Sunday, May 04, 2008
Food, "Wine and Spirits", Recipes
April showers bring May...cocktails
CREDIT:Nat Ulrich
Edible flowers are a tasty way to top off spring cocktails.
By Jason Tesauro and Phineas Mollod
Before the sun junkies hit the sandbars and make Coppertone bronze the official color of summer, the second half of spring has its verdant day. Memorial Day promises throngs en route to Six Flags over Georgia, but take full advantage of early May’s fleeting balance of bare-armed days and spooning-worthy nights when the air conditioning bill is nil and the chance for romance is nigh. Thus, to complement the transitional season, make sure it’s not just the lawn that’s lush. Get into the booze groove by plucking inspiration from the garden and treating yourself, your lovers and your guests to cocktails that light up the olfactories and tickle the eyes with a color wheel of hues. To get you started, we’ve spotlighted some simple faves.
As rendered by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, the Gibson Girl was the Gilded Age’s epitome of beauty: delicate yet buxom ladies with corseted waists and puffed, upswept hairdos. The Gibson martini, perhaps named in honor of Mr. Gibson, used to consist of equal parts gin and sweet vermouth with a lemon peel garnish, but today it’s a dry martini (gin or vodka), garnished with a swimming cocktail onion or two. Unlike salty green olives, the pearl onion globe is meant to impart a subtle, pungent yet sweet hint to the classic frosty martini—and bring to mind latchkey kid’s memories of Swanson’s Hungry Man TV Dinners. While ordinary bars offer cut-rate, squishy cocktail onions, a true cocktail lounge will boast crisp gourmet onions. Even better, if you’re at an inn within a beet toss of a farmer’s market or fixing drinks at home in the early springtime, revel in the knowledge that it’s ramp season. Ramps, or wild leeks, are green and leafy, with an unmistakable redolence of garlic and onion. Chopped and sautéed, they are perfect on pasta, potatoes and eggs; yet, pickled ramps or just a single ramp lounging in a martini glass imparts a beautiful, subtle flavor.
Libidos aren’t the only thing in bloom during springtime, and flowers aren’t just for looking and occasionally sniffing. Edible flowers are delicious in salads, providing a singular burst of color, soft texture, honeyed attar of roses and a winning pepperiness. Why not for drinks? Nasturtiums are the easiest blooms to find, and their scarlet, orange and yellow blossoms are perfect for gussying up fizzes, saké cocktails or tropical drinks served on the patio. Of course, before deciding to include floral in your diet, buy from an organic market or a trusted local source since pesticides don’t mix well with gin. To avoid wilted petals at the bottom of your cocktail, you have three options: (1) insert the blossom into a lemon or lime wheel; (2) crystallize your flowers by dipping in egg whites, coating with caster sugar and drying on wax paper; or (3) freezing the flowers to create a stiff blossom. A charming spring offering is the Green Gin Fizz, the basic fizz colored by a few drops of crème de menthe. Present the frosted Collins glass with a nasturtium garnish, and your baby will smile, smile, smile, and won’t even recall that the last time you bought her flowers was back in February for some over-commercialized holiday. SP
Phineas and Jason are the authors of “The Modern Gentleman” and “The Modern Lover.” E-mail them at booze@sundaypaper.com.
Gibson
- 2 ounces (or more) gin or vodka
- Several dashes of dry vermouth (to taste)
Shake, and strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with cocktail onion or pickled/fresh ramp.
Green Gin Fizz
- 2 ounces dry gin
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- Several drops green crème de menthe
Shake, and strain into a Collins glass. Top with club soda.
Garnish with lemon wheel and nasturtium blossom.