The Making of ‘The Chutzpah!’ Cocktail
Naomi and Jon’s mixology laboratory. Photograph by Jon Wunder
Now that I’m writing for the Forward, my boyfriend, Jon, has been peppering me with questions about Judaism and the paper. It’s lovely to have such a supportive boyfriend, but it’s more than a little embarrassing to have to pull out my dog-eared copy of Blair and Engel to get him answers.
Last week I’d written about the duo’s “The Jewish Festival Cookbook,” and the Forward had adapted a holiday recipe from the book, pears poached in concord wine.
“Concord wine?” Jon questioned, looking over my shoulder as I tried surreptitiously to look up the history of Sukkot. “What’s that?”
What to do with that leftover Manischewitz: The Chutzpah! Image by Liza Schoenfein
“You know, it’s Manishewitz,” I replied, from actual personal knowledge.
“Oh it’s that sweet wine?” he asked. He’d never tried it. Why would he? He’s not Jewish. It’s not something we tend to have around — it wasn’t even in my house growing up, just at my bubbe’s. “So people drink it at the high holidays, then what? It just sits there?”
“I guess so,” I said. “It’s an acquired taste.”
Being the thoughtful fellow he always is, Jon suggested that in service of this column and its readers, we attempt to make a concord wine cocktail to help people put their leftover booze to work. And so, after much trial and error, I present to you, The Chutzpah!
Drink and enjoy. L’chaim!
Naomi Major is a writer living in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. You can find more of her writing at naomimajor.com.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
