During the part of It’s a Wonderful Life when George Bailey is seeing what the world would be like if he’d never been born. They’re in the town’s bar, which, without George, has turned into a rough and depressing rather than convivial spot. Clarence tries to order a flaming rum punch, then asks instead for “mulled wine, heavy on the cinnamon and light on the cloves.” I decided to combine the two and made sure to use ingredients popular during Clarence’s day, including a mulled wine recipe from Jerry Thomas’s 1862 book.

This delicious little number takes inspiration from several classics, including a variety of brandy sours and punches and, of course, the New-York Sour. A base of brandy, lemon, cacao, and vanilla gets topped off with a classic "claret snap" for a tannic note that fits really well with the dried fruit and chocolate in the drink.

The Giostra d’Alcol (“carousel of alcohol”) is from the same period, invented by futurist Enrico Prampolini. It combines red wine, Campari, and cedrata (a citron soda); its original recipe calls for a garnish of cheese and chocolate on a cocktail pick.

The Whiskey Sour with a red wine float (aka a “claret snap”) has gone by various names including the Continental Sour and Southern Sour and, though it likely originated in Chicago, people in 1880s Boston called it the “New-York Sour,” and the name has stuck. It can be served over a large ice cube or up in a chilled coupe; at Gigantic, we favor the former.

This honeyed apple brandy Sour is a combination of a Dizzy Sour and a New York Sour. The New York Sour, as you likely know, is a rye whiskey Sour with a dry red wine float on top. The Dizzy Sour is far more obscure; it debuted in The Hoffman House Bartender’s Guide and consists of rye, Bénédictine, sugar, and lemon, with a rum float, when combined with the New York Sour, subbing in apple brandy and adding a touch of fig syrup, the result is a honeyed, tannic drink with citrus and dried fruit notes.

In developing a drink appropriate for ringing in the new year, I looked to the legacy of “Cups,” a genre of drink popular in the nineteenth century. Typically a mix of wine and/or spirits, fruit, sweetener in the form of sugar and/or liqueur, and carbonation, these cocktails are often presented with opulent garnish. Ours is inspired specifically by Claret Cups, which were a popular expression of this template built on French red wine (traditionally from Bordeaux).