Drink of the week: La Belle Vie's 12 Drinks Before Christmas

La Belle Vie
510 Groveland Ave.
612.874.6440
website

Lets face it, when it comes to creating cocktails in this crazy town, La Belle Vie's Johnny Michaels and crew rocks it. From their use of house-made bitters, crafty infusions, fresh herbs, and a seasonally changing drink menu, all kinds of unexpected ingredients are brought together by some sort of alchemy that makes it all work.

This holiday season you can shake off the crowds and the chill by ducking into La Belle Vie's perfect vintage bar for a little ho-ho-ho and sample their special holiday creations--12 Drinks Before Christmas--as follows (per mspmag.com):
* Over the River and Through the Holidazzle Traffic--gingerbread hot buttered rum
* Purple Santa--a Viking inspired white hot chocolate
* The Flu Shot--a lemon-ginger-zinc-echinacea mini martini
* Lump of Coal--bourbon and amaro mint julep
* Merry Christmas Mr. Burns--prune infused gin with Christmas tonic
* Santa's Little Helpers--a couple of D-sized battery shots of espresso vanilla hazelnut vodka topped with caramel cream
* Your Family is Insane (but I love you anyway)--sugarplum brandy old fashioned with Christmas bitters
* Sure Mr. Scrooge, I Can Work Christmas Eve--whiskey, brandy, and black coffee in a coffee cup
* The Christmas Shovel--taro-chai-hazelnut non-alcoholic latte
* The Mistletoe--sparkling citrus pomegranate vodka martini
* The Sugar Plum--a gin, plum-wine, champagne cocktail
* First Frost--white brandy with minted maple root beer cream
* Grinch Nog -- rye whiskey, maraschino bitters, and salted absinthe with a green cherry

You can try these 13 selections (1 bonus!) until New Years Eve, as the lights of downtown twinkle and the fresh snow sparkles. Happy holidays!