The holiday season brings us marvelous traditions. The Thanksgiving turkey dinner, the Country Club Plaza lights, the Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center, and so many more. We love the animated holiday movies, especially Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
One of our most cherished holiday experiences is dinner at our restaurant in Shawnee, Wandering Vine at the Castle. The Castle is magical during the holidays. It’s fully festooned in traditional holiday decorations, with lit evergreen garlands, winter scenes on the mantels, and an extravagant Christmas tree. And in addition to our award-winning cuisine, cocktails, and wine list, you can enjoy holiday specials popular back in the early 1900s, when the Castle was built.
Grasshopper Cocktail
The grasshopper cocktail is a fun dessert drink which dates back to 1918. The minty green drink—particularly a frozen version—was a favorite of Carla’s family during the holidays. More than once, we had to drive around after dinner on Christmas Eve to find an open store with one or more of the needed ingredients.
Our grasshopper cocktail is mixed up by beverage director Evan Spieker. It’s a simple holiday cocktail that consists of three ingredients: creme de menthe, creme de cacao, and cream.
We recommend pairing it with dessert. Here at Wandering Vine, we have an over-the-top chocolate decadence cake as well as a flourless chocolate cake. With flavors of chocolate and mint, the grasshopper also makes a nice treat for Santa after dropping off some presents.
Naughty and Nice Eggnog
Eggnog traces its roots back to a medieval English drink called “posset.” Posset was spiced warm milk mixed with eggs, figs, and wine or ale. Eggnog as we know it became popular in colonial America, with the first known mention coming in a poem written in the late 18th century by Maryland clergyman Jonathan Boucher.
At Wandering Vine, you can enjoy our Castle-made eggnog in either the “nice” or “naughty” versions. Both eggnogs are made with pumpkin pie spice rather than nutmeg; our Naughty Nog adds the smooth caramel expressions of Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Spiced Rum.
Baked Alaska
Baked Alaska is a treat that would have been an extravagance at a holiday dinner in the early 1900s. It’s a simple confection consisting of ice cream, cake, and browned meringue, and you can find it on our dessert menu. The fluffy egg whites of the meringue provide such great insulation that the ice cream remains frozen when the dessert is baked.
This confection was first introduced at Delmonico’s in New York City in 1867 bearing the name “Alaska, Florida,” which highlighted the contrasting temperatures of the dish and celebrated the acquisition of the Alaska territory. The Classic Fannie Farmer 1896 Cookbook from the Boston Cooking School included the recipe as “baked Alaska”, and that’s the name that stuck.
Start the New Year in Style
This New Year’s Eve, start the New Year in style with an extraordinary four-course culinary experience, with optional sommelier-curated wine pairings and Champagne and caviar for two. The Castle gets a decoration makeover for this one-night-only event, which will surely put the “happy” in your new year.
Experience Holiday Traditions at Wandering Vine
We invite you to make dinner at the Castle a holiday tradition for your friends and family. Join us for brunch or dinner, or make a special holiday memory with a private dining experience in our decorated wine cellar.
Visit wanderingvine.com or call us at 913-379-1300 for more information or to make reservations.