While dressing up in costume, making noise and listening to the story of how Queen Esther and Mordechai, the Jewish hero, defeated Haman, the evil vizier, are great for all ages, one Purim tradition (this year, the evening of March 2 through nightfall March 3) is strictly for adults – drinking alcohol. Various sources advise us to imbibe until we cannot distinguish between “cursed is Haman” and “blessed is Mordechai.”

These days, moderation and designated drivers are advised, but many of us still take a sip or several to celebrate the Jewish victory, perhaps from a bottle of schnapps or whiskey. The cocktails I am offering are a little fancier. Think of them as your tipples to go with your Purim costumes.

To me, celebrating Purim is also celebrating Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America because Henrietta Szold, the organization’s founder, was inspired to name the nonprofit after Queen Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah.

I developed these four cocktails and one mocktail to serve at an adults-only Purim party, sponsored by the Oakland Ruach Chapter of Hadassah. They were enthusiastically sipped by all participants.

Two of the drinks are named after the ancient Persian city of Shushan to mark the extra day of fighting that walled city endured. The Shushan Sunrise Mocktail is non-alcoholic and uses grenadine syrup, a pomegranate flavored sugar syrup available in liquor stores and some supermarkets. The Shushan........

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