When I was a kid, my family had a vacation home in West Yarmouth, Cape Cod. Just east of Hyannis, West Yarmouth is a small town on the south shore of the Cape. It was only about four hours from where we grew up in Connecticut. So, it was an easy trip to make if we wanted to just zip up there for the weekend. My brother and I had a small group of 10-15 friends all around our age that all seemed to go to the Cape the same weeks every year. Sometimes, we all used to sneak out at night to go sit on the beach and look for satellites or shooting stars. When we got a little bit older, maybe there was a beer or two involved. But, I beg of you, don't tell my mother. She'll ground me for a week!
There was a large overgrown field with a radio station tower in our neighborhood. Well, just as kids do, we explored it. During one of our reconnaissance missions, we stumbled upon someone's secret stash of liquor. I can only assume it was some kids from other weeks in the summer that we had not met yet. Here is where I had my first taste of Bourbon. Again, don't tell my mother, please.
Jeff Marron is the new Barman and director of all things cocktail related at The Whelk & Le Farm.
I like to work closely with the kitchen staff at The Whelkin Westport. The talent in that room is outstanding. I'm always trying to learn something new from them. A couple of months ago, they came to me with with a bottle of coconut white balsamic vinegar from a cool local oil and vinegar store called Olivette in Westport & Darien. It smelled and tasted delicious. As I like to get inspiration from the people around me, I asked Chef Lazlo what the vinegar reminded him of. He said that it reminded him of vacation and suntan lotion.
Vacation and suntan lotion. Okay. Well, what vacation and suntan lotion bring to my mind are Pina Coladas, Margaritas and delicious rum drinks. Somehow, I wanted to put all of those drinks in one glass. I wanted to put summer in a glass, in other words.
The base of the Island Life cocktail is an expansion on a Rum Old Fashioned which satisfies my craving for summer rum drinks. The aromatics of the foam are what bring all of the other flavors and memories together. Between the grapefruit and orange bitters that tie into the fresh lime juice and lime zest lies the coconut white balsamic vinegar. No one particular flavor stands out. They all play well together.
Living in Connecticut, we are spoiled by the abundance of apples that are fresh out of the neighboring orchards. If you didn't make it out this past Fall to pick your own apples at Beardsley’s Cider Mill in Shelton or Silverman’s Farm on Sport Hill Road in Easton, you need to put that on your agenda next season. It’s fun for the whole family. If the crowds aren’t your thing, and you want a real farm experience, then definitely go buy local apples from Sport Hill Farm, just passed Silverman’s on the right heading north on Rt59.
To enjoy your local fruit and vegetables over the winter months, you need to preserve them. This can be accomplished in any number of methods. Some people like to pickle their vegetables while others may turn the fruit into spreads and jams. I like to use my fruit to make syrups for cocktails. My Apple Cordial recipe has to be one of my favorites to make and to drink. Although it takes several days to make the syrup, it’s not a laborious task at all. In execution, however, this cocktail is definitely a labor of love. The good news is that once all the prep is complete and it’s in your glass, you’ll realize that your efforts were worth it. It’s delicious. Another great alternative is to visit me at Luxe Wine Bar in Westport, where I will be happy to make one especially for you. The apple bitters and apple brandy can be purchased at Saugatuck Grain & Grape, also in Westport.
When the leaves on the trees in New England start to fall, my cravings for cocktails change a bit. I tend to lean towards drinks that will warm me up next to the fire. The aromatics of cinnamon and clove just seem to pair so well with the scents that come from the fireplace. To me, a Hot Buttered Rum cocktail is the essence of New England in Winter.
This is an easy drink to prepare. You build it in a coffee mug. There isn't any stirring or shaking or muddling. You don't have to be an expert mixologist to make a perfect Hot Buttered Rum. You just need a dark, aged rum. Here, I use my favorite, Ron Zacapa 23 year old. You can certainly use other brands, as Ron Zacapa can reach premium prices. Some less expensive options that work well in this drink would include El Dorado 12 year or 15 year, Angostura 5 year or 7 year, Diplomatico Anejo Rum or Blackwell Jamaican Rum.
The "cocktail" found its place in literary history in 1806 in the May 6 issue of The Balance and Columbia Repository being defined to a confused reader by the editor as "Cock-tail, then is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters. It is vulgarly called a bittered sling...". Over the next thirty years or so, this definition became the "Old Fashioned" cocktail and was more of a way to make a drink than just a name for one. Taken by definition, if you use just those ingredients, you can make a Gin Old Fashioned, a Tequila Old Fashioned and so on. There was never any fruit or club soda involved in the original definition. That version seemed to pop up somewhere after Prohibition. Being the "back to basics" kind of guy I am, I don't use fruit or club soda in my Old Fashioned either.
This is an older cocktail I modified during my research of local honey. Other than the Bee's Knees cocktail, I wanted to find another "staple cocktail" to use with honey from Red Bee Apiary. This is a delicious adaptation on the classic Daiquiri. Instead of using simple syrup, orange blossom honey syrup is used. I have used many rums in this recipe and I keep falling back on Ron Zacapa 23 year old from Guatemala disregarding the recommended Jamaican rum. This particular rum is soft and subtle with a rich molasses sweetness that finishes with notes of light caramel outlined in Madagascar vanilla bean. The flavor profile of this rum is just a perfect balance between the acidic lime juice and the floral orange blossom honey.
The bitterness of Campari can be overwhelming to a lot of people. This is the reason why if you ask some people if they like it, they'll scrunch their face up and say "No! It's terrible!". While on the other hand, the part of the population that either grew up with sipping Campari after big meals to aid digestion or have had it properly incorporated into a delicious cocktail would disagree. I would fall into the "Campari Lovers" category. Although, there was a time in my life which I couldn't stand the stuff. It was only until I had a couple of sips of a perfectly made Negroni cocktail that I had changed my mind.
Inspired by other recipes, I tweaked this cocktail to soften the bitterness and bring out more of the beautiful complexity and citrus notes of Campari. The sea salt allows the hidden orange citrus, rhubarb and herbal notes to push forward on your palate. It creates a different experience on the tongue allowing different taste buds to "fire" to highlight more subtle flavors. Simple syrup acts as a smoothing agent. It carries all of these flavors to the back of the throat, softening the bitterness and adding a well place sweetness in this refreshing cocktail. This is a great cocktail for any time of the year for any occasion.
I like making (and drinking) this cocktail. Maybe it's because that you can't tell how bitter the Sibila Amaro is. It adds just the right amount of complexity to cut through the sweetness of the preserves. The Domaine Canton adds an underlying ginger spice while the Plymouth Gin and Carpano Antica Vermouth tie everything together. I like to call this kind of cocktail a "think or drink" cocktail. You can either think about every sip, analyze it and pull the flavors apart or just sip it on your front porch on a beautiful Summer day while watching the grass grow.
Tequila is the worst thing you can do to the end of a great evening. It is the party ender, the last nail in the coffin. That's what we all think about the national spirit of our southern neighbor, Mexico. I'm not quite sure how Tequila landed "closer" status but I believe it deserves a revival. Tequila needs to get promoted to "first string." Whether it's an old classic like the Tequila Sunrise, a new cocktail like the Mexican Car Bomb, or you're drinking it neat, there's a flavor for everyone.
