Drink This Potion

Birthdays call for giant jars of liquor. Birthdays call for potion!

For Andy's birthday in March, when I asked what he would like to drink at his birthday gathering, he said he'd like a very special drink, and he wanted to name it You Can't Tell Me What To Do. And, well, thusly it was born. We ended up having way more than we knew what to do with, seeing as though it was a very small gathering of people, and Murray stopped imbibing for some odd reason, but it's since been strained and seems to be holding strong in refrigerated jars.

It's based on a recipe called Rock & Rye, which has many variations, but, essentially, features rye whiskey and rock candy, all brewed up and aged before knocking the pants off the drinkers of it. I made a few alterations, and it was a seriously amazing potion. It was potent, and with a story to tell -- just like the birthday boy! It's reminiscent of a Manhattan, and of a zillion other whiskey- or bourbon-based cocktails that I have loved, but it has a springy zip of citrus, and the surprise of cloves, plus some other odds and ends that make it incredibly interesting and unexpected.

While rye would be incredible in this, rye is also really expensive, and I needed A LOT of liquid. I went with two handles of a middle-grade whiskey, and I don't regret it at all. I had good intentions to make the rock candy myself, but then I sort of forgot about it and then ran out of time. We ended up scooping some up at the candy shop, and no one knew the difference! And, of course, my good intentions parade carried through to the grenadine, too, but it turns out that it's easier to just buy bottles of it at the liquor store. I've seen Rock & Rye recipes that call for Luxardo cherry syrup, but it's crazy expensive as well, and, honestly, the pomegranate in the grenadine tastes remarkably similar to cherry flavoring, so nothing was lost! In hindsight, I imagine I might try to make a grenadine next time with POM juice and simple syrup.

All in all, this is a marvelous cold-weather elixir, but also transfers well to springtime, especially when it's topped with seltzer or club soda. We used tangerine sparkling water from Trader Joe's, but if you want to go all out, use Fever Tree.

You Can't Tell Me What To Do
Makes a lot. This is probably a good amount for 10-12 thirsty party people.

1 gallon whiskey
4 or 5 sticks of clear rock candy, removed from sticks and broken into chunks
24 oz. good-quality grenadine
12-18 cloves
6 pods of star anise
6 cinnamon sticks
2 oranges, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
1 giant knot of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bag frozen dark cherries
club soda or seltzer

Combine everything in a giant vat. (I have a four-gallon glass jar with a lid that I used, which worked well because it needs to be covered while it steeps, but any kind of glass vessel will do. If you don't have a lid, cover with plastic wrap or the like.) Steep at room temperature for at least 2 days, and up to a month. When you're ready to serve it, ladle into cups full of ice ("good ice" only, please -- don't ruin this liquid gold with cloudy ice from your freezer door) and top with club soda or seltzer. Drink as much as you can.