NEW YEAR’S EVE
You have been raising your glass for a New
Year’s toast as long as you can remember.
This joyful tradition results from several
innovations.
When did the celebration of a new year’s
arrival begin? Some 4,000 years ago in ancient
Babylon, festivities for a new year’s arrival
were first recorded. For the Babylonians,
the start of a new year was celebrated in late
March, when the first new moon followed the vernal equinox. In the
time of Julius Caesar, January 1 was celebrated with exchanging gifts,
adorning their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties.
The second innovation is the use of alcohol to toast the New Year. Again,
we look to the reign of Julius Caesar, some 1,500 years ago. Alcohol was
first used to toast the New Year as part of a religious event. This event
allowed the wealthy and elite to ring in the New Year.
When did the phrase “to toast” evolve? It did not exist until the 17th
century. “Toasting” derived from the custom of tossing a piece of toast into
a drink. Blending the toast with sugar, ginger or spices improved the flavor
of wines. In wines of inferior quality, the toast soaked up excess acidity. “To
toast” or “toasting” came to describe both drinking to someone’s health
and drinking to honor a person or occasion, such as the start of a new year.
We are now at a contemporary New Year’s Eve party. You can treat your
guests to updated versions of classic cocktails. You can serve your guests
drinks closely tied to the New Year’s holiday. With “The Happy New Year
Cocktail” and “Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis,” one a cocktail and
the other a mocktail, you have satisfied the taste of every reveler.
THE HAPPY NEW YEAR COCKTAIL
(Yields One Serving)
1 ½ ounces brandy
¾ ounce ruby port
¾ ounce orange juice
4 ounces champagne
Directions: Pour the brandy, port and orange juice into a cocktail
shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a champagne flute.
Top with champagne. Serve and enjoy.
POMEGRANATE AND CRANBERRY BELLINIS
(Eight Servings)
1 cup ice
1 ½ cups simple syrup (recipe follows – yields 1 ½ cups)
1 ¼ cups unsweetened pomegranate juice, chilled
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice, chilled
1 (25.3 fluid ounces) bottle sparkling water, chilled
2 limes, thinly sliced, for garnish
1 bunch fresh mint, for garnish
½ cup (2 ½ ounces) pomegranate seeds, for garnish
Simple syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Directions: To make simple syrup, in a saucepan combine sugar
and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and
simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
Remove the pan from heat and allow the syrup to cool. Begin the
Bellinis by placing the ice in the punch bowl. Add the simple syrup,
pomegranate juice, and cranberry juice. Stir well. Slowly pour in
the sparkling water. Garnish with the lime slices, mint sprigs and
pomegranate seeds. Serve.
Alternate Serving Suggestion: As an alternative to serving from a
punch bowl, make the bellini mixture in a 6 to 8 cup capacity pitcher.
Divide the pomegranate seeds between 12 champagne flutes. Add
I slice of lime and 1 sprig of mint to each glass. Pour the bellini
mixture into the prepared glasses and serve.
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December 2021 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 29
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