It’s high time that Mr. Muddle and I did another bottle swap! This is when we each buy a bottle of something new for our bars and trade half. If you’ve got friends who like making cocktails at home, this is a great way to try twice as many new ingredients! In the past we’ve swapped Ancho Reyes, The King’s Ginger, Suze, and Giffard Banane du Bresil. Today’s bottle is the perfect holiday liqueur, St. George Spiced Pear.
If you’re not familiar with St. George Spirits, they’re a California-based distillery that produces some incredible stuff. They’re probably best known for their gins, but you may have seen their Bruto Americano, Absinthe, or Green Chile Vodka on the liquor store shelf as well. Their Spiced Pear Liqueur is another winner. To make it, they start with their Pear Brandy and add additional fruit juice and spices. It’s positively bursting with fresh pear, cinnamon, and cloves, and has just the right amount of sweetness to be sipped on its own or mixed into a cocktail.
St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
Alcohol content: 20%
Price: $40
Popular cocktails: Check out St. George’s suggestions here
My cocktail with this liqueur is a little riff on the classic Philadelphia Fish House Punch. This is a drink with a long history, going back to the early 1700’s. It’s traditionally made with aged rum, Cognac, peach brandy, lemon, and sugar, and served in a large format from a punch bowl. For my Spiced Pear Punch, I replaced the peach brandy with the Spiced Pear Liqueur, used maple syrup as the sweetener, and added a dash of vanilla. Since it was just me drinking this one, I stuck to a single serve, but this would be a great big-batch cocktail for your next holiday party!
Spiced Pear Punch
1 oz. aged rum (Jamaican recommended – I used Appleton Estate Signature Blend)
1/2 oz. Cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
1/2 oz. St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. maple syrup
1 dash vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a punch glass or rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a pear fan.
Check out Mr. Muddle’s cocktail, the Decoder Ring!