You'll be surprised to see the most popular type of food in NJ

Pomegranate And Bergamot Cosmopolitan Cocktail Recipe

'Shop-bought pomegranate juice works just as well as fresh,' writes Mark Hix - Tina Hillier

Use freshly pressed pomegranate juice if you prefer, but shop-bought is just fine.

Timings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves

2

Ingredients

2 x 50ml measures gin or vodka, or alcohol-free spirit

1 mug of strong Earl Grey tea, chilled

200ml pomegranate juice

2 x 25ml measures Italicus Italian bergamot aperitivo

Ice cubes, plus 2 large cubes to serve

2 wedges of pomegranate, to garnish

Method

Stir the gin with the tea, pomegranate juice and bergamot liqueur over ice, then strain into tumblers over a large ice cube. Garnish with a wedge of pomegranate.

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What Your Holiday Drink Says About You: Are You The Life Of The Party Or The Mysterious One?

'Tis the season to drink with your friends, family and co-workers — and what you choose to drink could reveal a lot about who you are as a person.

Your drink order could let your peers and colleagues know whether you're a social ace or laid-back observer — so choose wisely.

Patrick Pistolesi, Master Mixologist at NIO Cocktails, revealed to The Post what drink you should order at your office holiday party based on your personality.

Mocktails: The go-getter

When it comes to "work hard, play hard," this person leans more into the work.

The mocktail drinker is very responsible and a go-getter — and typically the first one to leave, Pistolesi said.

"You are always setting goals and achieving them. You prefer sparkling water over stilled and neutral tones over bright ones," he explained.

Drinks for this person to order are Lemongrass Citrus, Ginger Sour or Gimless.

Bitter cocktails: The creative Bitter cocktails are "particularly popular" with office millennials. NIO Cocktails

Millennials, this one's for you.

Bitter cocktails are "particularly popular" with office millennials, according to Pistolesi. These people are part of the creative team and enjoy talking about art and culture.

"Despite the name of the cocktail, you have a warm, sweet side that people naturally gravitate towards. Your preferred party position is storytelling whilst getting another round in," he said.

Sip on an Espresso Martini, Milano Torino or Spiced Negroni while talking all things culture.

Sour cocktails: The one who is fashionably late The fashionably late coworker should order a Disaronno Sour, Whiskey Sour or Gin Sour. NIO Cocktails

As Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia, of "The Princess Diaries" once said: "A queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early."

The office fashion queen is going to be late, and they're going to be the best dressed. And once they finally arrive, they'll be sipping on a sour cocktail.

"Like the complexity of the drink, you also have many layers to you. You're confident but with an air of sophistication about you," Pistoesi shared. "You will most likely move around amongst different groups instead of sticking to one."

The fashionably late coworker should order a Disaronno Sour, Whiskey Sour or Gin Sour.

Sweet cocktails: The life of the party Drinks the party person should order include: Daiquiri, Strawberry Margarita, Gin Proved. NIO Cocktails

This one takes the cake!

If people consider you to be the life of the party, you're going to be drinking a sweet cocktail. If there's a drink in your hand, the party won't stop.

"You only drink when you dance. You only drink when you get dressed up. And, generally, you only drink on weekends. Yet, when you do drink, you love to keep the party going," Pistolesi said. "Your preferred party position is behind the DJ booth."

Drinks the party person should order include: Daiquiri, Strawberry Margarita, Gin Proved.

Vodka: The socialite Vodka drinkers are the office socialites, guaranteed to be at any work get-togethers. NIO Cocktails

Co-workers drinking a Vodka Sour, Vodka Martini or the "Sex and the City" classic, a Cosmopolitan, are the office socialites, guaranteed to be at any work get-togethers.

"You love being social and enjoy big nights out regularly. You're naturally curious and are always taking annual leave to visit a new destination. Your preferred party position is welcoming everybody," Pistolesi said.

Whiskey: The conversationalist Whiskey on the rocks, Boulevardier or Old Fashioned is what this group of people will be drinking. NIO Cocktails

Whiskey drinkers don't like to talk just to talk. They are serious people most likely engaged in a deep conversation — preferably with the company CEO.

Pistolesi explained, "They tend to be quiet observers and prefer it that way. This group can also be great for direct advice when you need it."

Whiskey on the rocks, Boulevardier or Old Fashioned is what this group of people will be drinking.

Tequila: The funniest Tequila drinkers are the loudest and funniest person in the office. NIO Cocktails

The office clown loves to party, and everyone knows it.

Tequila drinkers are the loudest and funniest person in the office — and they never get embarrassed.

Pistolesi shared that these people are "incredible comfortable in their own skin" and their "preferred party position is in the eye of the storm."

Before embarrassing yourself in front of your colleagues, go ahead and order a Margarita, Tequila Sour or Tequila Sunrise.

Gin: The cool gang The cool crew will be ordering a Dry Martini, Negroni or Gimlet.  NIO Cocktails

The subdued group of gin drinkers are chic, mysterious and cool, Pistolesi explained, and they're more likely to be seen hanging out with the whiskey drinkers than the tequila drinkers.

"They love the fact that you can't read them. This group knows who they are and where they're going, and chances are their professional life reflects that," he said.

"Their preferred party position is slipping out, without saying goodbye."

The cool crew will be ordering a Dry Martini, Negroni or Gimlet. 

Wine: The sensible one Sensible wine drinkers prefer to be surrounded by interesting conversations. NIO Cocktails

Wine drinkers are "serious but not too controversial" — typically safe guests to have at any party.

These are the co-workers that avoid conflict and choose to stay in the middle ground, both in the office and socially.

Sensible wine drinkers prefer to be surrounded by interesting conversations, and will be ordering a Bellini, White Wine Spritzer or Sangria.

Champagne or Prosecco: The observer People watchers should order a Pornstar Martini, Prosecco Margarita or Negroni Sbagliato. NIO Cocktails

An observer and natural listener, the champagne and prosecco drinker is the type to think before they speak. You're the person people go to for permission for various things.

"People overshare with you when in conversation to fill any silences. Your preferred party position? Up at the bar, watching from afar," Pistolesi shared.

These people watchers should order a Pornstar Martini, Prosecco Margarita or Negroni Sbagliato.

Stiff drinks are far from the only indulgence among holiday revelers: A recent survey found that the average American eats roughly two dozen cookies and approximately two whole dessert pies during the festive season.

Lips That Touch Liquor: Celebrating The 90th Anniversary Of Repeal Day With Valley Cocktail Bars

Grab your favorite drink and raise a toast on Dec. 5!

The 90th anniversary of Repeal Day, when the 18th Amendment that codified Prohibition was officially repealed, takes place this month. Without the 21st Amendment, the United States would still be in the dark age of alcohol, covering up bathtub booze with sweeteners and soda, sneaking into speak-easies and buying alcohol from the neighborhood gangsters.

Since the end of Prohibition on Dec. 5, 1933, Americans brought cocktails from the Carribean, Canada and Japan to local bars, adding new flavors to menus and building a repertoire of classics like the Manhattan, the daiquiri and the martini.

Here in the Valley, cocktail bars Gigantic, in Easthampton, and The Archives, in Amherst, share their secrets to creating fun and tasty concoctions to toast with on this most serious of holidays.

Ned King, owner of Gigantic, says all the best cocktails have already been made. There are a few exceptions to his rule, like the Cosmopolitan, invented in the 80s, but King prefers looking into the past for his cocktail inspiration rather than attempting to concoct the next cocktail craze.

"The Manhattans and martinis, there are variations on those drinks, but that formula doesn't get any more simple than that," King said.

King's interest in cocktails began in college while passing the time at his gas station job at the Stop and Shop on Route 9 with YouTube videos on the history of different cocktails. On a college-student budget, he walked next door to Liquors 44 and bought a bottle of alcohol each week to mix old recipes, and slowly became familiar with cocktail culture.

"It suddenly clicked for me that there was more to alcohol than what I had thought," King said. "Being a traditional college student, you don't think of alcohol as anything more than partying or a social thing."

Gigantic's decor and drinks reflects King's same fascination with history that first hooked him into bartending. Portraits of U.S. Presidents break up the fake skulls of human ancestors. Rows and rows of antique alcohol from as early as 1916 line the shelves. 

Gigantic's Manhattan follows the classic cocktail's recipe, mixing rye whiskey with sweet vermouth, and a dash of bitters. He adds Grand Marnier to sweeten the drink and add flavor while also calling back to the original recipe from the 1870s.

"You almost never find Grand Marnier in Manhattans, but in the turn of the century and when the Manhattan was invented in the 1870s … there was always a touch of something in there like an orange liquor," King said. "I think as time goes on, some drinks have been simplified in the wrong way."

King's favorite drink to serve is the Mai Tai because he loves surprising people with the original recipe. He said the Tiki cocktail became overly complicated over time, opting to add various juices and nix the almond syrup. But King's mix of Jamaican and Martinique rum with orange curaçao, lime juice and orgeat (an almond syrup) remains a popular drink during Gigantic's Tiki Bar events.

"It's my favorite cocktail and it's one of my favorite things to make for people at the bar because everyone has a different idea of what a Mai Tai is when you make one, so it's fun to make what's considered the original formula of that," he said.

King takes a lot of inspiration from old formulas, but other cocktail bars in the Valley look to the new cocktail trends coming out of major cities.

Nick Martino, the lead bartender at The Archives, takes a page out of the New York City cocktail scene by adding a butter and sesame-fat wash to an Old Fashioned. To compliment the sesame, he switches the traditional rye whiskey for a Japanese one.

"There's still new techniques all the time, and then also just access to new spirits that we didn't have access to a decade ago or 20 years ago. It's perpetually evolving: you try something new, then create something new," Martino said.

The full kitchen at The Archives allows Martino to create any element used in modern cocktails from scratch. Shrubs, syrups, fat washes, infused alcohols and smoke spice up textbook drinks or lead to something completely new. 

The drink Deeply Rooted, an autumn harvest-inspired drink from The Archive's latest menu, uses a homemade carrot shrub, or vinegared syrup, with blanco tequila, bitter suze and orange juice adjusted with citric acid. 

"We want the orange juice flavor and color, but you want it to be a little more tart. You can use citric acid to adjust orange juice to be the same acidity of lemon juice," Martino said.

Martino originally learned about bartending from books. A former professional climber turned mixologist, he got his start at 10 Forward in Greenfield before coming to the Amherst speak-easy when it opened over a year ago.

"I got into bartending because it was really fun to make cocktails for people. It's a very easy way to make people happy," Martino said. "As it turns out, people drink alcohol and then they're having a good time."

His favorite alcohol to work with is rum due to its versatility. Martino said other spirits, like whiskey or gin, share similar tasting notes, but rum's flavor varies drastically depending on the location of origin. 

Massachusetts, for instance, once had a thriving rum industry before Prohibition shut down the distilleries. At Gigantic, King displays one bottle of molasses-style rum from 1917 in his antique bottle collection.

"There used to be something called Medford rum, which was basically a category of rum that was specifically related to Massachusetts. We had something like 60 distilleries in Mass that produced rum at that time," King said.

When Prohibition shut down U.S. Distilleries, bartenders looked to the Caribbean Islands for drink inspiration. At The Archives, Martino serves an El Presidente, invented in Cuba during the 1920s. This rum martini combines white rum and vermouth with orange curaçao and a dash of grenadine.

Balance is key in cocktail culture. "You're never gonna have one cocktail that checks all the boxes," Martino said. "Within one individual cocktail, it just needs to be balanced and not too far in any direction on the bitter scale or the sweet scale or sour or boozey."

However, King said beginner bartenders interested in their own Repeal Day cocktails should start simple.

"There is beauty in simplicity because if you can make something taste good with a few ingredients, that's really the trick of a good cocktail," he said.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.Com.

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