Libation: ginger cookie holiday cocktail

After the oodles of holiday parties, most of you will likely not need any help with cocktails over the holidays. However, if you find yourself at home, sans holiday party, try warming up with this. The flavors come together to remind one of cookies your grandma used to make.

I particularly love this drink because the ginger comes from my favorite farmer at the farmers market. He is only there every third weekend, bringing small amounts of what he has, which has included, at different points in time, zucchini flowers, ginger, ginger leaves (and the instructions for how to use them to wrap food for cooking), red potatoes, and beautiful and sweet-smelling ginger flowers.

Ingredients:

• 3 T grated ginger (the more the gingerier)
• 2 sprigs mint (a few more leaves for garnish)
• 1/2 juicy lemon
• 1 T simple syrup
• 1 jigger brandy
• 2 jiggers bourbon
• 1/2 jigger Becherovka
• 1 egg white (use the egg yolk in something else, freezing if you can't use immediately)
• Peychaud's bitters

Instructions:
Muddle the ginger, mint, lemon, and simple syrup. Add the liquors with a few solid ice cubes. Shake, shake, shake. Strain with a fine mesh strainer, reserving the leaves and ginger. Squeeze out the mint and ginger to make them give up all they've got to this drink.

With the drink, the cubes, and an egg white back in the shaker, shake, shake, shake some more. You'll know it's ready when it starts to feel less wet and more frothy.

Strain into two glasses, tapping the strainer to get the froth to top the drinks. Garnish with a few leaves of mint and a few drops of Peychaud's. If you'd like to get even more fancy-pants, use a toothpick to make a design with the drops.