Gartending: Trial by Error
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For the Spring and Summer growing season, we bring you a new feature at Beekman 1802, the Soused Gnome. He’ll teach you how to “gartend”–create perfect seasonal cocktails using fresh ingredients from the garden.
This cocktail uses a Gin from Oregon distilled in a pot still. A pot still is method of distillation that is less sophisticated on a technology standpoint, but more flavorful in the taste category. Pot still spirits have real character and dare I say soul than mass produced column still spirits. The art and craft of the distiller shines through each batch of liquor produced the old-fashioned way, one drop at a time.
This cocktail uses freshly snipped, slapped basil in the mix.
But wait, what is slapped basil? Well, you take a piece of basil and put it in your hand, then as if clapping, slap your other hand onto the one that holds the basil. Your basil has now been slapped! The physical momentum of slapping the basil releases the oils in the leaf and makes your cocktail even more aromatic!
This cocktail uses coconut water ice and a bit of seltzer water, but really it is the flavor of the Gin that you want, woven with the basil. Why cover up perfection with too many ingredients?
Trial by Error Cocktail
makes two electrifying drinks
Ingredients:
4 shots Aviation Gin
2 nice pieces of Basil, slapped!
Seltzer Water
Lemon Zest
Bitter End Moroccan Bitters
Preparation:
To a cocktail shaker, fill ½ with fresh regular ice
Add Aviation Gin to the ice and stir, very gently, you want to chill the Gin not dilute it
Add a Coconut water ice cube to a champagne coupe’ glass (old fashioned champagne glass)
Slap your Basil and add it to the glass over the coconut water ice
Add three drops of Bitter End Moroccan Bitters to each drink (right over the top)
Pour the chilled Aviation Gin over the top and garnish with a twirl of lemon zest
Warren Bobrow is the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3, non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey. He has published over three hundred articles in about three years on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews and travel articles. Learn more from his website, The Cocktail Whisperer, or by visiting his blogs at The Daily Basic, Foodista, and Williams-Sonoma
