{"id":2174,"date":"2011-06-02T20:57:37","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T20:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kathycasey.com\/blog\/?p=2174"},"modified":"2011-06-02T20:57:37","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T20:57:37","slug":"springing-into-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/?p=2174","title":{"rendered":"Springing into Summer\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we have guest blogger Courtney Randall! She is an avid cocktail enthusiast and has been doing posts on her blog Cocktail Quest<\/a> since 2009. Though her first introduction to\u00a0classic cocktails came in the form of the Sidecar, it was really Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwarz’s Art of the Bar<\/a><\/em> that compelled\u00a0her to explore all things related to cocktails. No cocktail has\u00a0since been\u00a0safe from her shaker! Welcome Courtney and I hope you all enjoy her post and her cocktail\u2026 I know I did! \u2013 Kathy<\/p>\n

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

Spring has come to Seattle, or at least the calendar says it has. With my winter jacket prematurely stored, every morning I still leave the house and\u00a0my breath\u00a0fogs in the cold morning air. Spring is present in name only. I have started daydreaming about\u00a0wearing\u00a0suede shoes, not carrying an umbrella, and all things\u00a0citrus, summery and bright.<\/p>\n

These days the muddler has become a permanent fixture\u00a0by my sink and rosemary, basil,\u00a0and even\u00a0parsley\u00a0have crept into such familiar cocktail standbys like the Sherry Cobbler, French 75,\u00a0or\u00a0even a basic sour. In the springtime, everything looks better in green.<\/p>\n

Of late,\u00a0I’ve been reading about balsamic vinegar syrups, muddled lemongrass, and fruit vinegar syrups\u00a0called shrub in the tireless search for new cocktail ideas. And suddenly,\u00a0inspiration hit: why not cilantro?\u00a0Cilantro is usually used\u00a0in\u00a0savory combinations, but it goes just as well with\u00a0mango and pineapple.\u00a0But in my mind\u00a0I saw\u00a0cilantro with strawberries. While it’s true that\u00a0those two ingredients\u00a0mix well together,\u00a0a successful cocktail\u00a0hinges on more than just muddled fruits and herbs. I needed a blueprint. Whenever I am constructing a new drink, I\u00a0try to find\u00a0an appropriate model to use as\u00a0a jumping off point, at least for the proportions. Once the foundation\u00a0for\u00a0a drink is set, it is that much easier to\u00a0innovate. The Sangre de Fresa from\u00a0the Art of the Bar<\/em> seemed to fit\u00a0perfectly for my new drink, as it combines strawberries and a muddled herb in a refreshing summery way.\u00a0It is also served over ice with a club soda top, which is\u00a0what I had initially envisioned for my creation. Once I had a basic recipe, I\u00a0could start tinkering and really explore the flavors.<\/p>\n

\"strawberries\"<\/p>\n

Fresh strawberries budding in!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The main decisions were easy.\u00a0I had some\u00a0pepper syrup\u00a0in the refrigerator\u00a0that seemed like it would work and\u00a0I knew I wanted to use cachaca\u00a0for the base. I just love\u00a0drinks with lots of flavor.\u00a0But then I hit a minor road block.<\/p>\n

Sometimes\u00a0a\u00a0model\u00a0doesn’t produce\u00a0the drink you\u00a0initially wanted to create.\u00a0I\u00a0wanted\u00a0a dry, refreshing, bubbly libation, but when I used\u00a0the Sange de Fresa blueprint the drink was\u00a0too\u00a0strawberry-focused.\u00a0All of the other elements were eclipsed. It was time to\u00a0change course. The daiquiri\u00a0is a perfect example of a dry refreshing cocktail, and I decided to\u00a0match its\u00a0sweet-to-sour ratio.\u00a0By\u00a0decreasing the amount of strawberry and increasing the lime juice and syrup, I was able to regain\u00a0refreshing.\u00a0But something was still missing. With all of the major ingredients in place, it came down to “seasoning” and that\u00a0means bitters. Often it is the smallest ingredients\u00a0that pull a drink together and give it necessary depth.\u00a0The addition of the orange bitters and\u00a0Campari\u00a0brought the drink\u00a0into balance\u00a0and added an unexpected hint of bitterness.\u00a0With drink in hand, it’s time\u00a0to sit back and dream of warmer temperatures; they’ll be here eventually.<\/p>\n

Cheers! – Courtney Randall<\/p>\n

\"Strawberry<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Strawberry Cilantro Fizz<\/strong>
\nMakes 1 drink<\/p>\n

1 strawberry hulled and quartered
\nLeaves from 8 sprigs of cilantro
\n3\/4\u00a0oz Cracked Black Peppercorn Syrup (recipe follows)
\n1 1\/2 oz Novo Fogo silver cachaca
\n3\/4 oz fresh lime juice
\n1\/8 oz Campari
\n1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
\n2 oz club soda
\nGarnish: half a strawberry, small sprig of cilantro<\/p>\n

Muddle strawberry, cilantro and\u00a0peppercorn syrup in a mixing glass. Add the other ingredients, fill with ice, cap and shake. Double strain into an ice filled Collins glass. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with a half strawberry, a small sprig of cilantro.<\/p>\n

Recipe by Courtney Randall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cracked Black Peppercorn Syrup<\/strong>
\nMakes about 1 1\/2 cups syrup<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns
\n1 cup sugar
\n1 cup water<\/p>\n

Crush peppercorns then add to a small sauce pan with the sugar and water. Stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. \u00a0Simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve, transfer to a bottle, and refrigerate for up to three weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we have guest blogger Courtney Randall! She is an avid cocktail enthusiast and has been doing posts on her blog Cocktail Quest since 2009. Though her first introduction to\u00a0classic cocktails came in the form of the Sidecar, it was really Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwarz’s Art of the Bar that compelled\u00a0her to explore all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11760],"tags":[852,3184,1278,1106,622,3193,2284,3194,458,1323,2004,859,3185,7,2190,2882,3186,1249,1150,3195,1037,1353,3196,3187,1029,293,62,2007,953,916,871,2851,3197,3188,764,1084,1122,1031,11857,3189,1124,3190,544,532,3191,3198,3199,1220,1332,1051,597,2216,3192,662,1129,912,663,2145],"class_list":["post-2174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dishing-with-kathy-casey-blog","tag-alcohol","tag-art-of-the-bar","tag-balsamic-vinegar","tag-basil","tag-bitters","tag-blueprint","tag-cachaca","tag-calednar","tag-campari","tag-cilantro","tag-club-soda","tag-cocktail","tag-cocktail-quest-blog","tag-cocktails","tag-cold","tag-courtney-randall","tag-cracked-black-peppercorn-syrup","tag-french-75","tag-fresh","tag-fruit-vinegar","tag-green","tag-ice","tag-jacket","tag-jeff-hollinger","tag-juice","tag-kathy-casey","tag-lemongrass","tag-lime-juice","tag-liquor","tag-mango","tag-mixology","tag-morning","tag-muddler","tag-novo-fogo","tag-orange","tag-parsley","tag-pepper","tag-pineapple","tag-recent","tag-rob-schwarz","tag-rosemary","tag-sangre-de-fresa","tag-savory","tag-seattle","tag-sherry-cobbler","tag-silver-cachaca","tag-sink","tag-soda-water","tag-sour","tag-spring","tag-strawberries","tag-strawberry","tag-strawberry-cilantro-fizz","tag-sugar","tag-summer","tag-syrup","tag-vinegar","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishingwithkathycasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}