After Midnight Kiss

This festive cocktail starts with a mulled wine reduction and is garnished with datil citrus dust. Each component makes enough for a large gathering, perfect for a New Year’s party. Photography by Cole LoCurto.

Ingredients

For mulled wine

7 star anise pods

18 whole cloves

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

1-1/2 tablespoons whole coriander seed

1-1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

5 cinnamon sticks, cracked

1/2 cup orange peel

1 cup orange juice

1 cup Pedro Ximenez sherry

1 cup ruby port

1-1/2 cups sweet vermouth

3 (750-milliliter) bottles red wine

2-1/2 tablespoons citric acid powder

3-3/4 cups white sugar

For datil citrus dust

1 cup fresh datil peppers, halved

2 oranges, sliced horizontally

1 grapefruit, sliced horizontally

1 lemon, sliced horizontally

1 lime, sliced horizontally

5 cups simple syrup

For garnish

2 tablespoons orange powder

1 teaspoon datil powder

1 teaspoon grapefruit powder

1 teaspoon lemon powder

1 teaspoon lime powder

1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid

1/2 teaspoon citric acid powder

For each cocktail

Ice

1 ounce mulled wine reduction

3/4 ounce lemon juice

1/4 ounce Zucca Rabarbaro amaro

1 ounce Hayman's Sloe Gin

2 ounces sparkling rosé wine

Instructions

To make mulled wine: Toast spices in a heavy-bottomed stock pot. Add orange peel, orange juice, sherry, ruby port, sweet vermouth and red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and add citric acid powder and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, then strain through a chinois to catch large pieces of the spices. Then strain through a wet coffee filter. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 4 weeks.

To make datil citrus dust: Pour 1 cup simple syrup into each of 5 small bowls. Add each ingredient to 1 bowl and coat thoroughly. Place contents of each bowl into a dehydrator set at 135° for 2-3 days, until all of the moisture has been extracted. Place each dried ingredient separately in a high-powered blender or spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Be careful when grinding the candied datils; you might want to wear a respirator and eye protection. Place each of the ground powders into separate containers.

To make datil citrus garnish: Place all ingredients in blender or spice grinder and blend until thoroughly combined. Store in an airtight container and use within 2 weeks. The mixture will last longer if you put a desiccant packet into the container.

To make each cocktail: Brush the side of a champagne flute with simple syrup and sprinkle datil citrus dust on side. Add ice and remaining ingredients except sparkling rosé wine to a cocktail shaker and shake until well combined and chilled. Add sparkling rosé wine to cocktail shaker and strain into flute garnished with datil citrus dust.