Mr. Bali High

You can't mix rum, pineapple and coffee without acknowledging the classic Mr. Bali Hai.

But I have made a lighter, longer alternative and since it contains caffein I thought Mr. Bali High and appropriate name.

It takes a little work ahead of the cocktail hour to mix this, but both the coffee shrub and the pineapple syrup can be used for other purposes and is well worth the work.

I used the coffee shrub in my version of a White Russian and it's the same batch, it keeps amazingly well. You finde the recipe here.

For the pineapple syrup i reduced 2 dl fresh pineapplejuice to 1 dl and then added 1 dl sugar. I used simple white sugar but a light muscovado would be nice too.

Once the syrup and shrub is ready it's a really easy highball to put together and I think it would be really easy to batch it and the add the tonic when serving to a larger crowd.

• 1,5 cl coffee shrub - recipe above
• 1,5 cl pineapple syrup - ditto
• 3 cl fresh pineapple juice
• 6 cl golden rum - I used Appleton Signature Blend
• 8 cl tonic - do spend the money on good stuff like Fever Tree or Fentiman

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker and shake for about 10 seconds. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice and add the tonic - serve with straws.

Also this drink works really well without the rum - if you want a non-alcoholic alternative for a party. Might not be suitable for kids because of the coffee shrub.

Clementina Caliente

With only google translate to guide me, I hope there are no double entendres or offensivenes in the name of my cocktail. It was kindly offered by a friend and seems fitting.

I have to say it's been a long time since a Mixology Monday theme was quite as fitting as this month's.

Sunday morning as I drove home from work my car informed me it was -15 C (5F) outside. I drove through a landscape covered in snow, the moon was out as was all the stars and here and there I passed through frozen mist hovering 10 feet off the ground.

So coming up with a cocktail to brace yourself - the theme Doc Elliot has chosen - seems as natural as scraping ice of the windshield. But I'll let him explain:
Winter usually evokes scenes of roaring fires with glasses or mugs filled with warming liquid fortifying us against the cold and damp. Winter provides the shared universal experience that spans language, geography and the centuries – that moment just before you step out into the cold; to walk to the bus stop, hit the ski slope, shovel the snow or feed the livestock. So what adult beverages can best prepare the body and steel the will for that moment when we  go forth into Winter?

Mind you it really isn't often -15 C in Danmark, that's further north in Scandinavia. And wearing one of these is a much better way to brace yourself keep than drinking alcohol but it also cramps your style.

The Clementina Caliente has the ratio of the Last Word and the same formula of base spirit - citrus juice - Chartreuse - liqueur.

I find that it seldom fails and in this case succeeds.

• 3 cl mezcal - I used Ilegal Joven
• 3 cl yellow Chartreuse
• 3 cl Ancho Reyes chile liqueur
• 3 cl fresh squeezed clementine juice

Shake it all with ice and strain into cocktail glass garnish with a twist of peel from the clementine

Cherry Sour

10 years ago three men had a brilliant idea: The wanted to make wine from cherries. In the land of Cherry Heering that might not sound like such a groundbreaking thing but it was.

They decide to actually make wine from berries picked right at the front door of the winery, berries with different characteristics depending on where they grow.

The resulting Frederiksdal Kirsebærvin is amazing and thankfully they have been hugely succesful. One of the three men is a coworker of mine, and he have supplied me with a few bottles over the years including the cherry liqueur this sour depends on.

• 6 cl Islay whiskey - I used Ardbeg 10 year old
• 9 cl freshly squeezed juice from blood oranges
• 0,75 cl amaretto
• 0,75 cl simple syrup (maybe less if your oranges are sweet, mine were lovely and sour)
• 1 cl cherry liqueur
• 1/2 egg white

Add all but the cherry liqueur to a shaker and shake hard for 10 sekunds without ice, then add ice and shake until the shaker turns icy on the outside. Strain into lowball glass and then add the cherry liqueur - add it in one swift motion so that it settles on the bottom of the glass live a glowing, red January sunset.