Food Know How - Sweet Potato

Native to the tropical regions of the Americas, the sweet potato has become a staple food worldwide. Still, many are surprised to learn that sweet potatoes are being used as a delicious ingredient in cocktails.

The Percy Priest cocktail is one that is as tasty as it is unique. Brianna Parino, one of the bartenders at Gertie’s in Nashville, Tennessee, says vegetal flavors were the inspiration behind her cocktail. “I wanted to make a cocktail that contained celery and carrot paired with sweet potato, but it took some trial and error to perfect the measurements and flavors,” says Parino. “We source the sweet potato brown sugar syrup used in the Percy Priest from a local company, Bar Alliance. Without it, the flavors in this cocktail would not be as perfectly balanced as they are.”

Parino also uses a sweet potato purée that she makes in-house, which consists of boiling sweet potatoes until soft and mashing them with unsalted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a few drops of black walnut bitters. “The tequila we use gets infused with carrots for two days until it adopts the flavor and subtle color of the vegetable. The next element is celery root liqueur that we purchase. And last, lime juice.” All flavors complement the other for a perfect gardenesque sipper.

Sweet Potato

Percy Priest

INGREDIENTS

2 oz. carrot-infused tequila ½ oz. celery root liqueur ½ oz. lime juice ½ oz sweet potato brown sugar syrup Spoonful of sweet potato puree*

PREPARATION

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and vigorously shake until sweet potato puree thins out and is evenly distributed. Rim the glass with some salt, pour over ice, and garnish with a carrot green. *Sweet Potato Puree: boil 6 sweet potatoes, mash, add 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, 2 tsp. cinnamon, ¼ nutmeg pod ground with a micro plane directly into the mixture, 4-6 dashes of black walnut bitters.