3 brunch cocktails for spring
Ernest Hemingway once wrote that “Paris is a moveable feast.” I think he might have meant “transportable,” because a moveable feast changes days but not location, whereas a transportable feast goes wherever you do.
But what do I know?
Easter, coming up on Sunday, is one of the biggest of these so-called “moveable feasts.” It also has come to signify the kickoff for the brunch season.
And brunch is really just a fancy way of saying, “I want an alcoholic drink with my breakfast.” We are not here to judge — all things in moderation — so it is with that idea in mind that we offer up the “Trinity” of brunch cocktails — the Bloody Mary, the Mimosa and the Ramos Fizz — all localized and each made “better” by the addition of one or two “new-ish” ingredients. It is the beginning of spring after all, and spring is all about new beginnings and new things. Hemingway also wrote: “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest.” And if that doesn't scream Northern California — this year in particular — I don't know what does.
Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com
RECIPES
A Lenten-ending Ramos Fizz
2 ounces Alamere Spirits London
Dry Gin
2 ounces unsweetened organic coconut cream (not Coco Lopez) ½ ounce Cointreau (or other goodquality clear triple sec)
½ ounce fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1 whole egg
1 orange zest
Fresh grated nutmeg
Combine the gin, cream, Cointreau, lemon juice and whole egg in a shaker glass with ice. Shake until foamy. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, being sure to pile up foam on top. Garnish with orange zest and top with grated nutmeg.
Note: Whole eggs are not a new idea (see Golden Fizz) but the richness of the yolk adds a great weight to this fluffy drink. Swapping out the milk cream for coconut cream also adds richness and eliminates any possible curdling, which can happen when combining citrus and milk. Orange flower water (another classic ingredient) is neither very tasty nor readily available. Triple sec, with its high sugar content, not only adds sweetness but also a delicate orangey flavor. The spice nutmeg contains myristicin, a hallucinogenic toxin that taken in large doses can cause death; always use in moderation.
Eostre Mimosa
4ounces Schug Winery 2019sparkling rosé
2 ounces fresh-squeezed tangerine juice
¼ ounce Hanson of Sonoma organic mandarin vodka
1 tangerine zest
Combine the first three ingredients in a mixing glass and stir once to combine. Allow foam to subside and transfer to a chilled champagne flute. Garnish with zest. By combining ingredients in a separate glass first, you can eliminate the