You definitely want to be hit with this 'snowball'. A perfect -- rich, thick, creamy, sweet, and custardy -- cocktail

With the cold weather season now firmly upon us, I thought I'd finally hunker down, pluck up the courage, and try a classic "Snowball" cocktail.

This was all the rage in the UK just a few decades back, and, I am assured, remains popular in Anglo-Jewish circles come Shabbos Kiddush (post- Sabbath prayers reception).

Advocaat (pronounced ahd-vo-kaht') is a traditional Dutch raw-egg liqueur made from raw emulsified egg yolks, sugar, and booze (usually brandy, but sometimes grain-based distillate). I first encountered it in London in 2002.

Advocaat is typically a sweet, thick, opaque, yellow colored potation that seems a cross between boozy eggnog and runny, alcoholic custard. Advocaat is typically bottled at between 14 and 20 percent alcohol by volume (abv).

The name Advocaat, which is also the Dutch word for "advocate" or "lawyer," is the short form of the original name for the drink, Advocatenborrel, or the "lawyer's drink".

Exactly what a raw-egg liqueur has to do with lawyers is unclear to me. Though Wikipedia quotes an 1882 Dutch Dictionary that claims Advocatenborrel was "so named as a good lubricant for the throat, and thus considered especially useful for a lawyer, who must speak in public." Being neither Dutch, nor a lawyer, I'll take it on faith that this actually explains something, I guess.

There is, of course, also a popular folksy, undocumented history of Advocaat that suggests that the drink originated in either Indonesia, Brazil, or Suriname --- why, or how, these places get confused here is another head-scratcher, but never mind.

The story goes that Dutch colonists inherited a local drink from the previous Portuguese colonists called abacate, made from the pulp of avocado mixed with brandy.

Abacate is the Portuguese word for avocado. Back home in the Netherlands, where avocados are unavailable, the Dutch substituted egg yolks—a perfectly natural substitute…apparently. The Dutch word for avocado is, just in case you were wondering, advocaatpeer. So that all makes perfect sense . . . apparently.

In any event, when not served up as a "Snowball," Advocaat should be served cold, preferably over ice, though room temp and neat is widely accepted in British Jewish kiddush settings. While there are plenty of kosher certified options for Advocaat to be found throughout Europe, there are far fewer to be found in the US.

One of the better recent options is the pareve OU-certified VermeulenAdvocaat (17 percent abv; $20) imported from the Netherlands by Medek (which is "Kedem" backwards). It is rich, thick, creamy, sweet, and custardy, and works as well served over vanilla ice-cream as part of desert, as it does served over ice or in a Snowball cocktail. Without further ado:

SNOWBALL COCKTAIL

In an ice-filled Collins or high-ball glass pour about 3 to 4 ounces of British Lemonade (a fizzy drink roughly similar to our 7Up, which will do in a pinch —though it is worth it to try to find an imported British Lemonade; San Pellegrino Limonata is actually a fab option too). Into this pour about 2 ounces of Advocaat. A traditional additional option is to add a splash of Rose's Lime Juice Cordial, though 3/4 of an ounce of fresh lime juice is preferable. Lightly stir.

The most traditional garnish is one of those unnaturally bright red Maraschino cherries, but a twist of lime zest, or even just a slice of lime, classes it up nicely. Drink before the carbonation dissipates.

This is surprisingly good and refreshing, especially satisfying as a desert, and yet somehow appropriate to the cold weather.

L'chaim!

JWR contributor Joshua E. London is a wine and spirits columnist who regularly speaks and leads tutored tastings on kosher wines, whisk(e)y, tequila, and other unique spirits.