Ice + Clink + Drink

Nearly 20 years spanned between my first taste of gin and my second. (No, I did not first try it when I was 10 years old, but it’s flattering of you to assume so).  Being that tree sap is not a taste I wanted to acquire – aside from maple syrup – I shunned gin from that first taste forward. Urged to try it again several months ago, I did so grudgingly.

Surprisingly, it was just fine – showing me that I should make room in my liquor cabinet for the right kinds of gin. It wasn’t until a recommendation from bartender Chris Faber at the Naga Bar (note: I hear he has moved to Bellevue’s Lot 3), however, that found one I truly like. Aviation Gin is mellow, doesn’t have a dominating juniper taste and makes a great drink. Trolling through the distiller’s Web site (often good sources for recipes), I found this fantastic cocktail:

Kiwi Envy

Muddle the kiwi in a cocktail shaker, and add the ice, gin, liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup. Shake well to chill. Strain into ice-filled Collins glass and add club soda. Stir gently and serve. Note: I chose to serve it “up,” meaning in a chilled cocktail glass without ice (i.e., martini-style), and double-strained it to remove the seeds.

This drink is so good that I made it several nights in a row. St. Germain (a delicate elderflower liqueur) was already one of my favorite liqueurs, and I’m always happy to bring out that gorgeous bottle.  With this new gin and recipe, I have more reasons to do so.  If you are a gin-avoider, Aviation might convert you.

Cheers, ICE

 

It’s Mother’s Day morning and I’m looking through my master drink book with bloggin’ on my mind. Red Hook* asks if I’m starting up cocktail hour early. But I see a more important question here: why isn’t he making me brunch so that I can bust out the champagne?!

There are lots of great brunch cocktails out there, and I’ll get to them here someday. But I was thinking a better drink for today is the Payback.  Is it because today is the day to pay moms back for all they do? Or the payback that we’ll enjoy when our kids become parents? Interpret it however you wish.

The Payback

(This recipe requires muddling. Ideally you would use a muddling tool with a flat end and long handle to press the fruit or herbs to release their juices or oils. This is isn’t hard, but you don’t want to mangle them.) 

Remove seeds from jalapeno slices, but leave the white membrane. Muddle the jalapeno and kiwi slices in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and enjoy!

This recipe comes from The Modern restaurant in New York City and is included in the excellent cocktail book, MixShakeStir.

Cheers, ICE

BTW, I just got a unique Mother’s Day gift. Roy Rogers* is pretty excited that I’m starting this blog, enough so that he created notices announcing the debut of Ice + Clink + Drink. He plans to put these in the neighbors’ mailboxes, for which I readily apologize.

*to find out who Red Hook and Roy Rogers are, please check out my “ICE, Red, Roy & Shirley?” page.