Georgette Moger photographed her New Year Noche Buena cocktail

Georgette Moger shakes us up 3 New Year cocktails!

Our Regarding Cocktails co-author has come up with three mixes for before, during and (the morning) after

You're probably planning to see 2019 in with a bang so we thought we'd ask Georgette Moger to put together some great cocktail recipes to get you in the party spirit (and one or two to ease the come down on New Year's Day). Georgette is the celebrated drinks writer who co-authored our book Regarding Cocktails with her late husband Sasha Petraske. This is what she came up with. 

NYE Cocktail Party - Noche Buena (Variation - photo above) As we’re easing out of Christmas and into New Years Eve festivities, a variation on the Noche Buena, a dessert cocktail featured in Regarding Cocktails  is the call of the day. With the mouth feel of an egg nog and the fizzy sparkle of Champagne, it’s like Christmas and New Years in a glass. As I’m celebrating the holidays at my parents’ house, in lieu of tawny port, I chose Benedictine and brandy, a seasonal staple that dates back to their early courtship days. 

15 ml fresh lemon juice

22ml Simple Syrup

30 ml Benedictine

30 ml brandy or Cognac

1 egg yolk from a medium egg

Champagne or Prosecco

Freshly grated nutmeg, star anise for garnish

Combine the lemon juice, simple syrup, port and egg yolk in a cocktail shaker and shake to emulsify the mixture. Add a large ice cube and shake vigorously until the drink is sufficiently chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and top off with Champagne or prosecco. Garnish with nutmeg and star anise.

 

Georgette Moger photographed her New Year Grapefruit Collins cocktail
Georgette Moger photographed her New Year Grapefruit Collins cocktail

New Years Day Breakfast - Grapefruit Collins Depending on how raucous your New Years Eve celebration was, you may choose to punctually begin detox resolutions, or simply go the route of re-toxing — no judgments. This cocktail seamlessly goes in either direction with the simple subtraction or addition of your choice of spirit. Gin, mezcal, or tequila work best.

60 ml gin, mezcal or tequila* (optional)

30 ml fresh lime juice

15 ml simple syrup

60 ml fresh grapefruit juice

A grapefruit wedge for garnish

Combine the gin, mezcal, or tequila (if you’re re-toxing) lime juice, simple syrup and grapefruit juice in a chilled cocktail shaker, add a few pebbles of ice just to chill slightly, and shake vigorously. Add the club soda, then pour into a chilled Collins glass and top off with more club soda. Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.

 

Georgette Moger photographed her New Year Cranberry Cosmonaut cocktail
Georgette Moger photographed her New Year Cranberry Cosmonaut cocktail

 

New Year’s Day Dinner Aperitif - Cosmonaut (Cranberry Variation) If you’ve been doing any Christmas cooking, chances are you’ve still got some remains of the day or, perhaps you’re doing a turkey for New Years Day with friends and family. Either way, at some point a turkey with the traditional dressing of cranberry jam may’ve been involved.

The shelf-stable fridge life of cranberry jam or sauce is a true holiday wonder. Essentially it’s a jam preserved by sugar and citrus, such as the recipe I used this year, from Bon Appetit’s holiday cooking guide. In the spirit of the season, (and, in the spirit of zero waste!) I’m using cranberry jam in place of the raspberry preserves called for in the Cosmonaut — a simple, three-part aperitif that can be prepared quickly, allowing the host to spend more time with guests.

60 ml gin

22 ml fresh lemon juice

1 heaping barspoon orange cranberry jam or sauce

Sprig of rosemary for garnish

Combine the gin, lemon juice and cranberry preserves in a chilled cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and shake vigorously until the drink is sufficiently chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe.

 

Regarding Cocktails by Sasha Petraske and Georgette Moger
Regarding Cocktails by Sasha Petraske and Georgette Moger

Sasha Petraske opened Milk & Honey, a speakeasy cocktail bar in New York, in 2000. He later had ventures in New York, London, and Australia. Sasha and his bars won numerous competitions and awards. He lived in New York until his untimely death in 2015. His wife, New York-based Georgette Moger-Petraske, is continuing his fine work which you can check out in Regarding Cocktails. Happy New Year.