Gingerbread Snap

The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 9

I love Ginger Snaps. I love Gingerbread. I just love Ginger. To be fair, I love Mary-Ann more, but that is a different story. Ginger is seriously one of my favorite flavors and Gingerbread is one of the most perfect expressions of it. So, with all that said, you know what I hate? Gingerbread houses. They could make high quality tasty gingerbread strong enough to build with, but the folks behind big gingerbread never do and, in this day and time, I am not sure that is good enough. So, won’t you join me now as we stand and make a Gingerbread Snap.

This is another of those drinks that seems to have sprung to life, mostly complete, across Pinterest boards everywhere. Provenance was hard to establish. Did I say hard, I meant impossible. This version combines the better aspects of several similar recipes that I found online, all without any sort of credible attribution. Like most of these it’s not terribly complex, but I am still hopeful.

Although, every recipe called for this one to be shaken, there is no reason for that, so grab your mixing pitcher and toss in 1 ounce of dark rum, I chose Doctor Bird out of Detroit; 1/2 an ounce of Frangelico, 1/2 an ounce of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and 2 drops of El Guapo Holiday Pie Bitters. Add some artisanal ice and stir to the beat of Old Blue Eyes and Seal crooning their way through “Santa Claus is Coming to Town“, till well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass, top with ginger beer and garnish with a gingerbread person.

You better watch out, you better not cry. Well, not in your drink anyway. It is definitely interesting, certainly reminiscent of gingerbread, well at least more so than the stuff that the house is built from. It is not terribly nuanced, the flavor doesn’t build or change, but it’s good enough for sipping at a swanky holiday mixer with all the other cool kats this season.

My niece gave me that awesome Mid-Century Modern take on the classic cocktail glass, so I knew I had to use it and this drink seemed perfect. Especially when paired with that Mid-Century Modern gingerbread house that I was already coveting, despite commandments to the contrary. I am always excited about gingerbread houses, because I imagine the pieces coming out of the oven, building while they are still warm with that amazing scent in the air. Then I buy a kit and end up with “cookie” pieces only slightly less hard as real wood and not quite as tasty. I always seem to forget that gingerbread houses are for looking, not tasting; which is a shame, really. It seems like there should be some middle ground there somewhere. We should probably be making our own gingerbread and then building with it. That’s probably the best route, and if it ends up being a super yummy gingerbread lean-to without structural merit, well I think that would be just fine, as long as we have something to wash it down with. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay festive my friends.