Drink Shrink: Cocktails for Kids!

Jeff Josenhans | Downtown News

My daughter Juliette has been a stout drinker since she was a few weeks old. Okay actually I just wanted to catch your eye with a good opener (maybe), but the holidays are here and that means giving those little grommets a little more love.

It’s also time to not take myself so seriously and have a little fun with this thing. Kids always get the short end of the stick when it comes to holiday celebrations and their dictated beverage options. This year, let’s lay off the juice boxes and multi-million-dollar cider companies.

Personally, I like to break out Bordeaux, nice Scotch and Champagne around the holidays so let’s try using that creative energy for those beverage-suppressed tots instead!

Try these recipes and have them join in the fun! Tinker with the proportions in the recipe prior to shaking and have fun finding what you both think tastes best. You can buy all of this stuff online or even in local stores like BevMo …

1. Fancy Shirley Temple – Buy Ginger Beer, cook down pomegranate seeds in sugar after smashing them a bit to make your own grenadine, and add real Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. Pour the ginger beer over rocks and add the grenadine and cherries.
2. Hawaiian Holidays – Take fresh pineapple and muddle it in a shaker, add a little mango puree, coconut water and some Angostura Bitters. Shake well and serve over rocks.
3. Mama’s Fizz – Take orange flower water, powdered sugar, fresh pressed lemon juice, and an egg white. Shake heavily in a shaker without ice, first. Then add some ice and shake again. Pour over ice in a tall glass.
4. Kid Bond – Take sugar and dissolve in simmering water with juniper berries, coriander seeds, and dried orange peels. Shake that mixture with white cranberry juice and orange bitters. Garnish with an olive on a pick in a martini glass.

P.S. All of these drinks are takes on classic adult cocktails and with a splash of your favorite liquor will work great for the big kids too! Happy Holidays!

In just three years, level 2 CMS Sommelier and Master Mixologist Jeff Josenhans has changed the dynamic in The Grant Grill Downtown from a classic institution to an exciting lounge and elegant restaurant. Taking the kitchen’s “Farm to Table” philosophy to the bar, he has developed a seasonal cocktail program based largely on the hotel’s rooftop garden. He can be reached at jeff.josenhans@luxurycollection.com.