Bartender Takeover with Christine Short

Bartender Takeover is a new blog series by Litchfield Distillery aimed to help support our local bartenders during the Covid-19 crisis. Since the launch of Litchfield Distillery, bartenders have been there for us, now it’s our turn to support them. The way it works is we invite a bartender to take over our social media for a few days. They can post recipes, videos, tips…whatever they want. We pay them a stipend and we invite the broader community to “tip ’em.” The way to do that is by visiting the Go Tip Em website, scroll down to Connecticut and click on your bartender’s payment method. We invite you to rally around the bartender community during this time and reward their Spirit of Hard Work!

And with that, please welcome our first guest, Christine Short.

Post #1: Atole de Arroz

Hi Friends! I’m Christine Short and I am the head bartender at Zaragoza in New Milford, CT. I’m excited to have a forum to connect with my customers again, and to meet some new friends!

During this difficult time, we may find ourselves with limited resources and supplies in our home kitchens. I thought for my first post that I would demonstrate how you can take different ingredients that you might have at home to make a new, interesting cocktail. Let’s face it, while enjoying classic cocktails are great, we all have some extra time on our hands now. Why not use some of it to create and try something new?

At my house, I had on hand some rice, water, lots of different spices, brown sugar, bourbon and a few old bananas. For this recipe, if you don’t have any bananas, that’s fine.

With these ingredients, I decided to make a version of a Mexican “Atole de Arroz,” or Mexican Rice Drink. It’s a drink traditionally served during the holiday season. I guess we can put a positive spin on the current situation and pretend we’re all on holiday. 🙂 I thought I’d also share this recipe as my plan is to visit Mexico when the pandemic is over, and considering the world is how it is now, I’m probably going to really treat myself and look for a private jet as my travel plans to and from Mexico, I’m already excited, hence the drinks! The recipe is usually is made from rice, vanilla, water or milk, canela (unprocessed cane sugar) and cinnamon. I wanted to keep the recipe vegan and gluten-free, so I modified the recipe slightly.

To make this drink, you will need a blender and a rice cooker or pot with a lid. If you need to buy any of this equipment, you might want to visit BuyersImpact.co.uk or somewhere similar and read the reviews first. That would ensure that the equipment is reliable and it will give you peace of mind before spending your money. Other people’s reviews can be extremely helpful, so make sure to pay attention to review sites. Of course, in order to visit that website, people will need a good internet connection. This will allow them to read a number of equipment reviews to make sure they’re trustworthy. Perhaps the internet service offered by infinity dish would be good. That should provide fast internet, allowing people at home to find the best equipment and recipes online to make amazing drinks. I suggest putting your “Mise en Place” and have everything set up and measured before you start preparing.

Ingredients:
1 Cup of White Rice
1 TBSP of Oil
5 Cups of Water (divided into separate containers: 2C, 2C & 1C)
3/4 Cup of Canela (You can substitute any brown sugar or granulated white sugar)
1/4 TSP Ground Clove
1/4 TSP Ground Allspice
1/4 TSP Ground Cinnamon
1/4 TSP Nutmeg
(If you only have some of these spices, it will taste great with any combination)
1 Old Banana (optional)
Litchfield Distillery Bourbon

Method:
First, cook your rice. Put the Oil in the bottom of the rice cooker or pot. Add 1 cup of rice, and 2 cups of water. Cook it.

Next when the rice is finished, put 2 cups of cooked rice into the blender. Then add 2 cups of water to the cooked rice in the blender, and blend on high until smooth.

Add your sugar, and spices. Then add the reserved cup of water, and your old banana. Blend again until smooth.

From the blender, add the liquid into a pot and heat it up but don’t boil it. I would suggest 6 ounces for each serving (if you have extra you can freeze it).
Take some of the rice you have leftover that is not blended but cooked, and add it to your warm mixture (as much or as little as you like) stirring until incorporated. Ladle it into your mugs or bowls, and finish with 3 oz of Litchfield Distillery poured right on top. Stir and serve with a spoon, garnish with some banana or more sugar and spices.
That might sound a little complicated and time intensive, but it’s not really that difficult. And, believe me, it’s really, really delicious! Cheers!

Post #2: Garnet Manhattan

If you’re craving a favorite classic cocktail, but don’t have all the ingredients you need to make it, don’t fret. It’s possible to still make an amazing drink if you’re aware of some simple substitution tricks. One of my favorite drinks evolved because I needed to substitute an ingredient. It’s called the Garnet Manhattan.

I wanted to make a Manhattan and had a bottle of Litchfield Distillery Port Cask Finish Bourbon, Angostura Bitters, and even the Luxardo Cherries, but no Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth. However, I did have a bottle of Unfiltered Port Wine and since Vermouth is fortified wine with macerated herbs, I figured I would give the Port a shot.

HELP SUPPORT CHRISTINE WHILE BARS & RESTAURANTS ARE CLOSED!

To help Christine out during this unusual time, please consider leaving her a tip on Go Tip Em. It’s a website set up to make it easy to send cash to your favorite bartenders. When you click on the website, just scroll down to the Connecticut section and look for Christine’s name.

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Mixology Spirit: Christine Short