The Snapdragon

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Brent and Josh are always coming up with new recipes with items harvested fresh from the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Garden, so I thought I'd develop a cocktail fresh from the spring garden.

I'm not a huge fan of most flavored vodkas.  Even from the best ingredients, it always seems a little artificial to me.  That said, I admit that I'm in the minority as far as the American palate goes.  Sometimes I like to re-infuse a flavored vodka, to use its flavor as the base, to bolster what I add on top.

I have ever met anyone who does not love this drink this time of year.

Instructions

Take one 1 liter bottle citrus or tropical fruit flavored vodka.  Save the bottle and vodka to a wide mouthed glass container that can accommodate it with space to spare.

Add

1 stalk rhubarb, cut into 1″ segments

1 dozen sliced strawberries

Let sit covered three days in refrigerator.  Strain off fruit and return to original bottle.

Combine in a ice filled wine glass

2 ounces above vodka

1/2 ounce triple sec

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

Fill to top with moscato d'asti, and stir.

Sit back and receive compliments

 

Eben Klemm is the Senior Manager of Wines & Spirits of BR Guest Hospitality, a group of Restaurants, Bars and Hotels.  In that capacity he creates all the specialty cocktails served there.  He grew up on a small family farm in Sharon, five miles from the Beekman Mansion and is proud to say that the first cocktails he ever consumed were rejected from his body, at very high speed, not far from its shadow.  His book "The Cocktail Primer: All You Need to Know to Make the Perfect Drink" was published in 2009 by Andrews McNeel.