Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals

Humans,

On behalf of the entire Cow by Bear family, I'd like to wish you all the happiest of holidays. We're getting ready for a stacked lineup of dinners and so very excited to see many of you before the new year. These are joyous times for me, but that wasn't always the case.

As a young cub in Alaska, I enjoyed many of the holiday traditions commonly celebrated in forests all over the world. We'd sing and dance and play Caribou Eyesuntil the sun went down. That idyllic world came crashing down when the poachers took my parents, and for decades the holidays proved a particularly painful time for me. I fell into some pretty unhealthy habits, eating hundreds of pounds of junk food per sitting and drinking myself into months-long hibernations.

It was a long, dark period but now the lights shine bright. The love and care of just a few helped me claw out of that depression. It might sound cheesy (I do love cheese) but it does get better. It might sound corny (I do love corn), but go on and tell someone how much they mean to you. It might be just the thing they need to hear today. I know it sure helped me.

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The friendships we've formed over the years at Cow by Bear have been a true blessing and mean the world to me. The outpouring of encouragement when we announced our upcoming plans was so overwhelming that we added a handful of dates into the new year.

You're all very hard to say "No" to, so as the requests have continued to come in we decided to add a few more dates to the calendar running through March.  However, as my dear friends Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald would say, "This is it." These will be the absolute last (un)traditional Cow by Bear dinners offered (we're currently planning a Cub Club exclusive dinner for the end of March and a "new phase" experience in April, so keep your eyes peeled for those announcements). Take a look at cowbybear.com and hopefully there is a date that works for you to come spend an evening with us!

Thank you and we love you!

FOUR PAWS

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This is the cocktail I'll be drinking tonight. If you'd like to join me, mix one up yourself and we'll give each other a virtual clink of the glass. Cheers!

2 oz. rye whiskey
1 to 2 tsp rosemary simple syrup*
3 dashes black walnut bitters
orange twist for garnish

*rosemary simple syrup
1 c water
1 c sugar
1/4 c rosemary leaves

for the rosemary simple syrup:
1. Combine water, sugar and rosemary leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup steep, about 30 minutes.
2. Pour syrup into a sterilized glass jar through a mesh strainer to remove rosemary leaves. Let cool.

for the cocktail:
1. Add the simple syrup, bitters and whiskey to an Old Fashioned glass and stir well.
2. Add a large ice cube or two and stir again to chill. Garnish with an orange twist.