ELS/Holiday Cocktail Kit (2020)

The ELS denizens have passed their time in quarantine with each other and, not infrequently, with cocktails. But we've really missed you and have on many, many, many occasions wished we could share a drink with you. Toward that end, we've put together kits that we're hoping you can use to share a cocktail or three with us in the best way we know how given the circumstances.

Our kits have three special cocktail ingredients made with a number of botanicals and spices:

Pear Gin

A sweet gin infused over about a week with dried pears as well as fresh pears and apples from our winter CSA.

Spice Vermouth

A dry vermouth infused for a day or so with orange peel, cinnamon, and cloves.

Rosemary Syrup

A rich simple syrup (2:1 by weight) simmered with fresh rosemary foraged from a Seattle food forest.

To help you use them, we've also put together recipes for four cocktails (one is a great mocktail). We've enjoyed making these ingredients and the drinks they produce and we hope you'll enjoy them with us from afar.

Because we know that the state of your bars and liquor cabinets varies, the recipes below only require the three ingredients in our kit plus lemon juice since we imagine you'll be able to source these on your own. If you've made other recipes using the ingredients in the kit, please let us know so we can try them out too!

Let's plan to have a drink together on Jitsi?

Recipes

Zoom from the Hammock [EtOH optional]

In a few words

Sparkling rosemary lemonade.

Ingredients

• 1oz (30ml) ELS Rosemary Syrup
• ⅔oz (20ml) Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2oz (60ml) Sparkling water (normal water will be OK too!)
• [Optional] 1oz ELS Pear Gin

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients except water into a cocktail shaker
• And ice and shake for 45-60 seconds until cold and diluted
• Strain into a highball or collins glass over ice cubes
• If you've got them on hand, garnish with a sprig of rosemary

Credit and inspiration

Inspired by Dish Walk Cooler by Benjamin Mako Hill (Seattle)

520 Twilight Dash

In a few words

A spiced fruit-forward martini suitable for a cold winter night.

Ingredients

• 2½oz (75ml) ELS Pear Gin
• ½oz (15m) ELS Spice Vermouth

Instructions

• Mix ingredients into a mixing glass
• Add ice and stir for 40-60 seconds until cold
• Strain the ice and pour the liquid into a chilled stemmed cocktail class or coupe
• If you've got either on on hand, garnish with a piece of dried pear or a toothpick or a twisted orange peel

Best-of Week

In a few words

A spirit forward shaken cocktail with a bit of something for every pallette.

Instructions

• 2oz ELS Pear Gin
• ¾oz ELS Spiced Vermouth
• ¾ oz Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• ⅓oz ELS Rosemary syrup
• [Optional] 1 dash Grapefruit bitters
• [Optiona] If you have a fruit eau-de-vie like pear or plum, swap in ½oz of eau-de-vie for the same amount of gin.

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients except water into a cocktail shaker
• And ice and shake for 45-60 seconds until cold and diluted
• Strain into a stemmed coupe or cocktail glass
• Garnish with a expressed grapefruit peel as garnish (lemon will work too if that's what you have)

Credit and inspiration

Inspired by Death & Taxes by Joaquín Simó (Pouring Ribbons, NYC)

Least Mode

In a few words

A low-alcohol vermouth based libation. The optional ingredients will take things in a floral direction but it's good without them too!

Ingredients

• 1½oz ELS Spiced Vermouth
• ½oz ELS Pear Gin
• ⅓oz ELS Rosemary Syrup
• ¾oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• [Optional] 5 drops orange flower water
• [Optional] 5 drops aromatic cocktails bitters (e.g., Angostura or even ELS Aromatic Cycle Old Fashion Bitters, which we hope you do not have around any more!)

Instructions

• Mix ingredients into a mixing glass
• Add ice and stir for 40-60 seconds until cold
• Strain the ice and pour the liquid into a "lowball" or DOF glass over a single large ice cube if you've got one.
• Garnish with a lemon twist

Credit and inspiration

Inspired by A Thousand Blue Eyes by Nick Detrich (New Orleans)