New Years Eve Party Muzak

by Jeff Yerger

Can we all just agree about how much New Years Eve sucks? Not only is it the end of the wonderful holiday season, but every living being needs to blow buzzing horns and shake obnoxious rattlers in the process. I get it! You’re excited for the new year. Go blow your vuvuzela somewhere else! And don’t even get me started on New Years Day. Boy oh boy, what a dreadful holiday. National Hangover Day is what we like to call it, but even that would be putting it nicely. New Years Day is like 1,000 Sundays rolled into one, only instead of looking down the gun barrel of a long week, you’re staring down a tank of a long, cold, miserable winter ahead.  Think summer will be here before you know it? Guess again, pal. Even if Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his fat ass shadow on February 2nd, hell will still be a place on frozen earth for the next three months. Well, in New Jersey anyway.

Did I depress you enough? I guess New Years Eve isn’t all THAT bad. I mean, it is a pretty darn good excuse to drink, and we here at That Sunday Barrel like to drink. And eat our drinks. Once the beer starts flowing like wine, we also like to get our dance on. So, while you’re getting shnoshed on leftover eggnog or whatever it is you may fancy tonight, check out a few of 2013’s best dance mixes to get you through the night and into 2014.

Oh and one more thing: don’t you dare think about driving tonight! Be smart and be safe!

Happy New Year!

Start out slow…

Get in the groove…

End with a bang!

Sunday Drink Special: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

by Katherine Milsop

Chocolate stout cupcakes don’t fall under the category of drinks, per say, but sweet, boozy goodness is most assuredly baked into every bite. Really, every bite. There’s booze in the cake, the chocolate filling and the buttercream frosting.

Courtesy of Deb Perelman’s delicious food blog, Smitten Kitchen, these Irish Car Bomb cupcakes are heavenly and well worth the time and effort.

Stout of choice:

Whiskey of choice:

A butter-stout soup, to be mixed with the cocoa powder when melted.

Naked cupcakes, cooling:

An apple corer guts them perfectly:

The result:

Cheers!

Sunday Night Soother

by Katherine Milsop

The Old Fashioned.

While the drink may conjure cliche visions of ad men in fedoras hunched over a smoky, cherry-wood bar, it can be a smooth, delicious soother sure to please any palate when mixed right. So here is a blend to get you through the week, or at least keep you warm on a chilly fall night. And go ahead, dive after a few cherries. You deserve it, toots.

Start with a “lowball” glass. I use small glass tumbler that used to hold Nutella. Whatever works.

Add the sugar, preferably Simple syrup. It’s just one part sugar and one part water brought to a boil in a saucepan. For this drink, I add cinnamon to the syrup. And in my experience, syrup works better than granulated sugar or a sugar cube.

Bitters offer a little spice. My Grandma put Angostura in bundt cakes. It works here, too. Just a dash to taste.

Pour about 2 oz. of your whiskey or bourbon of choice. I happened to have Jura on hand, so it’s top shelf tonight! But Jim Beam also works.

Add an ice cube or two for that satisfying “clink” in the glass.

Swirl. Garnish with an orange peel, if you desire, or a cherry.