Kitchen Concoctions: A Cocktail for the Holidays

To me, Tanqeray tastes like Christmas. Somehow the juniper spirit reminds me of crisp December days with my nose to the family room tree and cider mulling on the stove.

So I thought I'd try to make a holiday drink with Tanqeray--my gunggung's (grandfather's) spirit of choice and one of my own favorites. Here's the recipe for what I threw together:

In a mixing glass with cracked and large ice, stir in:

1.5 oz Tanqeray gin
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz maple syrup
dashes Peychaud/orange (preferably Regan's) bitters

Stir for 30 seconds and strain it into a martini glass.

Garnish: flame an orange peel above the glass.

Hope you like it alright. Happy holidays to you!

*Note: You'll see in this picture that I actually didn't use a martini glass. This is because someone else was using the only martini glass I have! :-\