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A delicious cocktail and a Thanksgiving dish go together like pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We’ve taken the bold flavors in our spirits and paired them with some of Thanksgiving’s most traditional dishes like juicy turkey, Brussel sprouts with cranberry and an apple pie Baked Alaska, to name a few. It’s time to sit back, relax, eat, drink, and be merry this Thanksgiving with these 14 perfectly paired cocktails and dishes from Liquid Chef Billie Keithley and Breckenridge Distillery Restaurant’s Executive Chef Robbie Reyes.
MAPLE CIDER
We like to start the day with a warm sipper as you prepare your delicious Thanksgiving feast.
1-1/2 oz Breckenridge Spiced Rum (Buy Now)
1 oz blackberry juice
1/2 oz maple syrup
Top with hot cider
Garnish: blackberries dusted with maple sugar
CORNUCOPIA + Oven Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds, Apricots, and Bacon
Take your table setting to the next level with this sharable cocktail. Made with Breckenridge Gin, it’s the perfect conversation piece as you catch up with family around the table.
Cornucopia
2 oz Breckenridge Gin (Buy Now)
1-1/2 oz apricot shrub*
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz lime juice
Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain and serve over ice per serving. Double batch, strain and serve up. Refrigerate in a porthole vessel.
Garnish: Apricot, citrus, pomegranate seeds, red vein sorrel, rosemary.
*Apricot shrub: Over medium heat, add 1 cup apricot juice, 4 oz sugar and ½ oz cider vinegar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool, bottle and refrigerate.
Hayride Punch + Honey Glazed Pork Belly w/ Butternut Squash Almandine
The flavors of this pairing truly complement one another. When Chef mentioned pork belly and butternut squash, Billie went straight for Breckenridge Spiced Whiskey. The cider, vanilla bean and citrus combined with our Spiced Whiskey but through the pork belly and make each bite and sip perfection.
Hayride Punch
**Approx. 20 servings. Based on 6oz punch glasses.
1 bottle (750 ml) Breckenridge Spiced Whiskey (Buy Now)
1 gallon unfiltered apple cider
16 oz Vanilla bean/syrup*
6 oz fresh lemon juice
Combine all ingredients into punch bowl. Keep refrigerated.
Garnish: apples, citrus, pomegranate seeds, pears and one full orange peeled and zested on top right before serving.
*Vanilla bean syrup: over medium heat add 12 oz water, 1 cup Sugar in the Raw and 3 oz vanilla bean paste. Stir until dissolved. Let cool and refrigerate.
CRISP AIR SELTZER + Peach Wood Smoked Turkey Leg w/ Spiced Apple and Ginger Stuffing.
Crisp Air Seltzer
3/4 oz Breckenridge Bourbon (Buy Now)
1/2 oz ginger, apple, cardamom syrup*
Top with sparkling water.
Build in glass over ice. Stir to incorporate.
Garnish: cinnamon stick and French marigold
*Ginger, apple, cardamom syrup: Over medium heat, add 1 cup unfiltered apple juice, 4 oz raw sugar, 1 oz crushed ginger, and 1/2 oz muddled cardamom. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool, bottle, and refrigerate.
HAPPY DRAMSGIVING + COLORADO TURKEY
We’ve taken our Breckenridge Bourbon, combined with locally sourced Honeybee Keep Honey, to create this honey glazed Colorado Turkey dish. The bold flavors of the turkey glaze paired with the spices of the Happy Dramsgiving will have your mouth watering for leftovers.
Happy Dramsgiving
2oz Breckenridge Bourbon (Buy Now)
1/2oz Allspice Dram*
1 dash orange bitters
Orange zest
Stir ingredients. Serve over ice.
*Allspice Dram Recipe:
2 cups Breckenridge Spiced Rum (Buy Now)
2oz brown sugar
3 cups water
4oz allspice berries
2 cinnamon sticks
1 clove
Muddle all spices, berries, breaking them up into pieces, not overdoing it. Add the Breckenridge Spiced Rum and berries together in a seal tight jar. Shake. Let steep for 5 days, shaking daily. Add cinnamon sticks broken into 2. After 2 more days add clove. After 10 days of steeping and shaking daily, strain out solids. Over medium heat, add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Turn off heat. Add the Dram mix. Let cool. Put everything into the seal tight jar. Refrigerate for a couple more days before using. This is served superbly with Breckenridge Bourbon. Serve hot or cold.
MAPLE DATE OLD FASHIONED + MAPLE GLAZED HONEY HAM
Maple Date Old Fashioned
2-1/2 oz Breckenridge Bourbon (Buy Now)
1/2 oz maple/date syrup*
2 dashes Fee Brothers Barrel-Aged Whiskey Bitters
Stir all ingredients with ice. Stain over a large cube or sphere.
Garnish: healthy orange zest, Luxardo cherry and edible maple leaf.
*Maple and date simple syrup: over medium heat add 8 oz water, 6 oz date sugar & 1-1/2 oz Tim Burton’s Maple Syrup. Stir until dissolved and let cool.
PLEASANT FIG PERSIMMON PUCKER + Sous Vide Turkey Roulade w/ Bacon Fat Stuffing and Spicy Glazed Carrots
A powerhouse of flavors in this pairing. Our Breckenridge PX Sherry Cask Finish, Black Mission Fig Vinegar and citrus shine while the flavors of the turkey roulade dance on your palate. A truly mouthwatering pairing.
Pleasant Fig Persimmon Pucker
2-1/2 oz Breckenridge Sherry Cask Finish (Buy Now)
1/2 oz Black Mission Fig shrub*
1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
Shake all ingredients with ice. Serve up or on the rocks.
Garnish: dehydrated persimmon slice
*Black Mission Fig shrub: over low heat add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 4 mission figs quartered and muddled. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 4 oz Black Mission Fig vinegar. Let rest an hour. Let cool and strain. Refrigerate.
THE SEASON TO BE BERRY + CANDIED YAMS
A beloved turkey day staple that should find its way to every table. The earthy sweetness of the yams is juxtaposed perfectly with this snappishly balanced cocktail.
The Season to be Berry
1-1/2oz Breckenridge Pear Vodka (Buy Now)
1tbs lingonberry jam
1/2oz lemon juice
4oz cranberry juice
Shake all ingredients with ice
Garnish: mint and cranberry
CRISP HARVEST + BRUSSELS SPOUTS W/ CRANBERRIES
Delicious barrel charred, maple roasted Brussels sprouts and cranberry jam add the perfect pop of color at your Thanksgiving dinner table. Our maple syrup is aged in Breck Bourbon barrels, giving you a distinct flavor of charred oak bourbon. This cocktail and dish pairing offer the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness between the cranberries, pears, apples, and figs in the cocktail and the Brussels sprouts, bacon, jam, and almonds.
Crisp Harvest
1-1/2 oz Breckenridge Pear Vodka (Buy Now)
1 oz fig, pear, apple shrub*
4 oz pear/apple juice
1 oz cranberry juice
Shake ingredients. Serve over ice.
Garnish: apples and cranberries
*Homemade Shrub- Over medium heat, add 3oz fig jam, 4oz unfiltered apple cider, 3oz pear juice. 2oz of cider vinegar, 6oz brown sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let cool.
FAMILY TRADITION + Brown Butter Pecan Pie with Black Cherry Gelato
Your famous Pecan Pie is delightfully complimented by this tart, Port Cask Cocktail balanced by a light brown butter wash.
Family Tradition
2oz Brown butter wash Breckenridge Port Cask Finish* (Buy Now)
2 oz tart cherry juice
1 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz brown sugar allspice syrup**
3 drops Blackstrap Bitters
Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain and serve over ice.
Garnish: brandied cherry
*Brown butter wash: Over low medium heat, add one stick of butter to a skillet. Let melt and brown slightly. Pour into a pitcher with one bottle of Breckenridge Port Cask Finish. Place in freezer overnight. Skim off butter and strain.
**Brown sugar allspice syrup: Over medium heat, add 1 cup water, 6oz brown sugar, and 1 oz muddled allspice. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool, bottle, and refrigerate.
WINTER’S CHAI + YELLOW SQUASH/BACON CASSEROLE
This pairing balances the bitter, spice and fat with the richness of the season. Slightly bitter squash and rich bacon meld harmoniously with the spiced piquant flavors of this seasonal sipper; bring an old tradition to the dinner table. You may have to ask Grandma for her recipe.
Winter’s Chai
1-1/2oz Breckenridge Spiced Whiskey (Buy Now)
1-1/2oz chai tea
3oz almond milk
3/4oz honey simple
Shake all ingredients with ice
Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg
Happiness & Huckleberries + Apple Pie Baked Alaska
We are bringing together sweet and tart for this pairing. Our Breckenridge Bourbon and the sweetness and tartness of the huckleberries pair so wonderfully with apples making it a perfect pairing with an Apple Pie Baked Alaska. Try the Happiness & Huckleberries warm.
Happiness & Huckleberries
1-1/2 oz Breckenridge Bourbon (Buy Now)
1 oz huckleberry/honey syrup*
Top with Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale
Incorporate all ingredients over crushed ice.
Garnish: huckleberries
*Huckleberry/honey simple syrup: over medium heat add 2 cups water, 12 oz huckleberries. Muddle huckleberries as they get warm. Add 6 oz sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and let rest an hour. Strain and refrigerate.
Serve it hot:
NUTS OVER RUM CASK + WARM APPLE PIE
Nuts Over Rum Cask
1-1/2 oz Breckenridge Rum Cask Finish (Buy Now)
4 oz oat Milk
1/2 oz orgeat (BG Reynolds Orgeat) or homemade orgeat*
4 drops Bittermans Xocolatl Mole bitters
Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain & serve over ice.
Garnish: crushed nuts.
*Homemade Orgeat-
Ingredients:
12 oz raw almonds
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
Instructions: Heat oven to 375. Spread 12 oz of raw almonds on a cookie sheet. Cook 10 minutes. Let cool (you can hear them crackle a bit). Add into spice grinder a few pulses at a time. Over medium heat add 5 cups water and 4 cups sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add Almonds. Turn off heat and cover. Let rest for 8 hours and strain.
TEN MILE TODDY + SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
You will definitely want to save room for this pairing. Spiced pumpkin cheesecake with graham cracker crust, sea salt caramel drizzle, top with fresh homemade whipped cream and an almond tuile treat. That is a mouth full. The Spiced Whiskey and honey cardamom pairs perfectly with the spices of the pumpkin cheesecake.
Ten Mile Toddy
1-1/2oz Breckenridge Spiced Whiskey (Buy Now)
3/4oz toasted cardamom honey simple*
1/2oz lemon juice
Top with hot water
*Homemade Simple- Over medium heat in a skillet, toast 25 cardamom pods. Add cardamom, 12oz water, 6oz honey, 6oz brown sugar. Stir until dissolved. Turn off heat and cover. Let rest for 6 hours. Strain and bottle.
Looking for other delicious cocktails you can easily make at home? Read more about our winter cocktails and Christmas cocktails. Cheers and happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Breckenridge Distillery.
