It’s Easter time! Time for big spreads of food, family, and in our case, booze to help it all go down. Easter Egg hunts, fake plastic grass, chocolate bunnies… this holiday has become a festival of pastels and sweets for kids and adults alike. But if you prefer a different kind of sweet, we here at DrinkGal want to help make your Easter just a little smoother.

The Traditions

Easter is the end of Lent (remember the beginning of Lent? Ah…. Fat Tuesday!). If you’ve been a good Catholic, you’ve been abstaining for 40 days, so why not celebrate in style? Traditionally, Easter foods are things like ham, hot cross buns, and pretzels. We thought we might take these nibbles and spice them up our way…with a little sauce!

First, the ham. We found this recipe for Ham with Citrus-Rum Glaze, and it sounds amazing. However, what doesn’t sound good with a little rum thrown into it? May we suggest Gosling’s for the that perfect dark-rum flavor? It’s not Grandma’s recipe, but we think it will do.

Hot Cross Buns! We can’t remember the nursery rhyme about these gooey, warm (and fat free?) delicious treats, but we found a way to make this confection even better. How about adding a little Brandy Frosting on top? This recipe calls for Apricot Brandy, but we are sure just about any brandy will do. Personally, we are thinking Apple…

And Pretzels. We had no idea that these little snacks were in any way associated with Easter, but it appears that they were originally shaped to imitate the torso of a person with arms folded, praying. Interesting. We like ours soft, and made with beer, so we found this recipe for Beer Pretzels. You can make them in the traditional shape, or perhaps in the shape of a pint glass?

The Drinks

In a word, Spring. Flowers are blooming, the air is warmer, and it’s brunch. Let’s break out the bubbly! First, we have the ever-so popular Mimosa, the simple combination of orange juice and your favorite bubbly. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser and also requires very little buying, planning and execution. Want something a little more exotic? How about a Bellini? Our recipe calls for peach, but you can use puree of almost any fruit and make a delicious cocktail. Trust me, we’ve tried a lot of them.

If you’re a bit of a traditionalist, there is always a Bloody Mary (for which we highly recommend, and use, J. Wilbur’s Bloody Mary Mix). No matter what you garnish with (why not bacon?) one of these will kick start your afternoon. And for those of you concerned with the name, we promise there is no religious insinuation here.

If you are in the mood for something a little different, we found an Easter Martini from Difford’s Guide that requires a little work, but bears gratifying results. Cardamom, vanilla vodka and a touch of chocolate seem to be a appropriate cocktail for this particular holiday.

How are we going to spend the day, you ask? A little food, a little booze. And while the kids have their Easeter egg hunt, we have a variation of our own for the big kids:  substituting airplane bottles for Easter eggs.

Cheers!

Mimosa
3 oz champagne or sparkling wine
2 oz orange juice

Pour both ingredients into a champagne flute and stir gently.

Bellini
1 peach half
2 oz champagne
¼ oz simple syrup

Muddle the peach in a champagne glass with simple syrup and fill with champagne.

Easter Martini
4 pods green cardamom
2 oz vanila vodka
1 oz white creme de cacao
¼ oz simple syrup
½ oz chilled water

Break open cardamom pods and muddle inner seeds in shaker. Add rest of ingredients in shaker, shake with ice and fine strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

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