-​quarters full of ice. Stir for 30 seconds then strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Express a 3-​inch strip of orange peel, skin side down, over the surface of the drink, run the skin around the rim of the glass to distribute the citrus oils, and add the peel, skin side up, to the cocktail. Garnish with a star anise.

Holly Jolly

1½ ounces dark rum

¾ ounce 100% cranberry juice

½ ounce orange liqueur

½ ounce raw sugar syrup

¼ ounce lime juice

3 dashes Angostura bitters

1½ ounces ginger beer

1 lime wedge for garnish

Nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS: In a cocktail shaker, combine all the ingredients except the ginger beer and garnishes. Fill the shaker with ice and seal it. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds then double strain into a mule mug or Collins glass filled with ice. Top with the ginger beer and stir gently and briefly. Squeeze the lime wedge into the glass and drop it in. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

For six drinks, combine 9 ounces dark rum, 4½ ounces cranberry juice, 3 ounces orange liqueur, 3 ounces raw sugar syrup, 1½ ounces lime juice, and 18 dashes (½ ounce) Angostura bitters. Add ice and stir until well-​chilled. Add 9 ounces ginger beer and stir again gently and briefly. Don’t forget the fresh grated nutmeg to garnish each glass.

Excerpted from Every Cocktail Has a Twist by Carey Jones and John McCarthy, copyright © 2023, photography copyright © 2023 by Rachel Weill, reprinted by permission of Countryman Press, an imprint of W. W. Norton & Co., Inc. All rights reserved.