Sleighing Holiday Cheer

With massive apologies to the Waitresses and their seminal end-of-year ode “Christmas Wrapping,” this is the time of year that’s a busy blur. You may be stuck in your drinking rut, drinking more because of parties, or drinking less for your health. Whatever the reason, here are some options from the boozy to the sublimely seasonal.

For nonalcoholic starters, ’tis the season for festive coffee beverages. Ostara Coffee (208 E Broadway Av, Fort Worth, 817-678-7922) recently launched a holiday collaboration with Santitos (SantitosMX.com), an Oak Cliff-based small business specializing in Horchata, Café de Olla, and Michelada concentrates. At Ostara’s Holiday Market last weekend, I sampled the Santitos Horchata, a recipe steeped in their family history. The flavor of Mexican cinnamon floods your tastebuds with confusing messages. Is this cinnamon and nutmeg? Cinnamon and allspice? Most of the cinnamon in grocery stores is Indonesian cinnamon, essentially cassia tree bark that barely tastes like the original. Mexican cinnamon packs a floral punch of warmth. Ostara is one of the few local places you can try the Santitos Horchata concentrate in a latte or as a frothy cold foam topper to any of the coffee options.

Actually, horchata may be the secret spice for coffee in 2024. Cup O’Vibes (800 E Sublett Rd, Ste 170, Arlington, 817-706-1451) offers a pumpkin horchata latte and several other treats with seasonal flavors like blackberry and maple. And the Hola Jefe! horchata-caramel cold brew combo at Hustle Blendz (120 St. Louis Av, Ste 101, 682-417-2110) might oust the shop’s Million Dollar White Mocha as your favorite cold brew.

In other seasonal flavor opportunities, Crude Craft Coffee Bar (804 S Main St, Fort Worth, 682-224-5541) has a non-coffee take on the season. The Grinch Matcha is a matcha latte with house-made peppermint syrup, and the green concoction is topped with a little crushed candy cane. Harvest Coffee (2725 Heritage Trace Pkwy, Fort Worth, 817-953-4080) has every seasonal taste you could want in lattes, including gingerbread, egg nog, and Christmas cookie, along with a peppermint mocha. And Inclusion Coffee (101 E Abram St, Ste 110, Arlington, 817-629-2224) ups the seasonal flavor with their Dirty Gingerbread Chai; a coffee-free S’mores Drinking Chocolate with a torched marshmallow topping; and a Christmas Crème Brûlée with caramel, vanilla, and a brûléed sugar top.

If you want a beautiful zero-proof cocktail, Beth Hutson at The Elevated Elixir (ElevatedContent.com) has a site full of festive, gorgeously photographed, alcohol-free options. She has a great recipe for a Cherry Bombe that will give you espresso martini vibes with no headaches, and all the recipes come with links to purchase the ingredients.

Earlier this year, my friend Trudie reminded me about the potent magic of making your own simple syrups by heating water and your choice of sugar (white, brown, coconut, monkfruit — whatever you have) in a one-to-one ratio until the sugar is well-dissolved. You can infuse the syrup with mint, cinnamon, vanilla bean, or botanicals to create a low-cost, high-punch pop of flavor to improve any recipe. Trudie’s secret sauce is a lavender syrup that she makes with dried lavender. I have an embarrassment of lavender still growing in my garden, along with one single, very tall sprig of rosemary. A lavender simple elevates prosecco to new heights, and it’s now my go-to for brunch when I want something that feels more festive than a mimosa. If you love the Honey Lavender latte at Black Coffee (1417 Vaughn Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-782-9867), then you can create a fairly convincing copy by making your own syrup. The rosemary simple makes a surprisingly tasty substitute for gin if you want a zero-proof option or if you want to liven up some Topo Chico. Just remember that dried botanicals are more potent than fresh, and too much lavender may have a laxative effect.

If you’re looking to upgrade your boozy options, we have an abundance of riches at our local distilleries. Although shopping at one of them isn’t as easy as running over to your local big box liquor store, visiting Blackland Distillery (2616 Weisenberger, Fort Worth, 817-268-5333), Trinity River Distillery (1734 E El Paso, Fort Worth, 817-841-2837), Acre Distilling (1309 Calhoun St, Fort Worth, 817-632-7722), or TX Whiskey Ranch (2601 Whiskey Ranch Rd, Fort Worth, 817-840-9140) creates a ripple effect for other businesses in our community. Trinity River Distilling sources most of their ingredients locally, from the North Texas-farmed grains to the honey and coffee sourced in Burleson and Fort Worth, respectively. Your purchase also creates happiness for you or those you gift the bottles to. Taking out-of-town family to a tasting is also an impressive trick if you’re looking to get out of your house. Acre’s $7 Happy Hour (3-8pm Tue-Fri) is enough to make the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes with a sampling of all of their spirits, any way you want them. And TX Whiskey Ranch has trivia nights, Friday festivities, and the odd karaoke evening, along with other episodic events.

Whether you’re enjoying Christmas by yourself this year or you’re making completions and connections from 2024, deck those halls, trim those trees, and raise up a cup of seasonal cheer.

Santitos Horchata Latte (courtesy SantitosMX.com)

2 oz Santitos Horchata
2 oz espresso (or Trinity River’s Silver Star Ranch Style Coffee or Acre’s Java Shine if you want a Double Dirty Horchata)
6 oz milk, half and half, or oat milk

Mix well, serve warm or over ice, and try not to slurp.

Cherry Bombe (courtesy Elevated Elixir)

4 oz Lyre’s Zero Proof Coffee Originale (Lyres.com)
2 oz cherry, brown sugar, cinnamon simple syrup
Dash of All the Bitter New Orleans Bitters Cherry (AlltheBitter.com) to garnish
1/2 cup of ice

In a shaker, combine the coffee zero-proof liqueur and the simple, shake well with the ice, strain into a martini glass and finish with a dash of the cherry bitters. Garnish with a cherry if you’re in the mood.

Garden Party (courtesy Blackland Distillery)

1.5 oz Blackland Vodka
0.5 oz elderflower liqueur (substitute rosemary or elderflower simple if you have that)
0.5 oz lime juice
3 cucumber slices

Combine all the ingredients into a mixing tin. Muddle three cucumber slices. Add ice, shake, and strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Blackland garnishes theirs with a cucumber.

Trudie’s Signature Lavender Prosecco

6 oz good prosecco
2-3 tsp chilled lavender syrup to taste

Pour the prosecco into an appropriate glass and add lavender syrup to taste.

TX Whiskey Rosemary Sunset

2 oz TX Whiskey
2 oz grapefruit juice
0.5 oz rosemary simple syrup
0.5 oz lemon juice
sprig of rosemary for garnish

Shake all ingredients together and serve.