Sitting by a fireplace in the middle of winter is the perfect setting for sitting and thinking through the world’s troubles, planning the future or just relaxing with an adult beverage in hand. Choose your comfortable chair pull it up in front of the fire, cover up with your special throw blanket and just enjoy!
Hot Buttered Rum
Make this mix ahead of time and keep handy throughout the winter!
3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tbsps. honey
1 tbsp. rum extract
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Mix the ingredients using a beater until everything is blended together.
• Store in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator.
Then to make a Hot Buttered Rum drink just:
• Pour 1 1/2 ounces of light or dark rum into an Irish coffee glass or mug.
• Add a heaping spoonful of your hot buttered rum mix.
• Fill with hot water but not boiling hot.
• Mix well and enjoy!
Tom and Jerry Recipe
1 egg
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 ounce dark rum
1 ounce Cognac or brandy
Hot milk or hot water (if cutting calories)
Grated nutmeg
• Separate the egg white from the egg yolk and beat them separately.
• Fold the beaten eggs together and place into an Irish coffee glass.
• Add the sugar or simple syrup, dark rum, and brandy.
• Fill remainder of the glass with hot milk.
• Stir it up!
• Garnish with grated nutmeg.
”A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Commonly used whiskeys include rye (the traditional choice), Canadian whiskey (simply called Rye in Canada), bourbon, blended whiskey and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is often stirred and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry with a stem. A Manhattan is also frequently served on the rocks in a lowball glass.”
Here in place of the classics we use both a Jamaican rum and a spiced one from St. Lucia that brings Christmas flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla, and citrus. I tried to find a recipe for Smugglers Cove’s hot buttered rum batter but it is one of their deepest kept secret. If you should go and order this, beware, it will put the hot-toddy to shame and will give you a white milk mustache when you drink it. It also not the best one to count your calories with….
Recipe from the famous Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco
Spiced Manhattan – by Justin Oliver
1 oz Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum (St. Lucian Rum)
1 oz Smith & Cross rum (Jamaican Rum)
1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Bittermens Tiki Bitters (Any Bitters will do)
• Stirred over ice and serve with an orange twist.
Valerie Feldman, Certified Sommelier; Birch Hill Catering | Stable Gate Winery | Private Tastings
Bourbon Chai Toddy
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole green cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
4 whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon loose black tea (or two single-serve black tea bags)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup hot espresso
3/4 cup bourbon
• In a small pot, combine water, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and peppercorns, and bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes.
• After spice mixture has steeped, place pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add loose tea, cover and allow to steep for another five minutes.
• Strain through a mesh sieve, discarding solids, and return liquid to pot. Stir in sugar, half and half, coffee and bourbon and heat over low flame until warm.
• Pour into mugs and serve.
• Makes 4 to 6 drinks
Scotch and cigars pairings
By Vikki Moran, The Grateful Traveler
Each year, The Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, and its wonderful restaurant, The Spiced Pear, host a Scotch and Cigars event. Along with William Codman (Scotch expert extraordinaire) and Todd LaScola, Executive chef Thomas Duffy put together the 2104 event held again in October.
Scotch is a natural for a cozy and quiet fireplace treat. While you may not want to finish your scotch with a cigar in the house, an outside fire pit does nicely and that is exactly what we did after the six-course meal paired with the scotches.
Glenkinchie 12 Year Old whiskey was paired with assorted canapés; Glenkinchie Distiller’s Edition was paired with lobster mac and cheese; then Oban 14 Years Old was paired with a chicken waffle with crispy quail and our own Hudson Valley Foie Gras. We then traveled to Oban Distiller’s Edition, which was served with Berkshire Pork duet of cider glazed pork cheek and belly with Vermont cheddar polenta, and Talisker 10 Years Old with Kobe beef short ribs. The sixth and final course was Key West Shrimp served with a sunny side quail’s egg, pancetta, English peas and trumpet royals, and the final Scotch was Talisker Storm.
The scotch and the thoughtful pairings were always perfect, and The Chanler at Cliff Walk is a wonderful setting to relax or walk off the culinary feast on the Newport Cliff Walk.
To book next years event call The Chanler Cliff Walk at 401.847.1300.
Embracing Elegance at The Chanler at Cliff Walk of Newport, Rhode Island
The captivating Chanler on the famous Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, certainly sets the tone for the surrounding elegance of the gilded age where spectacular mansions are neighbors and ocean vistas paint their window views.
Gracious entertaining was certainly the norm in the days of the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, the Astors and many more of the wealthiest and most privileged families in America, so finding that mindset of gracious hosting was not surprising but very much welcomed.
Like the grand families of Newport, you could spend your days lounging on The Chanler’s property with its perfectly trimmed gardens and breathtaking views of the Cliff Walk and the ocean. Sunrises from the room balconies are some of the best that I have ever seen. Sitting early in the morning with my cup of coffee set the most relaxing day in motion (slow motion).
The beach is within a short walk and you can arrange for a butlered picnic on the sands, if you wish. Like the early 1900s when only the highest and most “select” families in the east traveled to stay a month or two in Newport, the beach experience can be made nearly as lavish. When your book and time in the sun wind down, the cocktails flow at the Inn for as long as your appetite holds off. Back at the Chanler, the fire pit is lit and waiting for you to enjoy the evening. The restaurant, under the direction of Executive Chef Thomas Duffy, will prepare a dinner for you at the Spiced Pear. The Spiced Pear might just be the most underrated restaurant in New England. I could and will write at a later date about his European kitchen featuring the custom-made Bonnet stove that is one of only ten or so in the United States. That certainly is not the main reason that the food will blow away your mind and taste buds, but it certainly attributes to it. For your dining choices, you can also choose to savor the great views in the summer on the Cliff Walk Terrace and breakfast is in the Verdana restaurant.
The twenty rooms of The Chanler are decorated in various period styles. They offer a complimentary house car in partnership with Buick to bring you to and from parts of town. This is a wonderful treat if you have indulged in a few cocktails. The staff is reliable and charming so why not leave the driving to them. Newport, of course, is a lively and welcoming ocean town famous in part for its maritime history and sailing. The town is chuck full of shopping and dining options and the ability to be dropped off and picked up allows you the flexibility to walk and enjoy all the town has to offer.
In short, mornings, days and evenings can be spent much like the days of the lively and vital mansion era in this most magnificent Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, and just a mere blink can draw you back to 2015 when you drift into the past.
