"Eat your vegetables."
It's something that no child ever wants to hear. But now that we're all grown up, we suck down those fancy kale-cucumber-celery juices all the time. Know what else we're allowed to do now? Drink great cocktails. So why not enjoy a delicious alcoholic beverage that's pretty much all green juice?
That was my mission for this month'sEpicurious House Cocktail. I ended up withThe Green Vesper, a drink that's sophisticated, stiff, and, with its emerald-green color, damn pretty to look at. Yes, it's loaded with vegetables. But the road to a vegetal cocktail wasn't easy.
First I tried infusing vodka with kale, but the flavor didn't really permeate the booze all that well (plus it tasted a bit bitter). Next, I tried muddling something green and fresh in the bottom of a cocktail shaker (I tried peas—too fibrous). Finally, I turned to simple syrup, the staple cocktail combination of equal parts sugar and water. It's a terrific carrier for flavors like citrus and spice, so I thought that arugula, with its gentle but peppery flavor, would make a good pair, too. And it worked. In a blender, I blitzed a few cups of arugula with some simple syrup and strained it to create a bright-green syrup that had the perfect balance of sweet and green.
Okay, great, arugula simple syrup. Slightly bitter, slightly sweet—but definitely not something you'd want to drink on its own. Now, what to do with the stuff?
For inspiration I turned to theVesper, a classic variation on the Martini that's mostly gin, a little bit vodka, and a dash ofLillet, the citrusy-sweet French aperitif wine. It's often referred to as a Martini for people who don't drink Martinis because, well, it's not pure gin or vodka. Instead, the Martini's boozy heat is balanced out with acid and a touch of sweetness.
MyGreen Vesperis a lot like a regular Vesper—three parts dry gin, one part good-quality vodka. Instead of Lillet, it's arugula syrup and lemon juice that provide the sweet and acidic notes. But the drink isn't some shy, vegetable-forward cocktail—it still packs the same potent punch that you expect from a classic Martini.
The final curveball? A pinch of salt. Just like in cooking, seasoning your cocktails can make certain flavors sing louder. In this case, just a dash really brings out the leafy flavor of that arugula.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get to work on a non-alcoholic version for all those kids out there.
