The Celery Sour cocktail

This drink is crazy, in a good way. You take all of these ingredients that are tasty on their own, but sound really weird together (when was the last time you mixed Fernet with elderflower liqueur?) and they combine into an entirely refreshing drink that, yes, tastes a bit like celery. This cocktail is why I bother with cocktail recipes. Enjoy!

• 1-1/4 ounces (5 parts) gin, preferably St.George Spirit's Terroir gin

• 1 ounce (4 parts) St.Germain or other elderflower liqueur/cordial, such as this homemade elderflower cordial

• 3/4 ounce (3 parts) fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 ounce (1 part) pastis, such as Ricard

• 1/4 ounce (1 part) Fernet Branca

• 2 dashes of Peychaud's bitters

• Lemon peel (garnish)

Shake all ingredients apart from lemon peel and serve up in a pre-frosted coupe. Garnish with lemon peel. 

The Schoolyard cocktail

As I mentioned in another post with more general information about wild chamomile, I used to smell and sample wild chamomile (Matricaria discoidea), otherwise known as "pineapple weed" on the schoolyard, hence the name for this drink. Now I forage it where I can (which is pretty much everywhere in the spring and early summer), wash it, and make a wild chamomile simple syrup with it to be used in cocktails. I played around a bit with this cocktail, including other liquor such as Salers or adding grapefruit bitters, but ultimately it was best to let the wild chamomile syrup shine by keeping it simple. Recipe below is for one cocktail.

• 1.5oz gin (Bar Hill gin or St.George Terroir would both be good choices)

• 0.5oz meyer lemon juice

• 0.5oz pineapple weed simple syrup

• Pineapple weed for garnish

Shake and serve up with pineapple weed flower.

Wild Chamomile Simple Syrup

Wild chamomile, or pineapple weed grows almost everywhere and is very distinctive.

Wild chamomile, Matricaria discoidea, has a wonderful fragrant aroma that makes for great cocktails. Learn more about this edible weed here. One simple way to incorporate the flavor into cocktails is by infusing a simple syrup with the flowers and leaves of the weed. Not only is this syrup fantastic in cocktails, such as The Schoolyard, but it's also lovely in lemonade, ice tea, drizzled over ice cream (or made into ice cream or gelato), cakes, tarts, etc. Below recipe is for about 1 cup of simple syrup.

• 1 cup washed pineapple weed flowers and tops of leaves: Flowers can be removed from the weed using scissors, some of the top leaves around the flowers are okay, but you want to make sure it's mostly flowers.

• 1 cup sugar*

• 1 cup water

Combine sugar, water, and pineapple weed in a small heavy saucepan. 

Use scissors to easily cut off pineapple weed flowers and leaves.

Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let the syrup cool completely, then squeeze as much juice as possible from flowers, pour through cheesecloth into a jar or resealable container. Simple syrup will last 1 month refrigerated.

*You can also make a 2:1 (sugar: water) simple syrup that will last up to 6 months refrigerated. This 2:1 syrup is sweeter than most, so you will need to add less to recipes.

Wild Chamomile: Tasting Between the Cracks

Wild chamomile aka pineapple weed is easily uprooted from the ground.

In a way, I was foraging before I even knew what it meant. The schoolyard of my childhood did not have much grass. Okay, it didn't have any grass at all. When we weren't scraping our knees on the pavement playing football or foursquare, we were investigating whatever we could find poking out from the cracks in the pavement. I specifically remember a "game" we had with one weed in particular: Matricaria discoidea, or "pineapple weed" or “wild chamomile”. 

“Luckily, there wasn’t any poison hemlock growing from the cracks, though something tells me our intuition would keep us away from it. ”

The game went like this: I would instruct a schoolmate to envision any fruit of their choosing, then would have them smell the pineapple weed flower as I crushed it under their nose and voilà!, smell like that fruit it would. Sometimes I would also take a taste of the (strawberry, cantaloupe, grape, orange...) smelling fruit and, to my surprise, it also tasted like that fruit. Now, I'm not condoning tasting something that you have not identified, but it's fun to think that even young children can find food in a desolate landscape. 

“Between its unique look and distinct, fragrant aroma it is pretty easy to identify and can be found in the spring/summer in gardens, on trails and yes, even in cracks in the sidewalk.”

Like chamomile, wild chamomile can be dried and made into a tea and is in the Asteraceae family, which is the same family as daisy, dandelion, and thistles. It grows low to the ground, has thin, feathery, branching leaves and small yellow cone-shaped flowers that resemble a tiny pineapple. 

Abundant pineapple weed at the Peralta Community Garden - the members had no problem with my taking as much as I wanted.

Harvested wild chamomile.

On a recent visit to the Peralta Community Garden in North Berkeley for a wild food talk there was massive amounts of pineapple weed that the gardeners gladly let me pillage. I turned my bounty into a stock of wild chamomile simple syrup that is great in cocktails, lemonade, or for drizzling on pancakes. Other uses include scattering on salads, fish, chicken, or fruit tarts. I may have originally "discovered" this weed in childhood, but it's great to come back to it as an adult!

Ashes to Ashes cocktail

My usual go-to cocktails fall in the "highly alcoholic" arena because that's typically what I'm looking for, but sometimes you want to start out a little mellower. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find a drink that is lower in alcohol without being sweet or tasting watered down. This combination of fernet, rosemary honey, and lemon does a great job of whetting the palate without making you feel like your missing out. 

I came across this combination at a.kitchen + bar in Philly where my friend I used to work with at the Nordic Food Lab is now cheffing. The food and a.kitchen is delicious, but a little intense, so starting with this light herbal aperitif was definitely the way to go (before drinking wine, of course). We requested the recipe and have had a fun time recreating the drink at home using foraged rosemary that is beginning to flower, making for an even more appealing garnish. 

• 1.5 oz Fernet Branca

• 0.75 oz rosemary honey syrup (see below)

• 0.5 oz lemon juice

• 0.25 oz ginger syrup

• Sparkling water

• Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

Shake all ingredients apart from sparkling water and rosemary garnish, double strain, then top with sparkling water to fill glass (adjust water according to taste). Garnish with rosemary.

To make honey-rosemary syrup (you might as well make a batch of it for future drinks!):

• Simmer 2 parts honey to 1 part water with 1 rosemary spring for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, then remove rosemary.

Royal Pomme Punch

Retro punch is the best way to throw a classy party without having to play bartender. Be aware - punch disappears faster than you would expect and is very strong. I love this punch, and all old-school punches, because they use interesting blends of ingredients and usually contain bubbly, so you know it's a party! This one is great for the winter (and Winter Solstice parties) because the blood orange keeps things bright and festive, while still being dark and cozy. I usually double the below recipe for parties, but one batch will serve about 15-20 people.

• 12 ounces (350 mL) apple brandy or apple jack, such as Laird's Apple Jack

• 500mL (about 3/4 bottle) Dubonnet rouge

• 1/4 cup fresh blood orange juice

• 3 blood oranges, sliced into rounds

• 1 bottle of champagne or other sparkling wine

• 20 dashes of Angostura bitters

After mixing, throw in a giant ice cube for extra classiness. A giant ice cube can be made by freezing water in a square tupperware container overnight. You might want to store a back up of all the ingredients except champagne and bitters to allow for easier refill (your guests will love to watch you dash in the bitters).

Enjoy and be careful - again, it's strong and tasty!

The New Rider cocktail

When I lived in the lower Mission in San Francisco, I had a friend several blocks away and our halfway point happened to be Beretta. This busy Cal-Ital establishment is frequented for pizza, but we usually just went for the cocktails and my favorite standby was the The New Rider. There's just something about this drink - somehow, it manages to be classic, yet still unique, bright, but cozy and it always seemed to be exactly what I wanted. In light of that, I set about making it at home. With some help from the Beretta bartender and using what we had available we came up with something that if not exactly like The New Rider at Beretta, it definitely is good enough!

• 3 parts rye

• 1 part fresh lemon juice

• 1 part Grand Classico or maraschino

• 1 part ginger syrup

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters per cocktail

• 1 large sage leaf per cocktail

Shake all ingredients except sage with ice. Serve up with a large sage leaf that has been slapped between your palms (this part is very important - get into it!)

House Brandied Cherries

Brandied Cherries - If life is a bowl of cherries, I hope I have the opportunity to brandy some of mine. Every year around June or July, I can't help but make a jar or two of these preserved morsels. Although fresh cherries are hard to pass up, it's worth it a few months later when you have a rich taste of summer for your cocktails. 

Once brandied, the cherries are good for 6 months in the refrigerator, but don't expect them to last that long. After all, there’s always a manhattan to make for someone or ice cream that needs a unique and boozy topping. Below recipe makes about 2 pint jars.

• About 1lb fresh cherries, washed, stems removed (you can also remove pits, but I find they have better texture/flavor with pits intact) 

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 vanilla bean pod

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups brandy

• Peppercorn or other spices (optional)

Heat water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean (scrapings and pod) until simmering. Add cherries and simmer 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, add 1 cup brandy and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Transfer to clean jars, top with remaining brandy to cover cherries (if needed), and place in refrigerator uncovered until completely cool. Once cool, top with jar lids. Cherries may be eaten after 24 hours and will keep about 4-6 months refrigerated.

The Danish Summer cocktail

Yes - Denmark does have a summer. It's similar to June in the Bay Area, but with about 4 hours of darkness and even more revelry on a warm, sunny day. This cocktail was created during my time at the Nordic Food Lab for a staff get-together (complete with amazing food, of course, including fire roasted mussels and pan au tomaquet with ample garlic) and was well-received. Most importantly, I received major cred from the native Danes of the house for using "old man alcohol", aquavit. Who knew? Guess it just runs in my blood! 

“Rosa Rugosa, or beach roses, can be found on most coastlines. They have a vibrant pink color and a beautiful floral aroma.”

• 2 parts aquavit (I had Aalborg)

• 1 part cranberry juice (good quality, but the kind with added sugar, as this cocktail does require some sweetness)

• 1 part cold water

• Cracked black pepper (okay, maybe that part's not Scandinavian)

• Foraged beach rose (or other edible flower garnish)

Stir or shake aquavit, cranberry, and water and pour over ice. Grate black pepper over each drink and garnish with beach rose.