A Southern Gallimaufry
Boil 3 quarts of water. Remove from heat and immediately add 4 big tea bags. Steep for exactly 5 minutes, then remove tea. Stir in a cup of orange juice, 2 cups pineapple juice, and the juice of two lemons. Add 3 sticks cinnamon, 2 teaspoons whole cloves, and mull for at least an hour. Serve with cube sugar. This freezes easily.
Pretty and potent, this easily-made holiday kicker makes for a nice party present. Have fun putting it in gift containers and sprucing it up with ribbons and whatnot. For a fifth of vodka, use about a dozen full-size candy canes. You can crush the canes in their wrappers with the flat of a hammer if you’re careful, or if you have a mortar and pestle, unwrap them and use that. Me, I unwrap them, break them into a bowl, then crush them with a salt shaker. Of course you can use a food processor to grind them into dust. Some people keep the canes whole and just let them dissolve over time, but that takes at least a day. However you do it, once the sugar canes are dissolves, strain the vodka then pour it into whatever containers you’re using for a gift. You can use the round peppermints, too, if you can’t find the canes anywhere.
