Dive Bar Jukebox Christmas Eve Yule Log with Amanda Schuster
Sponsored by Le Moné
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LAST CALL will return on Friday, December 29 with our second annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Special, featuring a year-end round-up along with what some of our favorite Friends of LAST CALL sharing what they will be drinking on New Year’s Eve and my go-to recipe for a contemplative cocktail to close out 2023 and look ahead to 2024. Wishing everyone who celebrates a very Merry Christmas!
Today’s LAST CALL Holiday Gift Guide is available to all readers thanks to the generous support of Le Moné.
At LAST CALL we like creating and curating playlists as much as we do stirring and shaking up cocktails, and during the holiday season having the right lineup of songs playing on the stereo goes hand in hand with the effortless ease of offering a welcome cocktail for your guests when they walk through your door.
There’s an art to crafting a perfect playlist beyond simply hitting “shuffle.” It’s about conjuring an overall mood that adapts to the room over the course of the evening and into the night, weaving in and out of genre, style, and tone. And later in the night when the deep and soulful yearning of Hugh Masekela’s 1970 cover of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” slides into a back-to-back early 80’s-era Rolling Stones one-two with the sexy disco groove and aching falsetto of “Emotional Rescue” straight into the no-nonsense rocker “Hang Fire” it’s a sign that it’s that particular time of the night to push back the furniture to make room for dancing in the living room.
And when you’re making an iconic drink like a Spritz, just like those song selections, each element must be carefully considered—from the liqueur, sparkling wine, and bubbly water to the ice, garnish, and the glass itself. Stocking up on Le Moné’s all-natural, award-winning wine-based Meyer Lemon Apéritif for your Spritz will deliver a snappy acidity and light sweetness with aromatic notes of Meyer lemon, Persian lime, and Italian bergamot—the ideal foundation for a lighter, livelier, low-alcohol spritz for any holiday gathering.
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Featured Cocktail: Le Holiday Spritz
With just a few ingredients on hand, the Le Holiday Spritz easily comes together for a refreshing, bubbly, and celebratory low-ABV sparkler to ring in any holiday occasion.
Makes 1 Drink
2 ounces Le Moné Meyer Lemon Aperitif
3-5 ounces Prosecco
Ginger Beer, preferably Fever-Tree
Garnish: 3 skewered cranberries, rosemary sprig, lemon zest
Add the Le Moné Meyer Lemon Aperitif to a highball glass filled with ice. Add enough Prosecco to reach around 2/3 of the glass. Give it a quick stir to combine. Top with a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with three skewered cranberries and a fresh rosemary sprig. Express the lemon zest over the surface of the drink and leave in the glass.
Merry and Bright
Even when I’m down and not really feeling the Christmas spirit (my current state), the week leading up to Christmas is one of my favorite times in New York City. I’ve always preferred the overall mood of Christmas Eve, with its countdown of anticipation and buzz of activity, and checking off items on my to-do list, to Christmas Day.
During the buildup to Christmas Eve, I love stopping by McSorley’s and if I’m lucky grab a seat at the John Lennon Table by the window just to the left when you walk through the door and step onto the sawdust-covered floorboards. I always have a few rounds of lights served two at a time in small glass steins and when it’s cold out add on a bowl of chili. And if it’s Friday I love to post up in my corner seat at the bar at Caffe Dante listening to their house band among the beautiful decorations and festive seasonal Negronis (the Panettone Negroni—made with Santa Teresa rum, Tanqueray 10, Campari, Cappelletti Vino Aperitivo, Palo Cortado Sherry, PX sherry, and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao—is a personal favorite). I used to love a solo Christmas week lunch at the beautiful bar at Gramercy Tavern, but that’s not in this freelancer writer’s budget right now. And I’m going to do my best to run up to Bamonte’s. It’s packed this time of year but always worth the effort for their vintage Christmas decorations and a strong Manhattan at the bar (and I never forget to pick up one their Bamonte’s-branded calendars to hang on my refrigerator).
I’ve spent many Christmases on my own here in Brooklyn and have come to develop some of my own solitary traditions.