The Simplicity of Preparing Warmed Olives, Paired with Vesper Cocktails

Warmed olives, seasoned with herbs and spices, pair well with dry gin and vodka cocktails.

Steve was inspired to reinvestigate Alice Waters’s renowned “warm olives with thyme” recipe in The Art of Simple Food when he sipped his first Vesper cocktail. So after taste-testing her recipe side-by-side with this classic drink, he decided to toss in a few more ingredients to her mix, and lower the Vesper’s alcohol content by using less gin.

His additions worked magic. Warmed ever so gently in a bath of herbs and spices, these olives deliver a punch of flavor thanks to the interplay of thyme, cumin, and red pepper flakes. They’re addictive on their own. But paired with a cocktail like the Vesper [SEE RECIPE BELOW], or a Martini if you feel so inclined, the hint of citrus infused in the warmed olive oil brings all the flavors together and makes for a piquant pairing with strong drinks.

And the most beautiful thing about this recipe is its ease. In the minutes it takes to meld all the flavors, you can stir up some trouble at the bar and mix some ice-cold cocktails. The olives will be ready as your guests raise a toast.

Warmed Olives
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mixed olives
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, quartered
3 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
citrus peel (lemon or orange, or both)

Method
Rinse olives thoroughly, drain, and let dry. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium–low heat. Add all the ingredients and mix until coated with oil. Warm for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pairings
Pairing Warmed Olives with cocktails seems easy at the outset, but olives have a way of making sweet cocktails taste, well, not so good. Our advice: Stick with savory cocktails, and those employing gin or vodka as their base. Our favorite is the Vesper, made famous by Ian Fleming in Casino Royale, his first James Bond 007 book. Gin is the main ingredient, followed by vodka, then Lillet blanc, a winy, lightly herbal quinquina (an aperitif that has quinine as an ingredient). If you use a variety of olives, you’ll notice that each one brings out a different flavor note in the cocktail. Your taste buds will thank you.

Meet the Vesper, James Bond’s preferred cocktail in Casino Royale.

Vesper
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces gin (Plymouth is a good gin to start with)
1 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce Lillet blanc
orange peel, for garnish

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into well chilled cocktail glass. Add orange peel.

A Note on the Twist
For the Vesper, we like to take a firm orange and use a standard vegetable peeler to get a nice wide garnish for the cocktail. Make sure to peel the orange over the Vesper to impart the oils from its rind. Lemon works just as well if you don’t have any oranges handy.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

To read more and watch our video pairing Warmed Olives with the Vesper cocktail, click here.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Cocktail Buzz Takes You to Rhode Island: Drinking and Dining in Providence and Newport

A morel mushroom bruschetta at La Laiterie, in Providence.

Several years back, we planned a New England Trip that would culminate in Rhode Island. For some reason we were hellbent on spending a night or two in Providence, and perhaps touring some mansions in Newport, but those plans came to a crashing halt when we were dining in Boston and ran into a friend Paul hadn’t seen in almost twenty years. And this was after Paul just finished saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we ran into my friend Jim? I haven’t seen him in twenty years.” Well, there Jim was, dining right behind us in the restaurant. We never made it to Providence; Jim invited us to his and his partner’s house on the North Shore of Boston, and we’ve been visiting every summer since.

Old School Diners, like the Seaplane, are good bets in Providence and its neighboring towns.

So, it was time to reconsider Rhode Island: we decided on two nights in Providence and one night in Newport, and then we’d visit Jim on the North Shore.

What a trip it proved to be. Providence and Newport welcomed us with wide-open arms, loaded with superb cocktails, delicious and creative food, and spectacularly curated museums and mansions. While in Providence, we bar-hopped with new friends Matthew Lawrence and Jason Tranchida, partners who edit the spectacularly curated gay art periodical Headmaster [NSFW], and toured the RISD and Culinary Museums. And in Newport, after gazing at rich people’s furniture in insanely decorated mansions, we were thirsty and hungry. So we searched for a restaurant that offered fresh seafood prepared à la New American with a New York City–style cocktail menu, in a tranquil setting, and found exactly that.

Paul and Steve at Doris Duke’s Rough Point, in Newport.

Click here to experience our trip, with photos and write-ups of our favorite bars, restaurants, and museums.

Campari Presents the James Beard Awards Chef’s Night Out 2012

Recently we attended Chef’s Night Out, a Campari-sponsored evening of tasty cocktails and tempting nibbles, which acts as a prelude before the final day of the James Beard Foundation Awards at which chefs and restaurants are rewarded for their excellence. Check out the slide show below, as well as a few Campari recipes that are perfect as the temperature starts to rise.

Bar chef Tad Carducci hit us up with some Plymouth Gin Negronis upon entering, and he shared with us a few tips when making Negronis with this one-of-a-kind slightly lighter gin: use a big ice cube for slow dilution, and bump up the proportion of gin to the amount of Campari and sweet vermouth (Negronis are typically 1:1:1) for a more balanced experience. As the ice slowly melted, we commented on how smooth this Negroni was, a little atypical for such a boldly flavored cocktail, but delicious.

Plymouth Gin Negroni
(adapted by Tad Carducci)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Plymouth gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
orange peel, as garnish

Method
Stir in ice and strain into a glass with one large ice cube. (We’re sure Tad wouldn’t mind if you substituted two or three regular ice cubes if that is all that’s available :) Garnish with a swath of orange peel.

❤ ❤ ❤

We then moseyed down the corridor through the Chelsea Market, deciding which bites to pair with our Negroni. We stumbled upon some folks serving up Dehesa Cordobesa 100% acorn-fed Ibérica ham. It melted on our tongues like butter. You can actually taste the nuttiness of the acorns. Behind them, Dickson’s Farmstand Meats was serving up the best deviled ham you never thought you needed to have, along with some lardon spread and some of the savoriest red chili–braised beef, with a finishing topper of cilantro leaf that contrasted nicely with the spiciness of the braise.

While in the Campari Red Lounge, we saw one of our favorite bartenders, Damon Dyer, who runs the bar program at The Rum House, pouring some simple Campari and tonics for those who needed a quick jolt of bittersweet bliss. That encounter was followed by a chat with another one of our favorite people behind the stick, Death & Co.’s Joaquin Simo, always friendly and always informative. He was offering Negroni Sbagliatos, equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and sparkling wine (sbagliato means incorrect). What a delight. This should be the opening drink at your next cocktail party. Make sure to have some strong cheeses on hand to pair with this effervescent, bittersweet libation.

Negroni Sbagliato
(adapted by Joaquin Simo)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Campari
1 1/2 ounces Cinzano sweet vermouth
1 1/2 ounces Mionetto prosecco

Method
Stir Campari and sweet vermouth in ice. Strain into champagne flute. Top with prosecco.

❤ ❤ ❤

It was also a pleasure to see writers Bruce Watson and Laren Spirer, chatting it up with bartender Pamela Wiznitzer of the recently opened Bishops & Barons on East 14th Street. We all realized that we hadn’t yet experienced dessert, so we went in search for some sweetness to bring wider Campari-laced grins to our beaming faces.

Jane Danger, from Jane’s Sweet Buns, offered three bite-sized desserts that all had Campari as an ingredient. As we stood around her table, we debated with other pastry lovers what our favorite was: The shortbread cookie topped with Campari lemon rose buttercream? The strawberry sticky bun with rhubarb bitters? Or the bitter mai tai macaroon? Actually, they were all amazing.

Thanks to Bon Appétit and Hanna Lee Communications for letting us experience the versatility of Campari, and congratulations to all the 2012 James Beard Foundation Award Winners.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine Puts Us in the Catbird Seat. Plus, Rediscovering the Kitty Carlisle Cocktail

The Catbird Seat Cocktail, made with Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine, is a close relative of the Sidecar.

A few years back, we were approached by Piedmont Distillers to come up with a bunch of cocktails featuring their unique brand of moonshine. Dubbed Catdaddy, this 80-proof tipple appealed to our decadent side: it’s sweet and spicy—very southern—and teems with the flavors of vanilla, with whiffs of cinnamon and nutmeg, like frosting on a cake, or better yet, icing on a sticky bun (we did say it was sweet, after all). We had two goals: Our first was to come up with some cocktails to pair with courses for a New Orleans luncheon; our second was to create additional cocktails that would be able to stand on their own.

One such cocktail that fell into the latter category was our Catdaddy version of the famous Sidecar. If you’ve never had a Sidecar, you simply must. It’s a perfect blend of cognac (or brandy), lemon juice, and triple sec, plus a sugared rim for some textural sweetness and a lemon twist for the added citrus oil and aroma. For our version, we swapped out the triple sec for Catdaddy and ditched the lemon twist. And instead of a traditional white-sugar rim, we opted for darker, sexier demerara sugar, like we do in our Sidecar recipe. It adds deeper nuances of sweetness, almost like brown sugar or molasses would.

In naming the new drink, we wished to keep with the vehicular nomenclature of the Sidecar, along with evoking “Catdaddy,” so we racked our brains to find a befitting name—a name that would make you feel a little special while sipping on it, as if you were the main attraction of a parade. Perhaps a parade charging down Bourbon Street, with you waving to all the parade-goers from your enviable position in the high back seat of an old luxury auto. The name Catbird Seat popped into Paul’s head. It’s from a James Thurber story called “The Catbird Seat,” and seemed utterly befitting for several reasons. In said story, one of the characters, Mrs. Barrows, spouts cryptic phrases, such as “Are you in the catbird seat?” at the lead character Mr. Martin, who subsequently learns they are of Southern origin. The phrase, which is synonymous with “sitting pretty,” was then used by P.G. Wodehouse in a novel he wrote called—get ready for it—Cocktail Time. Too perfect.

Whenever we imbibe a Catbird Seat, we feel pretty special, because cognac, no matter what brand you use, seems to elevate a cocktail to a lofty level. (It’s French, after all.) And Catdaddy is pretty darn special too, especially since it’s gone through a makeover: Piedmont Distillers now only uses natural ingredients in the flavoring process, and has changed the name of the product from Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine to Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine, but you can just call it Catdaddy, plain and simple.

Catbird Seat
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces cognac or brandy
1 1/2 ounces Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine
1/2 ounce lemon juice
demerara sugar, for rimming

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe, rimmed (or half-rimmed) with demerara sugar.

❤ ❤ ❤

A Kitty Carlisle cocktail.

We tried some of the new version of Catdaddy just the other night at The Way Station, an old-school Steampunk-themed bar in our neighborhood in Brooklyn, where our friend, the sultry burlesque chanteuse Rosie 151 performs with the outstanding Red Hook Ramblers the first Thursday of every month. We were honored by Rosie and proprietor Anders Heidel, who featured our very own Kitty Carlisle cocktail, one of the creations we came up with for that New Orleans luncheon. Ah, the Kitty Carlisle. Named after the New Orleans–born legend, this sweet-and-sour sipper is a blend of equal parts Catdaddy, bourbon, crème de cacao, and lemon juice. Imbibing some took us right back to New Orleans, especially with the strains of dixieland jazz and the naughty serenading of Rosie’s lyrical double entendre whipping the crowd into a frenzy of southern decadence. And if that wasn’t all, free shots of Catdaddy were passed out by one Foxy Vermouth so everyone could get a taste of the new all-natural recipe. Let’s hope they keep it on the menu the next time Rosie performs with the Red Hook Ramblers so you too can get a taste of southern hospitality, burlesque style.

Come to think of it, we’d love for the Kitty Carlisle to become a new New Orleans cocktail, much like the Sazerac, the Absinthe Suisse, or the Vieux Carré. Make one and let us know what you think.

Kitty Carlisle
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3/4 ounce Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine
3/4 ounce bourbon
3/4 ounce white crème de cacao
3/4 ounce lemon juice

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe.

❤ ❤ ❤

Food Pairing Ideas
If you’d like to pair some grub with either of these cocktails, we recommend pork barbecue or anything with andouille sausage. We make pierogi that combines the spiciness of andouille with the sweetness of prunes (and a little Catdaddy thrown in for good measure). You’ll be booking your tickets for New Orleans after just a few sips and nibbles.

Gussy Up Zucchini with This Easy Spring-Through-Summer Cocktail Party Recipe

Silken firm tofu is the secret ingredient in these vegetarian hors d’oeuvres.

Have you ever opened the crisper in your fridge looking for something in particular but finding something unexpected, something you can’t quite make out because it has shriveled to the point of unearthliness? That just happened to us. The unidentified lying object? Zucchini, and a small one at that. We had every good intention of using it—we even discussed how cute it was at the grocery store—but as we unpacked, we unceremoniously relegated it to the nether reaches of the bottom drawer. Forgotten, until now.

We’d like to tell you that we transformed this limp courgette into something magical, but alas, we did not. It ended up in the garbage. We haaaate throwing away food. As penance, we decided to buy more of these green, mildly flavored squashes with the sole purpose of creating a cocktail party hors d’oeuvre so good, we would never ever allow another zucchini to transmogrify in the crisper.

And that we did. Our goal was to create something relatively healthy, keeping it 100% vegetarian. The warm weather teased us with the prospects of an early summer, so we had summer on the brain when concocting this recipe. Rifling through the fridge, we came across a box of firm silken tofu and various cheeses, and some leftover basil and mint we had used for another dish. Steve’s culinary lightbulb went off and he said, “Let’s grill the zucchini and make a stuffing.” Bingo. Grilling really is the best way to prepare zucchini if your main goal is to accentuate the squash’s inherently subtle flavors. (Next time you want to create a side dish to burgers, just slather some olive oil onto 1/8-inch thick slices (sliced the long way) of zucchini and grill both sides over low heat, flipping only when subtle grill marks have formed. Add some salt and pepper. Devour.)

The Gin Stevie Cocktail

After playing around with the ratios of these items and adding some toasted pine nuts, we decided that these stuffed grilled zucchini bites would be the perfect one-bite party-food accompaniments to a fizzy gin drink. (The herbal, floral flavors in gin pair so well with a variety of spring and summer vegetables.) We had some leftover watermelon–sake ice cubes from the Gin Stevies we made in the fall, so we decided Gin Stevies it would be. And how serendipitous that we had basil and mint leftover too, not only for the stuffed grilled zucchini bites, but for the Gin Stevies as well.

The pairing was blissful. Perfect, really. The way the watermelon in the drink intermingled with the Romano and provolone cheeses in the zucchini bites reminded us why we do this. Who can resist a really good cocktail–party food pairing? And as the weather continues to get warmer, you can serve these zucchini bites al fresco, with perhaps a Tom Collins, a French 75, a Brandy Old-Fashioned, or a Langdon’s Folly, made with pomegranate juice, or even a Clear, a vodka–gin combo fizzy drink with elder flower liqueur and subtle hints of ginger and celery. Enjoy zucchini as you’re meant to enjoy it. Grilled, full of flavor, and with a cocktail companion.

Grilling your zucchini will create dozens of new, bold flavors

Stuffed Grilled Zucchini Bites
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3 small zucchini (about 6 inches long and 1–1/2 inches thick)

3/4 package silken firm tofu (9–10 ounces)
1/8 cup grated pecorino Romano
1/4 cup grated provolone
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4–1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
juice of half lemon (reserve other half for drizzling)
1/4 cup pine nuts
small handful basil leaves (18 large leaves)
sugar (optional)
tiny mint leaves (optional)

Method
Heat grill over medium heat. Wash zucchini and set aside. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts on medium-low heat in a saute or fry pan until fragrant and slightly browned. Mix with remainder of ingredients (except sugar and mint leaves, if using) in a food processor until completely incorporated, but not overly smooth. You want to see bits of basil leaf in the stuffing. If you are mixing by hand, make sure to chop the basil leaves and pine nuts into small pieces first.

Cut zucchini into 1/3-inch thick pieces. Hollow out center with a tablespoon, leaving flesh on the bottom so the mixture will sit in it without going all the way through. Place pieces on grill, hollowed side down, and grill for 5 to 7 minutes, until grill marks form. Sprinkle bottoms with sugar if you are using (this creates a more blistered look and gives the zucchini a slightly more caramelized flavor and texture). Flip the pieces and grill for another 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove from heat when grill marks have formed and the zucchini flesh and the outer green skin has softened. Add dollops of the stuffing to each piece. Top with a squeeze of lemon juice and a tiny mint leaf (if using).

Variations

• The stuffing can also be served with raw zucchini, thinly sliced.
• Feel free to use yellow zucchini, also known as summer squash.

Craving a Tom Collins to accompany your stuffed grilled zucchini bites? 

photos © Steve Schul and Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz

The Incredible Versatile Egg Will Make Your Cocktail Party Guests Coo with Delight

The beauty and splendor of a deviled quail egg, topped with caviar. Lean closer to it. You can almost hear it begging for a cocktail accompaniment. 

Behold the egg. Touch it. Is it cold? Or have you let it sit out on the counter for a spell? Rub your finger along its surface. Smooth and hard. Now crack it open and apply your wizardry. Dexterity is important here. Best to not waste one bit of the precious viscous albumin. Hungry? Why not transform it into an omelet, thin and buttery, filled with your favorite mouthwatering bites. Add some meltable savory cheese to bind the egg to the filling. Or perhaps you are thirsty? Shake an egg up in your cocktail and you’ve made yourself a Flip. Just want the whites? No problem. You’ve just made a Fizz. Take a sip. So silky. Anyway you use it, the egg will add richness and texture to your creation.

And speaking of creation . . . . In our last post, we discussed food as symbols, and one we touched on briefly was the egg as a symbol of fertility and springtime renewal, although we eat them year-round, thanks to the modern market. When we visit the grocery store, we see these eggs huddled in their cartons, with labels touting that their parents were “organically fed,” “without hormones,” and “cage free,” but if you stop to think about these little eggs as you’re checking them for nicks and cracks, you realize that they are a super-important part of our diet. For Paul, they just may well be his desert-island protein; for Steve, well, Steve came to them a little later in life, won over by Paul’s love and admiration for them. Sure, he crafted elaborately decadent cakes and confections with these elliptically shaped beauties, but they never were the center of attention. Until now.

One egg dish we can agree on is a platter of deviled eggs. How charmingly common, yet deviled eggs are now on the menus of fancy restaurants around the country. This simple preparation has become unmistakably retro chic. Especially accompanied by a cocktail. Why not Champagne? Champagne and eggs make a great team. But since we like to make food for cocktail parties, we took the traditional deviled egg and made it bite-sized using quail eggs. Quail eggs are perfect, and are easily available at many Asian or specialty markets. And not to worry, they taste just like chicken eggs. But what makes a deviled egg is the creamy mayonnaisy topping, and our combination of herbs and spices mixed in, topped with red caviar (a double whammy of eggs!), makes for a tasty, well-balanced hors d’oeuvre that will disappear off the plate before you know it. Just make sure you’ve made enough for your guests, and keep those cocktails flowing.

We recommend buying extra quail eggs since they are delicate, and you may end up with a few broken before you get home from the market. If you are not a fan of caviar, try a few nonpareil capers to top your deviled quail eggs. These tiny briny bites will add a nice piquancy to your eggs, almost the same way that roe would.

Deviled Quail Eggs
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
10 quail eggs (1 carton)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced scallions, white part only
1/2 teaspoon dill
1/8 teaspoon salt
hot paprika
small red caviar, such as flying fish roe (you can substitute nonpareil capers)

Method
Wash quail eggs in warm water. Drain and place eggs in small pot. Add water so that it covers eggs. Boil. When water begins to boil, remove from heat and cover for 7 minutes. In the meantime, prepare an ice-water bath. After 7 minutes, transfer eggs to bath. Let cool. Drain. Peel eggs carefully. Slice eggs in half lengthwise with one downward slice (do not slice back and forth as this will tear eggs).

Now, drop the hardened yolks in a small bowl. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, and mustard, and mash with a fork until smooth. Add minced scallions, salt, and dill. Mix thoroughly. Fill a small plastic sandwich baggie with the yolk mixture and squeeze into one corner of the bag. Twisting the baggie at the opened end will help you. With scissors, cut a small hole in corner of baggie. Make sure you have a good grip on the baggie that will allow you to pipe the yolk mixture through the hole. Gently squeeze from the top of the mixture, and the filling will begin to pipe out. Fill each egg half.

Sprinkle with hot paprika to taste. Dollop with a small spoonful of red caviar. Serve. The deviled quail eggs may be made a day in advance, but add caviar just before serving.

Makes 20 eggs, or serves 7.

Tips and Tricks
Locating the air pocket under the shell at the base of the egg will make peeling the egg so much easier. Just tamp the base of the egg on a hard surface and start peeling under gently running water.

Serve your deviled quail eggs halfway through your cocktail party. Pass the tray from guest to guest. Tell them that you just retrieved them from the fridge. That way, they’ll know it hasn’t been sitting out for a spell.

Cocktails To Serve with Deviled Quail Eggs
We created a special Champagne cocktail for our friend, the actress Julie White, to be paired with deviled quail eggs. This brazen sky-blue drink, dubbed the Bird Nest, looks adorable in a small Champagne coupe. Other cocktails, such as the Martini, Violet Sparkler, La Violeta, Srirachacha, and the French 75, would feel equally at home alongside these mini bites.

The Bird Nest, made blue by blue curaçao, is a charming Champagne Cocktail spiked with a little tequila.

More Egg Cocktails

And if you’re up for some cocktails that benefit texturally from egg whites, the Ramos Gin Fizz just might be the hombre you were looking for. Perfect for a brunch affair. Or perhaps some PAMA Nog, which we introduced to you in our last post, may be served to a group of thirsty guests hankering for something frothy and fruit-tastic. Having dessert? The Maltese, with its coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors, will light up any end to a meal. We know, it’s so hard to choose.

Bottoms up!

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Pomegranates Make Easter Cocktailing a Joy: PAMA Nog

This light and fruity nog, made with three pomegranate expressions, will make your Easter celebrations an affair to remember. And because of its low-alcohol content, you can have two (or three).

Pomegranates ten years ago were exotic to most Westerners, especially to us East Coasters. Sure, we’d seen those burnished red orbs piled up in a produce-section crate at the grocery store, their crown-shaped nipples beckoning us to get a little closer, but by sheer ignorance we shuttered our eyes to their beauty. We just didn’t know what to do with them except make a mess with the arils, those pip-like seeds coated with the sweet juice that gives the pomegranate its distinct enchanting flavor.


The arils, pips, or seeds of the pomegranate (call them what you will) are the paragons of contrast: sweet and soft on the outside, hard and slightly bitter on the inside. Nibbling them can become an addiction.

Mythologically, the pomegranate, which originated in Iran, has bewitched many a soul, the most famous being Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld in Greek tales. Poor Persephone. Abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld, she was forced to take a seat by his throne whilst he lorded over the dead. Her mom, Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, was thrown into a deep depression, so deep, as a result, winter enveloped all with its bitter chill. All vegetation shriveled up, and nothing new grew. Well, this didn’t sit well with Zeus, king of the Gods, so he ordered Hades to return Persephone to terra firma so that the shrubs and trees and flowers could once again bloom. But Hades, being devilish and cunning, tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, so that she would be forced to stay—you see, the Fates had decreed that anyone who imbibed anything while they were roaming the dark and gloomy caverns of the Underworld were doomed to live eternity there. Six seeds were hardly enough to merit eternal damnation, so it was decided that six months a year would suffice. And during those six months, Demeter’s mourning chills the Earth, forcing the greenery into early retirement.

How dreary. And you thought pomegranates were life-affirming because of all the hullabaloo about its antioxidant properties.



But after six months of bitterness and cold, hope springs eternal. Yes, spring, the season of renewal and life, returns with the release of Persephone from Hades’s corpsy clutches. And what better symbol to promote this renewal than the egg. Going way back in Teutonic Mythology, the egg symbolized, you guessed it, renewal. Ēostre, the Goddess of spring, represented by the egg and the rabbit (yes, the bunny represents fecundity, so we get the Easter Bunny from her too), lent her name to the holiday. So eggs and Easter somehow become intertwined forever, as lovers united in a common vision of resurrection. Easter + eggs. The two words fit so well together, we can’t imagine an Easter without them. And after a gloomy winter, the more decorated these eggs are, the better.

Which brings us to the drink. We’ll call it PAMA Nog (we get nothing promoting the brand, it just sounds good). Look at the photo: It’s like a wee present, dappled in little jeweled seeds, life’s beginnings. These little ruby eggs of sweet and bitter, floating atop a cloud of pomegranate–blueberry juice laced with a hearty dose of PAMA pomegranate-flavored liqueur, when we bite into you and take a sip of your smooth and creamy essence, we become one with all mythologies that hand down their circle-of-life fables to the generations; we are cradled by their stories. (It’s that good.)

So what we’re trying to say is Steve’s drink, PAMA Nog, is a celebration of this life-cycle, and what better holiday than Easter to fete the renewal of life. In Christian mythology, Jesus rises from the dead after a nasty run-in with the Roman authorities, and it is on Easter that Christians commemorate this event — much like the Ancient Greeks would pay homage to Persephone, and the Northern Europeans would honor Ēostre — in song, dance, parades, dramas, and special holidays.

We just chose to add some liquor to our medium. But you will find the whole egg in there — yolk and white separated at first, then reunited in bibulous bliss. Mmm. Happy Lip-Smacking Easter.

PAMA Nog
(created by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz)

Serves 2.

Ingredients
2 ounces PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1 egg, divided (yolk and white separated)
5 teaspoons sugar, divided (4/1)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup pomegranate–blueberry juice (or just pomegranate juice)
nutmeg, freshly ground
pomegranate seeds, as garnish

Method
In a bowl, beat the egg yolk and 4 teaspoons of sugar with a mixer until it lightens in color and sugar is dissolved. Add PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur, milk, pomegranate-blueberry juice, and stir to combine.

Place the egg white and the 1 additional teaspoon of sugar in a bowl and beat with mixer until soft peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill. Whisk before serving. Divide between two glasses and garnish with pomegranate seeds and freshly ground nutmeg. Enjoy.