One of the best surprises I had this summer was recognizing we’ve gooseberries growing in our new front yard (did I tell you we left New York? They were a dark color, and bright and tangy to eat. I’ve made a few things with them this summer, but my favorite is this Gooseberry Fitty Fitty Martini.
This cocktail was inspired by the vermouth service at New York’s Caffe Dante, where they pour chilled vermouth over frozen grapes as to not allow the vermouth dilute while you enjoy the drink. In my view, Martinis deserve the same attention to temperature – they need to remain consistently cold, but with outside dilution, and certainly without a “cocktail stone” that will make certain to break that classic crystal coupe.
I put the gooseberries in the freezer, and tested a few martini options with the suspended gooseberries in the bottom of the glass. My hands down favorite combination with this cocktail is half vodka and half Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth made from a white wine base and infused with fennel, coriander, cardamom, elderflower, cherry, anise, and chamomile.
Both of the Lo-Fi vermouths, sweet and dry, are really amazing – I can’t recommend them enough. They are fantastic poured over a king block or slid into a simple cocktail (I say easy because you want to allow these vermouths show off a bit). For this particular cocktail I used Purus Vodka, a clean tasting Italian vodka made from organic grains and water sourced from the Italian Alps. As it lets the vermouth and the role play this vodka works.
Place frozen gooseberries at the bottom of a coupe, and set aside. Until chilled, stir the vodka and vermouth with ice in a mixing glass, and strain into the coupe over the gooseberries.
1.5 oz Purus Vodka
1.5 oz Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth
1/4 cup Frozen Gooseberries
Enjoy!
This cocktail has become one of our new home favorites – and is well worth spending hours harvesting those sweet gooseberries when they become full and ripe. I have a Tupperware container filled with the little berries wrapped in the freezer of rationing them throughout the 22, with hopes.
Gooseberry Fitty Fitty Martini
Created by Gastronomista
Published at Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:49:22 +0000
I imagine this cocktail could be easily re-created using currants or gooseberries found in the market – just pop in them the night before you plan to imbibe.
Source: Cocktail Making
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