Every year since 1989, Ace has celebrated the 12 days of Christmas… with Ace favorite things, Ace favorite stories of the year, and Ace how-to guides for getting through the holidays (hint: it involves a lot of bourbon, and a lot of ham).
We begin on December 12 and wrap up on Christmas Eve.
That is not, however, when the actual twelve days of Christmas fall.
The actual twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day or the day after Christmas (with some religious variations) and conclude with what is known as Twelfth Night on January 5, or Epiphany on January 6.
So we actually celebrate something more like the 12 days of Acemas, or the 12 days of Christmace — a non-denominational 12 days of holiday frivolity and how-tos and where to go and what to do in Lexington, Kentucky — an ecumenical span that knows only love and peace and bourbon for all of the bluegrass.
On the first day of Christmas, we begin with: How to prepare an authentic Kentucky country ham for your Christmas table. You may need the extra time to order, if there isn’t a ready supply in your neck of the woods. The prep itself is a three-day process, and well worth the investment of time.
On the second day of Christmas, we offer three recipes for bourbon desserts for the holidays: a bourbon bundt cake with buttermilk praline sauce; Kentucky bourbon barrel stout brownies; and bourbon chocolate pecan bars. If you start now, you could give these uniquely Kentucky Proud offerings as gifts (presuming they last long enough in your kitchen to be wrestled into a gift box).
On the third day of Christmas, everyone will be expected to bring along a festive nibble or cocktail to dozens of holiday gatherings. Greg Hubbs presents an unexpected choice: an epicurean take on JellO shots that goes beyond the average sorority house. With a side order of A (dysfunctional) Holiday Family Drinking Game.
On the fourth day of Christmas, Chef Tom shares a snowy New England Christmas memory, and a how-to for Christmas oysters, Grand Central station pan roast style.
On the fifth day of Christmas, shop for your supplies now for Chef Tom’s Kentucky bourbon cherry-glazed Christmas ham. You’ll need to make a stop at the liquor store.
On the sixth day of Christmas, plan the side dishes for your Christmas table. Might we recommend Chef Tom’s butternut squash brulee with bacon brittle if you’re looking for something with a high wow factor.
On the seventh day of Christmas, baby it’s cold outside! Serve up this Kentucky Proud Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail.
On the eighth day of Christmas, we recommend including these eight songs when you’re making your iTunes Holiday Play List.
Merry Christmas from the Family, by Robert Earl Keen
Hard Candy Christmas, by Dolly Parton from Once Upon a Christmas.
River, by Joni Mitchell, from Blue.
Christmas Is, by Run DMC on A Very Special Christmas.
We Three Kings, by the Reverend Horton Heat on Psychobilly Christmas.
Please Daddy Don’t Get Drunk this Christmas, by the Decemberists.
If We Make It Through December, Merle Haggard.
Good King Wenceslas, by The Roches.
On the tenth day of Christmas, celebrate Festivus on December 23 with the annual airing of the grievances!
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Greg Hubbs serves up a (dysfunctional) holiday drinking game alongside his epicurean take on JellO shots that goes beyond the average sorority house.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, go to the Movies! Movies opening on Christmas Day across Lexington include Django Unchained, Parental Guidance, West of Memphis, and Les Miserables. Silver Linings Playbook opens at the Kentucky Theatre. Additional movies now playing in Lexington, and reviewed by Ace include: Lincoln; The Hobbit; The Guilt Trip; This is 40; and Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2.
