Combine Wine, Whiskey, and Jam for a Fruity Fireside Sipper

I expected the pandemic to have many surprising ramifications, but one thing I could not have predicted was for my booze tolerance to plummet. It turns out I really am a social drinker and, without a bar to hang out in, a previously standard three-cocktail evening absolutely wrecks me in a way I haven’t experienced since my mid-20s.

This is probably a good thing overall and, as a side effect, I’ve been drinking more wine and less hard stuff. But, seeing as today is Friday and we are getting quite close to Christmas, I thought it might be fun to combine new loves with old flames, and make a jammy, fortified wine cocktail that’s perfect for sipping in front of a fire.

It’s kind of like those jam sours I’m so fond of, except there’s not any citrus juice, wine acts as the base spirit, and bourbon becomes the modifier. For the jam, you want Bonne Maman Four Fruits or something very similar.

I suspected I would like this combination of flavors, but I liked it even more than I thought I would. It’s sweet, a little sour, and slightly reminiscent of mulled wine, except fruity instead of spicy. You can, of course, add a cinnamon stick if you so desire, though it will increase your ingredient count to four. To make this fortified beverage, you will need:

2 ounces dry red wine
1 ounce bourbon (I used a 100-proof bottled-in-bond bourbon)
2 tablespoons of Bonna Maman Four Fruits Preserves

Add everything to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until the shaker is very cold. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a coupe glass and garnish with a a cinnamon stick if you happen to have one lying around. Sip by some sort of open flame.