GARDINER—The Blind Pig Tavern, an upscale bar and restaurant at 266 Water Street, offers their version of a classic holiday cocktail in the form of the “White Christmas,” which despite its appearance, is actually a frothy white swirl of a margarita.

Mercedes Pease, a bartender at The Blind Pig, created the cocktail.

“We do a lot of margaritas here, so I thought this might be a nice twist for a Christmas cocktail,” she said.

Having been with the restaurant for two years, this is Pease’s first bartending job and she’s been given free rein to invent cocktail recipes. “The owner makes most of the cocktails, but she encourages us every day to come up with a concept of our own,” she said.

Instead of a heavy eggnog or cream-based drink to approximate the look of a snowy landscape, the cocktail, instead, relies upon a lighter calorie coconut cream and white cranberry juice as its base.

“I actually just came up with this cocktail yesterday and had a lot of people order it,” she said. “It’s garnished with rosemary and cranberry to get you in the Christmas spirit.”

If you like your cocktails festive and bright, this is definitely it. Upon the first sip, appearances deceive. Rather than a sugary taste of foam, instead, there is a nice combination of sugar from the coconut cream and cranberry juice with the citric acid of lime juice and tequila.

This $12 cocktail, according to Pease, pairs very well with their Cranberry Panzella dish, a salad with French bread croutons, cranberries, smoked almonds, torn burrata, and a honey vinaigrette. She also makes a white chocolate and peppermint martini for a true dessert cocktail.

Speaking of cocktails, the name of this bar/restaurant is fitting. “Blind pig” was a term invented during the Prohibition Era (1920-33), when alcohol was illegal in the U.S. The term was a slang word for a speakeasy, a business or bar that sold alcoholic beverages illegally.

Watch the video to see how the cocktail is made. You’ll need:

• 2 oz. tequila
• ½ oz. Triple Sec
• A splash of white cranberry juice
• Two dashes of lime juice
• A dash of agave
• A dash of cream of coconut (brand name: Coco Real)

First, sugar rim a rocks glass regular sugar and holiday sprinkles. Add ingredients above to the pint glass and shake. Strain cocktail into the rocks glass and garnish with a couple of candied cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

Make the cocktail yourself for your next holiday party, or have it made for you by Mercedes at The Blind Pig Tavern.

Happy bittersweet holidays!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com