1.5 oz Clear Creek 8yr Apple Brandy
marc rizzuto spring/summer 2024
0.5 oz St. George Green Chile Vodka
0.25 oz Adriatico Amaretto Bianco
0.75 oz Strawberry Syrup
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
Method: Shake
Glassware: Coupe
Garnish: None
This bright and vegetal Jack Rose riff was something that came to be when I was making a salad at home (arugula, roasted poblanos, granny smith apples, strawberries and almonds). The crisp vegetal crunch was an immediate refresher during the end of July heatwave we typically have here in NYC. The crisp crunch from the apples, the tart jammy strawberries and the lingering grilled vegetal poblano was an instant hit for my palate. Sweet, mildly spicy, tart and crisp this salad was dancing wonderfully on my palate which sparked a cocktail idea, like most meals do.
Translating a balanced dish into a cocktail is not always an easy task. This takes time and consideration, and lots of spirits tasting. The idea is to have ingredients blended together into a cocktail archetype, in this case the Jack Rose cocktail (Apple Brandy, lemon juice and grenadine) seemed like the right fit for what I was trying to accomplish. Now how do I make a shaken cocktail taste like that salad I had? What was the most prominent flavor? How did the flavor combination change from bite to bite? Ultimately, what do I need to use that will give me a vegetal Apple Brandy sour with a punch of acidity and dry nuttiness. I had recently been introduced to a new Amaretto (Adriatico Bianco) on the market for NYC. This nut juice (it is a white, fully opaque liquid that resembles milk), pause, was some of the best Amaretto I had tasted, and still is. It tasted like an almond without that artificial marzipan flavor that most Amaretto’s have. That being said I was going more for drier savory Almond flavor than sweet and saccharine. This Amaretto (and the person who introduced it to me) was what the drink was built around.
Next up was the lingering, mild spiciness of the poblano with fresh vegetal notes. This was an easy choice maybe because it is the only thing like it out there, that I am aware of. St. George Green Chile Vodka is an amazing base spirit and modifier. For this application it was going to take a back seat volume-wise but shine through flavor-wise. It has a strong long lasting vegetal finish that when paired with more delicate flavors can be used in a smaller volume. Alright, so now I have my arugula/poblano vegetal combo, the dry nuttiness and it is a Jack Rose riff. Lemon juice for acidity paired with strawberry syrup. The last ingredient to consider was the Apple Brandy. Does it work with Applejack, yes it does, but how do we elevate it to be a little more refined and polished around the edges. Calvados or aged American Apple Brandy were the options and honestly it came down to hitting a price point for our cost margins. Clear Creek 8yr Apple Brandy was refined enough to work with the other ingredients and was in the sweet spot for cost, so the drink ended up being a child of Oregon apples that spent a few summers in France. Clear Creek 8yr Apple Brandy is an American Apple Brandy that has all the characteristics of Calvados without the steep price tag.
This drink has a soft pink hue that is a combination of the strawberry syrup and fully opaque Amaretto Bianco. Most nights I was behind the bar you would hear a bunch of Frank Ocean. This drink was named after Pink Matter from Channel Orange.
Add all the ingredients to a shaker add ice and shake the shit out of it until cold and frothy. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and enjoy.
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