Fresh Summer Produce Makes a Cocktail Swing: Part III: Watermelon and The Gin Stevie Cocktail

A seasonal miniseries showing you how to use farm-fresh ingredients in your cocktails.

by Steve Schul

Steve shares his love for using seasonal ingredients in his signature cocktail.

I just love watermelon at its peak during the summer, when one bite into a slice sends pink juice dripping down your chin. When its sweetness reminds you instantly how much you loved it last summer. I definitely wanted to make a cocktail with watermelon, but in a way I had never heard of before. My inspiration came from an old Imbibe Magazine recipe for Watermelon–Sake Popsicles. What overgrown child doesn’t love an ice-cold popsicle on a hot summer’s day, and if it’s watermelon, even better. And with sake? Well hip, hip hoorah.

I think we all get crazy for watermelon in the summertime because of the uniqueness of its sweetness. Sure, its texture is unmatched by any other fruit I can think of, the slightly rough structure that collapses with just a little pressure, shooting forth a big burst of honeysweet goodness. So I decided to make ice cubes inspired by the popsicles, plop some of those into a tall glass, and tickle the cubes with the herbaceous tastes of basil and spearmint, and anoint with a generous portion of Hendrick’s gin, graced by lovely cucumber and rose notes. With each sip, the watermelon–sake ice cubes slowly melt, and with each consecutive sip, you are taken on a journey from tart booziness to slushy sweetness. I know that to make these drinks requires a little effort beyond regular mixing skills, but do believe me when I say they will delight all the guests at your cocktail party. Make sure you have plenty of everything so that each person gets at least two drinks, three for the heavy hitters.

Paul and I love to pair our Gin Stevies with another summertime favorite—heirloom tomatoes. We dice them and dollop generous portions on freshly toasted baguette to create the perfect bruschetta. Take a bite, and follow with a generous sip of this tall summer cooler bursting with flavor.

{ For the recipe and to watch our video pairing the Gin Stevie with Bruschetta, click here. }

The Story Behind the Bruschetta and Those Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes

Every summer we drive up to the North Shore of Boston, to a lazy little little town called Pride’s Crossing, to visit our friends Jim and Lou, and their Dalmatians. Paul was friends with Jim about twenty years ago. They lost touch with each other, as most peripatetic souls do, but were reunited several years back while having dinner in a Boston restaurant. We read about Orinoco and its Venezuelan-inspired menu in a local dining guide and thought we’d give it a try. The restaurant, in a gentrifying part of town, seemed magical. The wait staff enchanted us with mouth-watering descriptions of seasonal fare. At dinner, Paul was telling Steve all about his long-lost friend, Jim, and how for a few years they shared laughs and tales of growing up closeted in their respective New England towns, and while the tale of Jim was being told, there was Jim, with a friend, dining in the same restaurant. After much hugging, and wide-eyed disbelief at the serendipity of coincidence, Jim invited us up to his home. “You’d be crazy not to come.” So of course, we canceled the balance of our hotel reservation and headed up to Pride’s Crossing, but not until the owner of the restaurant, after witnessing this miracle reunion, invited us over to his table for desserts as he regaled us with tales of growing up a foodie in Venezuela.

Heirloom tomatoes can add an unexpected flavors to your summer cocktail party.

We decided to sleep off the effects of the dinner and met up with Jim the next day. As we followed behind him on Route 127 to his home, we turned up a private lane, and following a forest-lined narrow road, entered the gates to the property. The theme from “Dynasty” filled our mind’s ears as we gazed with jaws agape at the enormity of the house and the grounds filled with gorgeous flowers at every turn. Their estate is dubbed “Sunset Rock” and the house sits right next to a bluff overlooking Salem Sound and all the cays that dot the ocean. Lou and Jim are both inveterate gardeners, Jim focusing on the floral landscaping, Lou, the edible. Lou’s obsession with heirloom tomatoes is a blessing to his all his guests. If we visit late enough in the season, we always end up with arms full of these ripe juicy beauties. One summer, after making our friend Evangeline’s tomato tart (it was featured in the August 31, 2003, New York Times, so you know it has to be good!) with Lou’s tomatoes, we still had a bunch left. So we diced them all, bought a loaf of bread, and presto, instant bruschetta. Bruschetta (pronounced broo-SKEH-tuh) is a classic Italian appetizer made with six simple ingredients: bread, tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil. In our version, we’ve added the slightly hot and bright zing of red jalapeños . . . it brings out the sweetness in the Gin Stevie and other drinks. Heirloom tomatoes in all their variety add a saturation of color and act as a perfect foil to the watermelon, basil, and mint. Be forewarned: the appetizer course may last a while—your guests won’t be able to get enough of this dazzling duo.

Hibiki Japanese Blended Whisky Is Smooth and Accessible

The other day I attended an intimate whisky tasting in one of the private rooms at the relatively new Midtown restaurant Aureole. Tanya Thomas of Truth Be Told introduced Seiichi Koshimizu, master blender for Suntory’s Hibiki 12-year blended whisky, and after a gentle and informative PowerPoint lecture (translated by the lovely Akiko Katayama), the wait staff at Aureole surprised us with a four-course meal. I say surprised because Tanya promised us “light fare.” If light fare is Foie Gras Torchon, Walnut-Crusted Soft Shell Crab, Mangalitast Pork Strip Loin, and a Dark Chocolate Torte, then I say so be it (and please keep the invitations coming).

Aureole’s chef designed the dishes specifically for pairing with this smooth and nuanced Japanese blended whisky. The plating of the Foie Gras was artistic to say the very least: a swath of English Peas, as if the artist used a paint spatula to spread the bright green puree across the plate, creating a boundary between the cherry compote and the foie gras, which was kissed with some anise hyssop leaves. Also on the same plate were little cubes of almond paste dusted with what looked like pepper, but it could have been grains of paradise or some other dark ground spice (I should have asked). Separately, all the elements were chock full of flavor, but mixed together, and spread atop a little Chilie Chocolate Croissant, the dish sang when sipped with a bit of the Hibiki.

Similar to Scotch whisky, the Hibiki, when diluted with a little water, gives off an aroma akin to waffles and maple syrup, which made me instantly like it. Master Blender Koshimizu informed us that, to him the nose of the whisky reminded him of fruit, particularly plums, raspberries, pineapples, and honey. The sweetness definitely lasted through the long finish, and “truth be told,” I kept asking for more as the meal progressed. The secret to the flavor lies in the wood used to make the aging barrels, Mizunara, or water oak, which creates a softer, smoother spirit. We were also treated to the 21-year Hibiki, which easily provided us a nonstop sipping orgy. Slightly fruitier and smoother, this potable would go well with chocolate, but might be good for just sipping on its own, whereas the 12-year, when diluted pairs better with rich, well-seasoned fare.


The Hibiki is expensive (over $60 a bottle), but if you are a Scotch or Irish whiskey enthusiast who enjoys seeking out new whiskies, by all means seek this one out. It’s a sipper and will sure to last you through several seasons of pure enjoyment. And also check out Aureole located adjacent to Times Square where the chefs create gorgeous dishes that challenge perceptions, yet somehow manage to find balance, flavor, and progression.

— Paul Zablocki

Fresh Summer Produce Makes a Cocktail Swing: Part II: Plums, or Did I Hear Someone Say Slivovitz Sour?

A seasonal miniseries showing you how to use farm-fresh ingredients in your cocktails.

The Slivovitz Sour will feel like you’re drinking velvet. Just make sure you have some party food on hand as a go-with.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the terrain, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is known to most New Yorkers as The Polish Neighborhood. Most of the stores on the blocks of Manhattan and Greenpoint Avenues have signs that flaunt lots and lots of consonants, taunting you with their utter lack of assonance. Honestly, how does a culture get away with putting szcz in a word, and expect you to pronounce every letter? Thank god kielbasa is easy to pronounce. Our love affair with Greenpoint began many years ago, before the car was totaled, when, on a lazy late Sunday afternoon, we motored North to the neighborhood that beckoned us with its siren’s promise of stuffed cabbage, prune pierogi (plums are practically synonymous with Polish confections) and meaty tubes of unpronounceable Polish sausages. Steve once got a round of good-natured laughs from a lovely menagerie of middle-yeared panie behind the counter at Polam International market when he asked for some kiełbasa wędzona and it came out sounding like vagina. They quickly taught us how to pronounce the name of the sausage properly, then helped us pick out some succulent ones. We usually get a variety pack of smoked weselna (wedding), which is terrific accompanied by some hard-cooked jajki (eggs) and perhaps a little horseradish or mustard condiment; and some wiejska (village) for grilling (our favorite way to prepare them).

Near Polam are some pastry shops that remind Paul of the Polish bakery his grandmother used to work at a long time ago, smelling of resting bread and powdered sugar. It is not uncommon for marbled babka (sweet yeast cake), makowiec (poppy seed cake), and pączki (doughnuts filled with prune) to end up in our shopping bags, and usually for less than two or three dollars.

You’re probably asking where the Polish liquor store is. Rest assured, it’s across the street. Upon entering, we always see the same group of thirtysomething Polish guys in either Greenpoint grunge or immigrant hip-hop, engaged in a heated discussion with occasional gentle jabs, pointing us to the bottles of Żubrówka (bison grass vodka), Jeżynówka (blackberry-flavored brandy), and Krupnik (honey liqueur). Some of our earliest cocktails, like the Z Martini and the Silesian cocktail, shine because of these three unique spirits. But one spirit that we mix more than any other is Slivovitz, otherwise known as plum brandy, śliwowica to Poles, or rakia in the Balkan region. Perhaps you’ve seen a bottle at your grandparents’ place, hidden under the sink, awaiting babci’s cocktail-hour thirst. Our go-to brand is Polmos from Poland. It’s extremely smooth, and because its character is slightly muted (it really tastes like plums), unlike some spicier Balkan slivovitzes, it mixes well.

We make this enticingly tart cocktail with Slivovitz simply called the Slivovitz Sour. It’s chock full of fresh dark plum puree and lemon juice, and sweetened with some maple syrup, which plays off the gentle muskiness of the plum, adding a light richness to the drink. The mouthfeel is velvety. With every sip you get a slight sweet-tart pucker. Perfect with aggressively spiced salty or meaty party food, the Slivovitz Sour pairs well with pigs in a blanket, bacon-wrapped dates, sweet-potato crisps, and even chips with salsa. And depending on the ripe plums you puree, the drink can be orangey-pink to a deep magenta. We just had one last night with some chips and salsa and almost ended up eating the whole bag of tortilla chips.

If you’re not pairing the Slivovitz Sour with a little nosh, you may want to adjust the ratio of lemon juice to 3/4 ounce for a plummier, less tart drink. But we warn you, if you serve it to your guests, you better have some nibbles on hand to satisfy their craving for something salty. If you only have a bag of pretzels in the house, offer it up post haste.

Slivovitz Sour

(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces slivovitz (plum brandy)
1 ounce plum puree (darker, sweeter plums work best)
1 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce maple syrup
lemon wheel

Method
Shake with ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon wheel. If you’re using a rakia or a Balkan slivovitz from, say, Macedonia, your drink may taste as if you added aromatic bitters. This is not a bad thing at all. And if your plums are not dark and sweet, you may need to add a little more maple syrup to the drink, or less lemon juice. Your choice, as always, dear cocktail enthusiast.

People Are Jazzed About Tales of the Cocktail

Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans’s annual five-day summer celebration of all things spirituous, is gearing up for its July 21–25 celebration. We asked you what you are looking forward to most from Tales of the Cocktail 2010, and here’s what you told us. (We will continue to update this post as you send in the things you’re most excited about Tales of the Cocktail this year [mail@cocktailbuzz.com].)

Stephan Berg, one of the masterminds behind The Bitter Truth bitters and spirits, waxed enthusiastic about Tales this year. “Oh we are excited, because we just got nominated as best new product with our Celery Bitters.” We love his celery bitters and have been tinkering with it recently in a cocktail riff on the Vesper we call Clear.

Clear
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces gin
1 ounce vodka or a light ginger-infused vodka
1/4 ounce elderflower liqueur (such as St-Germain)
dash or two of Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
splash of soda
ice
grapefruit peel

Method
To build in a highball glass, add the spirits. Then add ice. Top with soda. Stir until chilled. Express grapefruit peel over the drink and rim the glass with the outside part of the peel. Discard or add to drink.

Tiare Olsen, who muses about spirits, and especially tiki drinks, on her blog A Mountain of Crushed Ice, gave us her list of things she’s most looking forward to:

Its first and foremost about three things for me:

1. The people — meeting my friends and making new friends;
2. New Orleans — love that city!;
3. Party and having a good time (that includes great cocktails and the best food in the world).

As a codicil, she added, “Then of course, interesting sessions.”

Sarah LeRoy of Piedmont Distillers, the makers of Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon, Catdaddy, and Lightning Lemonade, was excited about the visibility of Piedmont’s products at this year’s Tales:

Of course, I think the Piedmont Distillers Tasting Room is a must attend event. After months of Catdaddy recipe creations by mixologists from across the country, we’ll have King Cocktail himself Dale DeGroff, editors from Mutineer Magazine, Paul Tuennerman (aka Mr. Cocktail), and Joe Michalek (Piedmont Distillers Founder) judging the top 3 recipes from the Catdaddy Bar Chef Challenge. They’ll pick the winner of the Golden Mason Jar trophy. But it’s not just the “experts” who will have their voices heard – everyone who comes to the Tasting Room will get to vote on their favorite cocktail too.

The Tasting Room is on Thursday, July 22, from 4:30–6:00pm, so it’s a great way to kick off your evening before you head out to the Spirited Dinners. Sarah and the gang will be in the Royal Room on the bottom floor of the Monteleone (near the parking deck entrance). Be sure to tell them Steve and Paul sent you their way!

Danny Ronen, spirits writer, rep, barman, and all around great guy, responded by saying:

Strangely, the things I’m actually most excited about are all not part of Tales itself:

• Volunteering with some friends before Tales begins;
• Exploring NOLA: the Garden District, Uptown, 9th Ward;
• BBQ in a local park; and
• Seeing friends and colleagues from around the world — that means YOU kids!

That’s so sweet of Danny to refer to us as kids. He’s either delusional or knows that flattery will get him everywhere.

Libation Girl Carmen Operetta, who’s always on the lookout for the latest trends in cocktailing on her Libation Diaries blog, gushed about how much she loves Tales:

I’m so excited to return this year! Last year was my first and words can’t describe how fantastic it turned out! This year I’m interested in attending the Dita Von Teese+Cointreau burlesque show!!

Also, I will actually have the time to visit the Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC) and eat more of the native cuisine (maybe not the seafood) and do a little shopping.

There will be so many interesting events, seminars, and dinners to attend this year; therefore I’m getting prepared now to get hopefully the full experience of TOTC!

Kara Newman, food/wine/spirits writer, is excited about the following seminars she will be attending:

• Art of the Aperitif (after reading Paul Clarke’s SF Chronicle article on this topic, I’m curious about quinquinas!);
• From Convicts to Cocktailians: The Release of Australian Flavour (because I love armchair travel, and I’ve never been to Australia);
• The Smooth & Creamy History of the Fern Bar (Martin Cate is always entertaining . . . and this topic sounds delightfully recherche!)

But Kara is especially jazzed about signing copies of her first book, Spice & Ice.

I presented a panel on spicy cocktails with the same title at Tales two years ago, so this feels like coming full circle! Some of the same bartenders who were on that panel (Adam Seger and Danny Valdez), and the drinks they presented at Tales, are in the book too. It might sound sentimental, but it just feels right to be bringing the book here.

Kathy Casey, the talent behind Kathy Casey Food Studios and The Liquid Kitchen, and many other food and cocktail adventures, is very excited about her seminar Creative Cocktails and the Power of Brainstorming. And of course, she and her crew can’t wait to see old friends again, and make some new ones.

Francine Cohen, editor of Inside F&B, has the following to say:

I can hardly wait to return to New Orleans for Tales! Picking my favorite things would be like picking my favorite spirit – impossible since there’s so much that is good.

We may no longer have the constant buzzing of the vuvuzelas in our ears now that the World Cup has ended but it will be replaced by an even livelier buzz – the happy sounds of new and old friends greeting one another and the constant spirited chatter that fills the halls of the Monteleone, envelops the Carousel Bar, permeates Old Absinthe house, and wafts across the pool.

This year’s Pro Series seminar lineup is even more exciting to me than it has ever been as there’s a lot of attention focused on the business of the bar business with presentations on consulting, intellectual property, wisely crafting deals, effective operations, and more. As the industry talent grows from bartenders to bartender/businessmen this kind of information is invaluable.

I’m also looking forward to supporting the Cointreau Apprentice Program and poking my nose around behind the scenes and reporting on the goings-on in www.insidefandb.com so everyone knows (even if they’re in a bit of an alcohol induced haze) just what it takes to put together such a great time.

And lastly, I’m jazzed about all the fun evening events from the Beefeater Welcome Reception to the Diageo Happy Hour to the Bombay Spirited Dinner to the Cowboy Mouth and Rebirth Brass Band concert DonQ organized to benefit the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s efforts to clean up and restore the Gulf Coast area impacted by the oil spill, to the Spirited Awards and the Bartender’s Breakfast.

I’m exhilarated and exhausted already just thinking about it!

Thuhuong Tran, a New Orleans native who we met at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, and who watched us pour some Catdaddy cocktails at last year’s Tales tweeted, “I am most excited about trying all the different spirits and liqueurs and seeing all the peeps I’ve met in the past!”

And someone from Liqurious.com responded that he or she was “excited about Tales of the Cocktail in general! The Spirited Dinners series sounds like an amazing way to experience NOLA.”

We also received a nice note from Dinah Sanders and Joe Gratz. They write on their blog Bibulo.us, and apologize that they will not be able to attend Tales this year. They included in their note:

Alas — a bit sorry not to be infusing our cash into the wounded New Orleans economy as well as missing the cocktail nerdy fun.

Tickets to the events mentioned can be purchased here.

[Buzz note: Words cannot describe how horrible the Gulf oil disaster is; our hearts go out to all who are dealing with this fiasco on a daily basis.]

Fresh Summer Produce Makes a Cocktail Swing: Part I: Tomatoes and The Adam Cocktail

A seasonal miniseries showing you how to use farm-fresh ingredients in your cocktails.

by Steve Schul

The Adam Cocktail is a light and refreshing alternative to the Bloody Mary.

One late spring, Paul and I were making new cocktails with some moonshine, Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon Carolina Moonshine to be precise. We were making cocktails to pair with a three-course lunch at Bourbon House in New Orleans, and Piedmont Distillers asked us to use their moonshine in all the recipes. Excited by the notion of summer vegetables soon to grace our farmers markets, I decided to explore my savory side. When I taste this moonshine neat, there is a little burn on my tongue, and a little down my throat. It’s crystal clear, like vodka, and like vodka, it needs a little loving from the garden. I opt for tomatoes because Bloody Marys come to mind. But instead of the traditional Bloody Mary, I want it to be light and fresh, like a summertime breeze that releases the essence of tomatoes as they ripen on the vine. The only thing that tastes like that description is tomato water. Tomato water is made by mashing up some gorgeous heirlooms or vine-ripened beauties and straining the pulp through some cheesecloth. After 10 hours of a drip drip drip into a collecting bowl, the pure essence of tomato is what awaits.

You could almost drink this tomato water naked and unadulterated, and we have on occasions when we’ve made a big batch and had some extra to sip. But I wanted to add some traditional flavors of a Bloody Mary into the water, so in went a few drops of fiery Tabasco and savory Worcestershire, a shake or two of celery salt, and for added depth, a drop of liquid smoke. Add one little basil leaf atop a few ice cubes and I see Adam in the Garden of Eden, waiting for his mate to make him his cocktail.

Perfect as a brunch alternative to a Bloody Mary, the Adam will tempt you with its fresh tomato taste and off-the-vine aroma.

Adam

(created by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3 ounces tomato water*
1 ounce Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon Carolina Moonshine
1/4 ounce lemon juice
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
2 drops Tabasco
1 drop liquid smoke
2 dashes celery salt
ice
basil leaf, as garnish

Method
In a mixing glass halfway filled with ice, add all the ingredients. Stir gently until ingredients are cold. Strain into wine glass halfway filled with fresh ice. Add basil leaf garnish.

* Tomato Water:
9 medium vine-ripened or summer-fresh tomatoes
12 basil leaves
Pinch salt
1 beet slice (optional, for color)

In a blender or food processor, purée tomatoes, basil, and salt. Line a glass or ceramic bowl with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Pour purée into bowl. Gather ends of cheesecloth and tie tightly with enough string to create a pouch. Hang above bowl and allow to drip. Add beet slice to bowl. Allow purée to drip into bowl for 8–12 hours. (At some point, you may have to squeeze to release juices if not producing enough liquid.) Remove beet slice. Makes enough tomato water for about 6 drinks.

Note:
Patience is your best friend when it comes to making tomato water. But if you notice that the tomato water stops dripping from the pouch hanging over the bowl, it’s time to get your hands a little dirty. Wash them first, and then gently squeeze the pouch. This will redistribute the mash and allow the water that’s remaining to drip through.

The Spirit of Brazil and the Globalization of Cachaça

A Baseado, made with cachaça, lemongrass, and other transporting ingredients. Saúde.

Steve was away for the weekend so when PR spirits queen Hanna Lee invited us to the Spirits of Brazil seminar at the Astor Center, I jumped at the chance. A while back, our friends Renato and Flavio brought us a bottle of cachaça from Brazil, one you can’t get in the States, and we were hooked. So, the prospect of sipping five cocktails along with a flight of cachaças and nibbling on a host of sweet and savory apps could not be passed up.

The seminar started a little late, so Paulo, a Brazilian man at my table, and spirits writer Carmen Operetta both agreed that we were officially on “Brazilian time.” But it was worth the wait. Vincent Bastos Ribiero, Master Distiller of Fazenda Soledad, proclaimed, “Like soccer and samba, cachaça is an expressive part of the Brazilian Soul.” And he wasn’t kidding. This spirit, made from the fermented juice of sugar cane, is drunk on a vast scale; many families in the fourth largest nation on earth make their own, and their are thousands of bottled expressions across the land.

But don’t confuse Cachaça with rum, in which molasses, the remnants of sugar refining, is used in the distillation process. According to Steve Luttmann, Founder and CEO of Leblon, cachaça needs its own internationally recognized geographical spirits designation, such as the ones held by tequila, cognac, and champagne. (You can learn more about this at Legalize Cachaça.)

Steve shared the floor with Olie Berlic, tireless cachaça champion and expert, and Leticia Moreinos Schwartz, chef and author of The Brazilian Kitchen, who uses cachaça in many of her recipes. Brazilian cuisine is a mix of Portuguese, Native American, and African cuisines. We were treated to some traditional and riffed-on Brazilian amuse bouche such as pao de quejo, a pop-in-your-mouth-sized doughy cheese puff, paired with Brazil’s traditional drink, the Caipirinha (which Olie says is probably the most widely drunk cocktail in the world). To be a Caiparinha, you must contain only three ingredients: cachaçca, sugar, and limes. No more, no less. How you make it though is up to debate, and, as Olie pointed out by having people raise their hands in the room, some of us are shakers and some of us are stirrers. (We’re stirrers, if you needed to know. We don’t like too much pulp in our Caipirinhas.)

Caipirinha

(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3 ounces cachaça
1/2 lime cut lengthwise, with ends cut off and middle pith removed
1 teaspoon sugar
small ice cubes or crushed ice

Method
Cut a deep cross into the pulp side of the lime, but not all the way through the peel. Add to a old-fashioned or rocks glass, peel side up. Add sugar. Gently muddle (about five twists). Add ice, then pour cachaça. Stir.

❤ ❤ ❤

Following that was a croquette de carne (meat croquette), which was paired with a Spiced Batida de Maracuja, a brunch cocktail made with cachaça, passion fruit, and a bit of habanera. Sweet, spicy, tart . . . delicious. Laticia expressed her strong desire to separate Latin and South American cuisines by region and nationality instead of the common practice of just lumping them all into one generic category. “We don’t do this to European cuisine. Each one is distinct in its own right. Why do this to the cuisines of the Americas?”

In between these pairings was a flight tasting of different cachaça, some unaged, and some slightly aged. Many cachaças are aged to mellow the alcoholic heat and to give the spirit a distinct flavor profile by aging in not just oak, but casks made from native Brazilian trees. The unaged Beleza Pura was a favorite, as was the Fazende Soledad, which is slightly aged. The Leblon is very clean and smooth, and makes a great mixer.

Steve made us a drink called Baseado (Brazilian slang for marijuana joint), that was sweet, but complex, redolent of coconut with flavors of lime and lemongrass. Exquisite, and perfect with the salty yucca sticks Leticia had prepared for us.

My favorite drink made me feel a little guilty: a Batida de Coco. It’s a simple rocks preparation of 1 part cachaça shaken with 2 parts coconut cream, and fortunately it landed right in front of me the same time as the Brazilian chocolate truffles known as brigadeiros. Mercy, they satisfied my sweet tooth and put a big ol’ smile on my face.

— Paul Zablocki

Beefeater: The Summer Edition. Available Now! Get Some While Supplies Last!

Well, if you read our posts, you’ll be happy to know that we finally met Stephanie Jerzy, that elusive spirits promoter and champion of cocktail geeks from Central Connecticut, and may we say, what a charming woman. She could elicit a racketeering confession from Al Capone if just given five minutes and a bottle of gin. Beefeater Summer Edition, to be precise. Stephanie invited us to the launch of Beefeater’s newest edition to its roster of excellent spirits. We met Stephanie at the Ace Hotel’s Liberty Hall, a tastefully modest set of rooms, but festooned with lovely bottles of Beefeater’s Summer Edition, a light gin (and a terrific introduction to people who say they don’t like gin, but will ultimately succumb to the brave new world that lies way beyond the isle of London dry). Developed by the creative genius Desmond Payne, the master distiller who gave us last year’s crazy delicious Beefeater 24, this light gin is made with the edition of elder flower, black currant, and hibiscus flower. While sipping it, you realize that this gin is gentle, not overtly juniper forward, and no surprise that it mixes splendidly with its parent components.

When we first walked down to Liberty Hall, there were small clusters of people gathered around two bars mise-en-place’d with the pressed-flower, scrapbook-as-collage label in throbbing lime, sno-cone blue, and vermilion; and two tables loaded with the perfect complement: nosh. On platters lay just-cooked two-bite fish and chips, replete with cocktail sauce, if you so chose; braised artichokes, so tender you could pierce them with a whisper; and a fine selection of cheeses and their faithful leavened companions. We sipped an English Summer Collins to start as we chatted with New York Times columnist Robert Simonson, and shared some favorite ways to drink summer sippers. Perhaps we can collaborate someday on the perfect Summer Cocktail. Hmm. If it’s anything like the English Summer Collins—with just the right amount of sweetness, with some St-Germain to bring out the its elder flower notes, just a bit of crème de cassis to cut through the fresh lemon juice, accompanied by a minty, lemony aroma as you bring the straw to your lips—this drink will be loved for its simple refreshing elegance. We’d serve them in a heartbeat to eagerly awaiting guests on our terrace.

English Summer Collins
(created by Jamie Gordon)

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts* Beefeater Summer Edition gin
1/2 part St-Germain (elder flower liqueur)
1/2 part Mathilde Cassis (crème de cassis)
1 part fresh lemon juice
3/4 parts simple syrup
club soda, to top
lemon wedge, as garnish
mint sprig, as garnish

Method
Shake first five ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice into a highball glass. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a mint sprig.

❤ ❤ ❤

Stephanie then introduced herself as Robert went off in search of a new cocktail and a possible tale for his online musings, Off the Presses. Our online chatter instantly morphed into flesh. We talked about Connecticut, where Paul is from, not too far from where Stephanie calls home too, and reminisced about the fun we had separately at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gala. Not content with just one drink, we escorted her to the bar and asked for a Summer Flower. Now, who wouldn’t want a cocktail called a Summer Flower? Mixologist Jamie Gordon, who expounded on developing the evening’s cocktails with spirits ambassador and bon vivant Simon Ford, found a perfect trio to add to the new gin: hibiscus syrup, fresh lemon juice, and a dash of orange bitters. This flower shone deep red and tasted like lightly sweetened tea, with a slight tart note from the hibiscus and a pucker from the lemon. The orange bitters rounded out things nicely. Needless to say, all the yummy food went very well with these drinks, and that made us all happy.

Summer Flower

(created by Jamie Gordon)

Ingredients
2 parts Beefeater Summer Edition
1/2 part hibiscus syrup
3/4 parts fresh lemon juice
1 dash orange bitters
grated lemon zest, as garnish

Method
Shake ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and fine strain (or double-strain to remove any pulp) into a cocktail glass. Garnish with grated lemon zest.


Stephanie (on right) and her friend Julia. You can read Stephanie’s Musings on Cocktail Culture. A Summer Gin Fizz, courtesy of the Mixologists and Ad Firm that conceptualized it: 2 parts Beefeater Summer Edition over ice. Top with fresh ruby grapefruit juice and a splash of club soda. Garnish with a wedge of ruby grapefruit.

As we said our good-byes to Stephanie and her lovely friend Julia, who happened upon the party just in time for a light summer refresher, we were handed each a petal-pressed-in-paper envelope sealed in wax and stamp with the imprint of a sunflower. Inside, little dried blooms pressed in between recipe postcards with photos of cocktails in Mad Men era–poses and saturated hues. We can’t wait to pick up a bottle and and have a picnic.

* For American measures, a part equals 1 ounce, which will make your life easier.