Baby, It's Cold Outside: Bengal Spice Tea

It hurts my delicate minimalist sensibilities to post a photo of this colourful box, but Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice is crucial to getting through the chill of winter. It also keeps me from rooting through the remaining Christmas chocolate come late afternoon, but this is not a diet post. I hate New Year’s diet posts.

Bengal Spice herbal tea is my secret shame. It doesn’t taste at all like tea, but rather like high school-era Dentyne cinnamon gum. It’s that strong. It was first served to me by a friend who takes her tea very seriously, so I was surprised that she was drinking something you can buy at the grocery store. But I instantly became a Bengal Spice true believer and I haven’t been without a box since.

I soon found out that other friends love it as well. We’re members of a secret society that has no meetings but is united by a love of this intense, ‘spice forward’ tea. Bengal Spice contains no sugar, but maybe our brains read the full-on cinnamon assault as sugar? I don’t know. And I stockpile it this time of year because I will drink many cups over these next few months, while all sorts of weather rage outside my window.

One tip: I do transfer the tea bags to a white enamel tin because the scent is pretty potent and it will permeate other items in your pantry if you let it. But I mainly do it because lord, that box is ugly.

The Nice List: Gifts for the Tippler

Still Life with a Gilt Cup, Willem Claesz (1635)

Guest columnist Nathalie Atkinson is a culture journalist with an affinity for spirits. There are presently 198 bottles in her liquor cabinet (107 of them gin). Follow her on Instagram at @jadedjournalista.

By: Nathalie Atkinson

A jigger, a shaker, and a Hawthorne strainer walk into a bar. It’s your bar, and they’re regulars because you’ve been doing this a while. You’ve got the basics but these holiday picks will make cocktail hour better in every way.

With a Twist

You can mix a stirred drink in any heavy wide-mouthed vessel or carafe (I use a vintage flower pitcher) but a twisty stainless steel mixing spoon is non-negotiable. It will save your shoulders, elbow, and wrist — and it looks slick in a boomerang. $16 at Cocktail Emporium (cocktailemporium.com)

Have you been enjoying the mixology magic of Stanley Tucci’s deadpan cocktail tutorials on InstagramTV? And his matte gold bar accessories, similar to these at Cocktail Emporium?

Stanley Tucci made that scotch sour just for you, you lucky thing.

The Big Squeeze

Because only suckers buy ready-made simple syrup: a plastic squeeze bottle will keep yours fresh in the fridge for up to a month. 

$5.49 at Kitchen Stuff Plus (KitchenStuffPlus.com)

Behind Door #3

Every serving from That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s Advent Calendar gives you a daily surprise to look forward to. $199.95 at LCBO while supplies last (lcbo.com)

Blow Me

Nova Scotian Crystal

Brad Copping’s Xylen tumblers

A scotch sour served in Halifax’s own Nova Scotian Crystal just tastes better. I’m partial to the diamond-cut Titanic pattern, so-named because the design was inspired by its stateroom light sconces (and because artefacts from the doomed ocean liner are housed in the nearby Maritime Museum of the Atlantic). For a more colourful cocktail by all means covet Campbell-Rey’s striped tumblers, but remember that artist Brad Copping’s cheerful Xylen tumblers are blown right here in Canada.

From $85 at Nova Scotian Crystal (novascotiancrystal.com) and $48 through Craft Ontario (craftontarioshop.com)

Cherry Bombed

Some people swear by Luxardo; I do not. For an Aviation my go-to is Tillen Farms’ plump dark Bada Bing. In a Manhattan, it’s Paw Paw’s unctuous Amaretto variation made with organic B.C. cherries. If you’re into packaging and design then Fabbri and Toschi’s curvaceous ceramic jars are the epitome of bella figura—like it’s 1962 and you’re sipping a leisurely Negroni in Via Veneto, not a paparazzo in sight. But better no cherry at all than those round things tinted with red dye #40 that call themselves maraschinos but taste like a cartoon version that has survived Chernobyl. If you heed nothing else here, make them good cherries.

$12.99-$29 at Cocktail Emporium (cocktailemporium.com)

The Gin is In

Filmmaker Paul Feig launched Artingstall’s in the spring and his premium gin is now firmly in my top 3. It’s not just that Stanley Tucci loves it, or because Feig’s Spy and Freaks & Geeks are my comfort-food, or even to copy what Emma Thompson swigs at the London outdoor market in Last Christmas. Unlike some celebrity booze brands we could name, Feig is not a come-lately: the Freaks & Geeks creator has long been as famous for his love of a crisp Duke’s Martini as he is for his sartorial flair. He formulated the distinctively citrus-forward gin with the micro distillery division of Calgary’s Minhas at their Wisconsin facility, gave it his mother’s maiden name, and even designed the cut-glass bottle. When you’ve polished it off—which will be sooner than you think—soak the label off and it’s an elegant art deco decanter.

Artingstall’s Brilliant London Dry Gin, $54.95 at LCBO  and several other Canadian provinces, and in USA (artingstalssgin.com)

Shadow of the Thin Man

Contemporary martini glasses are too large and too tall: the centre of gravity is off and they teeter. Instead, opt for the simple tulip glass known as a Nick and Nora, after the urbane and prodigious drinkers of The Thin Man. The smaller capacity is how Nora managed to line up those five more martinis—and will help yours stay chilly to the last drop.

$14 at Cocktail Emporium (cocktailemporium.com)

Shaken and Stirred

I’ve taken many drinks classes and, with apologies to Stanley, my favourites are with Famous Last Words, the Junction’s literary-themed bar. Marlene and her team combine history and lore specific to the chosen cocktails with useful tips on ingredients, variations, and technique (because yes, you are holding that bar spoon wrong). Until indoor tippling can safely reopen, sign up for their online classes themed around imbibers Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Dickens.

$40 per screen at Famous Last Words (famouslastwordsbar.com)

Frozen, Too

Retro-classic stainless steel makes a satisfying thwack but Prohibition’s over, folks, and flexible silicone ice cube trays make much less mess. A covered silicone tray is also easier for stacking and prevents cubes from absorbing freezer odour while setting. (Bonus: the frame means it won’t slosh and sag when filled with water.) Once they’re solid, pop the cubes out and store in a sealed plastic bag. $16.99 at Cocktail Emporium (cocktailemporium.com) 

One last tip for the long winter ahead:

Trainer Vineyard’s display-worthy Haberdasher vermouths.

Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. A great way to liven up a favourite winter cocktail like a Boulevardier or Manhattan is to use a higher-quality version of one of the ingredients. Chances are your local bar is selling bottles and I guarantee you they and local dealers have a better selection of sweet red vermouth than the provincial liquor authority (I like Cocchi, and Punt e Mes, and Haberdasher vermouth from Prince Edward County’s Traynor Vineyard). And in a Paper Plane I play with different amari to see how they alter the flavour profile.

Cheers!