Creating cocktails
Incorporate locally made spirits into those drinks./
One thing quarantine has taught me, besides how to make bread, was to make the most of creating cocktails at home. It’s even better if you incorporate locally made spirits into those drinks. With so many regional distillers and plenty of local ingredients, it makes it easy to support the community while making use of that glassware you have collecting dust.
A note: Some of the cocktails call for egg whites or egg yolks. If you're squeamish about using raw ingredients, you can sub in pasteurized (or for a vegan twist, use aquafaba, the liquid from cooked chickpeas).
Gingerbread Tom and Jerry with New York Honey Brandy
I didn’t really realize until I asked the 518 Foodies Facebook group where I could get them in the Capital Region, that the Tom and Jerry seems to be more popular in the western side of the state. It’s a brandybased drink with a twist: A scoop of a gingerbread-esque
batter directly into the drink.
Generally brandies are dark in color, with a sweetness perfect for this drink. The New York Honey Brandy from Windham Distillery ( based in Greene County) is lighter in color — which may sway some people from trying it — and, as the name suggests, is made with honey. Add a shot into a cup of warm milk. Onto the batter: For enough for three drinks, you want to whip up two egg whites with a pinch of salt until you see stiff peaks. Set that aside, whip two egg yolks in a separate bowl, then set that bowl aside. In the third bowl, mix about 1⁄ cup of
2 powdered sugar with about 4 tablespoons of room-temperature salted butter and spices (say, a generous dash of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg). Once that’s combined, mix the yolks in first before folding in the whites. Add a ladle of the batter to your cup, garnish with a gingerbread cookie or a cinnamon stick, and enjoy.
Woodsy Gin Fizz with Springbrook Sly Fox Gin
I collect vintage cocktail books and the drink I’m most grateful I learned about is the Ramos Gin Fizz. It’s acidic, citrusy, frothy and floral. I love using the concept of a gin fizz and playing with seasonal flavors like Concord grapes or toasted marshmallow. For the winter months, I decided to add in some flavors of the forest. First thing you’ll need is a good local gin, here the one from Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery in the Adirondacks. Grab a cocktail mixer full of ice, and pour in 2 ounces of gin, a few drops of pine bitters (I used The Hudson Standard's version), an ounce of fresh lemon juice ( juice of about 2 lemons), one egg white, a little less than an ounce of simple syrup, and a piece of rosemary toasted briefly with a lighter or a kitchen torch. Once everything ’s added, shake vigorously for about a minute to really let those egg whites froth up. After you pour the shaker's contents into the glass, slowly top with soda water and watch the foam rise over the edge of the glass. Garnish with some more roasted rosemary.
Abracadabra with 1857 Spirits Vodka
Having a local or regional vodka on standby is just a good rule of thumb. You can make multiple cocktails with that spirit. But this cocktail includes a fun ingredient that you can buy on Amazon: Butterfly pea extract. It doesn’t have much of a flavor, so it can pair well with just about anything, and has an impressive color changing element. The extract is a dark, royal blue color that turns into a bright purple when citrus is added. I mixed a few drops of this with a shot of vodka, and a half an ounce of Weathertop Farm Blackberry Lavender Shrub (made about an hour from here). I finished the cocktail with a pour of lemon seltzer, a spritz of lemon juice, a dash of edible glitter, and garnished with a brûléed lemon slice.
Tequila Salad with One with Life Tequila
I love a good silver tequila, like this locally imported one, and particularly enjoy creating green juice margaritas. When I started making margaritas at home, making a mix that didn’t come from a bottle was the first thing that I changed. It was all-natural everything, and was even better if there were savory and spicy elements. My favorite combo is 2 ounces of fresh celery juice, muddled jalapeño, a dash of egg white for froth (a teaspoon), about 11⁄ ounces of fresh lime juice,
2
3⁄ ounce of Cointreau, a dash
4 of cayenne pepper, and celery salt and plenty of flaky salt around the rim.
It’s fairly easy to make your own celery juice if you don’t own a juicer. Blitz a few stocks in the blender, adding a little bit of water if needed, and strain using coffee filters or cheesecloth.