What a week. Did I mention I am making my first personal appearance for Glutton for Life? My dear friend Peter, he of Best Made fame, asked to me to participate in one of three evenings he is hosting at the Warby Parker Holiday Spectacle Bazaar, a SoHo pop-up happening (for lack of a better word) featuring stuff to eat, drink, buy, see and learn. It was initially pitched to me as a hands-on workshop for a couple dozen people, where I could talk about whatever I wanted—oh, and there's a whiskey sponsor. So mixing cocktails seemed like a no-brainer. Then, to put my own little upstate spin on things, I decided to use foraged ingredients. This seemed to pique everyone's interest. Done deal. Then, I find out they're expecting upwards of 100 people. And I stop to consider that the dead of winter might not be the very best time to forage for ingredients. Um, time to regroup.

So I developed a punch recipe, using Stranahan's malt whiskey, apple cider, Earl Grey tea and Best Made Company's delicious New Hampshire maple syrup: Johnny Appleseed Punch. We'll serve that up to the masses. And I managed to find some wild ingredients I can work with now: black walnut, white pine and sumac. Using these (and the whiskey, of course), I'll be making 3 different cocktails for people to sample: The Nutty Professor, Pining for You, and Drunken Indian Lemonade. As you can imagine, I've been a little busy this week. I'm about to run and make 9 liters of my star-anise-flavored cider syrup for the punch.By the way, you're invited. Stop by and bring your friends!Best Made Company's Whiskey Workshopco-hosted by Glutton for LifeatWarby Parker's Holiday Spectacle BazaarTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 15th  6-8pm45 Grand Street in New York CityI'll be posting the punch and cocktail recipes tomorrow.And my holiday music recommendations on Friday, I promise.Oh, and if you've read this far, you're probably curious to know if you won one of the bags of caramels. Guess what? I decided you're all winners!! Everyone who posted a comment on last Thursday's giveaway post will receive a bag! This means I have to make a couple of new batches, but I'll do it gladly. My wonderful readers mean so much to me and I want to share something tangible with you. So send me your mailing address at gluttonforlife[at]gmail.com and I'll do my best to get your packages out early next week. (Note: Friends who are already on "the list" should NOT expect a second bag!) xoxo