Day: October 8, 2012

Autumn Glory

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I feel as though pears are often overlooked as a fall fruit. Poached pears in vanilla ice cream with a bit of cinnamon has always been a favorite of mine. It has been a tradition to make them up at my cabin in the winter. Snowed in, snuggling down to a nice warm fire with the smell of cinnamon and pears will always feel like home to me. I wanted to transfer that idea into a savory cocktail. I have to say the most exciting part of coming up with this cocktail was the syrup. I knew the flavors that I wanted to combine but I wasn’t sure how to get them all into one glass. The result is phenomenal; it’s light and delicate without compromising depth in flavors.

  • 1.5 oz Xante Pear Brandy
  • ¾ oz Lillet Blanc
  • 1 bar spoon Tangerine syrup
  • 1 dash orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a beaker with ice. Stir well. Fine strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a thyme sprig… enjoy.

Tangerine Syrup

  •  juice and zest of one Valencia orange
  • 2 small tangerines or 8 kumquats (sliced thin, with the peels still on)
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 10 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 two inch turmeric cut into pieces
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Cover in an airtight container and let sit over night. Fine strain thyme, orange, and pepper out  into a clean air tight container.

Just Pull The Trigger

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Rise and shine, it’s deer hunting time! I recently went hunting with the boys I grew up with. They are all strong, sweet and overly protective of me…except in the mountains. Growing up I can’t tell you how many times we went fishing and they thought it would be funny to tell me that we were suddenly lost. They told me that we would have to survive in the wild for days and I should hope we could follow the north star at night to find our way back to civilization. Yup. It worked. I can still remember being five years old biting my lower lip to hold back tears. Don’t worry I got revenge. There was a patch of stinging nettle in the barn that I somehow convinced them that it was like money trees. All you had to do was pick and sell the nettle. Needless to say I got in deep trouble later on outside the emergency room for that one.  In the mountains it’s all for one. And I am proud to say I can hold my own with a gun. After a long day of tromping around in dirt we sat down at a bonfire and I made this cocktail for everyone. The full richness of  ‘Just Pull The Trigger’  was perfect with a plate of barbeque ribs, our feet up and stories that would continue on into the early hours of the next morning.

I used fig syrup from Crate and Barrel. It was great for this cocktail and can be found here.

  • 1 oz. Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 year old Solera Rum
  • 1 1/4 oz. Cynar
  • 1/4 oz. Fig Vanilla Black Pepper Coffee Syrup
  • Dash Angostura bitters

Stir well in a beaker. Fine strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.