You know how at your family’s annual Christmas party there’s always that random aunt who brings like, five thousand jars of her homemade jam? And then she makes you take a bunch of jars because apparently in her world, jam is quite the hot commodity. Then those jars sit in your fridge unopened for the entire next year until you replace them with new jars of jam the following Christmas.
Yeah, you know it’s true.
Well, we heard about a life-changing cocktail trend that may just have you begging Auntie Ellen for a few extra jars of jam this year: jam cocktails.
Apparently the jam adds a nice sweetness, bright coloring and interesting texture. The drinks aren’t meant to have a lot of jam in them – usually only about a half tablespoon – and it is mixed in to the drink (not sitting at the bottom in a big clump). The word we most often hear associated with the cocktail trend is “fresh.”
The thing we love about adding jam to cocktails is that it feels like it’s one of those drinks you can get away with having at breakfast or brunch as well. If jam also goes on toast, jam cocktails must be a breakfast food – right? Fort Defiance Cafe & Bar in Brooklyn knows what we’re talking about; they have a drink called the Breakfast Martini on their brunch menu and it is made from gin, Cointreau, lemon, and orange marmalade.
We also found a really easy recipe that you can make at home (seriously, there’s no way you can mess this up). It’s called the Sparkling Jam Cocktail and all you do is add 1 teaspoon of jam to a glass and then pour 4 ounces of chilled sparkling wine over it. Whisk or stir it gently…and then you’re ready to drink! Hmm, looks like we know what we’re drinking on New Years Eve this year…