For the December issue, I wrote an article about winter drinks, both the history of winter drinks and some current winter drink developments in the Summit City.  

You can read a digital version of the article here.  

Since I sent that article away to be etched into a stone monument to winter drinks, more local winter drink developments have come to light.  

For that reason, I had no choice but to write a second winter drinks piece. I vow to continue writing winter drinks pieces until local winter drink developments stop coming to light or until the summer drinks start fighting the winter drinks for total drink domination.  

Over at Rune, beverage director Mae Strubel has devised a seasonal drink so unique that if you try to look up the word “unique” in the dictionary to see if there’s a picture of this drink next to it, you’ll realize that almost no one owns a paper dictionary anymore.  

But I do and there totally is a picture of this drink next to it. You’ll just have to trust me.  

Strubel’s version is called Dusk Atole.  

Atole is “a traditional Mexican drink,” Strubel said. “I believe, maybe – don’t quote me on this – but in the research that I did, I believe it dates back to Mayan culture.”  

I did quote her on that, but only after I found out she was right.  

“The ‘atole’ is well known in Mexico and in many other parts of the world because it is a prehistoric-age beverage,” according to the Spanish Institute of Puebla.  

For all we know, atole was responsible for the start of recorded history. Someone offered the this beverage to the man who would become the world’s first historian and he was so delighted, he said, “I have got to write about this. Among other things, of course.”  

Mayan farmers usually consumed atole during the month of May as an offering to the Mayan rain god, according to the Yucatan travel page.  

Presumably, the Mayan rain god responded, “If atole is an offering to me, why are you drinking it?”  

The farmers pretended they hadn’t heard him.  

Atole is a hot masa-based beverage, masa being corn flour.  

Struble’s Dusk Atole is made with house-infused spiced rum, coconut milk, blue corn masa, brown sugar and charred corn husk dust.  

“The flavor is incredible,” she said. “It’s really custardy and rich. It almost tastes like creme brulee.”  

Some people reading the words “blue corn masa” might envision a sort of porridge, but it is not THAT thick.  

“The masa kind of gives it, like a silky texture,” Struble said. “So, it is a little bit thicker than, like, your average hot drink. But it has a really silky, smooth consistency.”  

Struble said it was her first time making atole and she “was surprised by how awesome it is.”  

Surprising a seasoned mixologist (surprising her in a good way, of course) is no mean feat. If Struble was pleasantly surprised, imagine how you might feel.  

Over at Charlie’s Place, Elizabeth Shank has whipped up a truly special holiday drinks program.  

It is a tribute to the Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  

Starting December 10, Shank will unveil a new drink each day inspired by the song’s lyrics.  

If you recall (and how could you not), the song involves an unidentified person receiving increasingly strange gifts from his or her “true love” over a 12-day period in December.  

Of course, they may not be increasingly strange at all. They may be uniformly strange. Strange to inhabitants of the 21st century, that is.  

While researching this song, I was presented with a possibility that had never occurred to me before.  

On an informational site devoted to Jim Henson’s Muppets (who sang the song with the late John Denver), I read this, “Each verse repeats all of the previous gifts listed; thus, one could say that the singer receives 364 gifts total – or one a day until next Christmas, when the process begins all over again.”  

It never occurred to me that the gifts are given again each time they are repeated, so that the singer’s beloved gets 12 partridges in 12 pear trees by the end of the song instead of just one partridge in one pear tree.  

But I digress.  

This program inspired Shank to unleash her creativity as a mixologist.  

“So, day two is two turtle doves,” she said. “So, with that one, I’m going to do a turtle martini:  caramel, chocolate, that kind of thing. Day three is the French hen. So, there’s an infamous French Martini that we will probably put our own little spin on.”  

Shank was stumped by the calling birds at first.  

“Then I looked them up,” she said. “And they’re black birds. So we’re going to do a Blackberry Bramble. And then there’s the five golden rings. I’ve got a drink that resembles that golden color.” 

It’s a variant of whiskey sour with passion fruit.  

For a full list of drinks, you’ll just have to stop by. New drinks will not be unveiled on days Charlie’s Place isn’t open, of course.  

There will be no upcharge for these special drinks, Shank said.  

“Our whole concept is about still having an affordable cocktail with higher quality ingredients,” she said.  

Last but in no estimation least, Connor’s Rooftop has revived the pop-up bar it launched last year that was thematically conjoined with the movie, “Elf.”  

I visited it last year and had an amazing time (and “Elf” is far from my favorite Christmas movie).  

Rune is at 2725 Broadway, Charlie’s Place is at 4201 N Wells Street and Connor’s Rooftop is at 223 W. Jefferson Boulevard.    

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