Forager's Cocktails

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SUMMER Allegrapey

Beach Plum Fizz

Elderower Cooler Hops & Crops

Herb Robert (Geranium Robertianum) Huckleberry Flip Let Lovage Rule Mulberry Smash Wild Blueberry Daiquiri Wild Strawberry Margarita Sheep Sorrel Shandy Wild Mint Mojito Wild Rose Cosmo

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HOPS AND CROPS My nose discovered lemon verbena before I laid eyes on its frondy abundance. And if you’ve ever brushed by aloysia citrodora, you’ll know what I mean. Its flowery, lemony smell is so prominent and lovely, it’s as if someone from the perfume counter at Macy’s just misted you as you walked by – but you actually liked it. This flowering plant hails from South America, but like many popular rooted examples of modern horticulture, we managed to import and adapt, having been first brought to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese merchant-explorers in the 1600s. My first one was a wee spike in a tiny pot, but it grew quite quickly into a very, very big lemon verbena monster, stretching and climbing up to 3-feet-high (it probably would’ve gotten much bigger, had I not sequestered it to a container – you can plant it in the ground, too). Lemon verbena isn’t just great as an accent when cooking (I recommend to chiffonade it over some fish or chicken, and you’ve got an easy uptick to what may have been a boring meal). It’s also one of my favorite plucked-from-the-pot herbs in cocktails, as much for its gorgeous, wavy appearance as a garnish as for its intense, lemony-floral aroma and flavor. Gather a few leaves, drop them in the bottom of a rocks glass, muddle a bit of sugar and lime juice, and top with white rum and some sparkling water for a refreshing take on a Mojito, or with crushed ice, bourbon, and simple syrup – a citrusy version of a Mint Julep (sans the mint, of course). But one of my favorite uses of the plant is to make a sort 16

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of more sophisticated (yet simple) version of a shandy, that famed beer and citrus soda drink that seems to have a version in just about every beer-producing country in the world. In the United States, the craft beer movement – and, as an outcropping, so to speak, regional hops and grain growing – is booming, with no signs of slowing down. Many of the craft brewers I like tend to tip heavily on the hops, making for some lip-smackingly bitter IPAs and intense double IPA brews. Instead of tempering the IPA tempest with lemon soda, I thought that cooking up a little lemon verbena simple syrup would make for a more nuanced and delicate addition. And indeed it does. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon and a sprig from the perennial shrub, and you have an incredibly refreshing summertime quaff.

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HOPS AND CROPS 12-fl. oz. (355-ml) bottle of Imperial Pale Ale* ½ fl. oz. (15ml) lemon-verbena simple syrup Juice of 1 lemon wedge

1 fresh sprig lemon verbena

Squeeze the lemon juice into a pint glass. Add the lemon verbena simple syrup and pour in the beer. Garnish with a sprig of lemon verbena. Lemon Verbena Simple Syrup 1 handful fresh lemon verbena leaves, gently rinsed ¾ cup (175g) sugar 1 cup (235ml) water

In a small pot, combine the lemon verbena leaves with the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the lemon verbena releases its oils and is fragrant, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Keep for up to one week refrigerated.

* I recommend Imperial Pale Ale for its intense, hoppy flavor and wellrounded, almost floral aroma. If your local store doesn’t stock it, substitute with your own favorite IPA. I also recommend Meantime IPA, from the U.K. – and the Belgians also craft some pretty fine IPAs.

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FALL Caped Crusader

Basil-Elderberry cocktail Dandelion Smash II Ginkgo Alexander

Fresh Tomato Bloody Mary with Pickled Wild Carrots Beet Rosehip Shrub Sleepy Time Tipple Spice and Ice Wood Sorrel Sour Whiskey & Wild Ginger

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THE CONCORD 1 ½ fl. oz. (45ml) rye

1 fl. oz. (30ml) dry vermouth ½ oz. (15ml) Concord grape syrup ½ fl. oz. (15ml) fresh lemon juice 2 dashes fig bitters 1 lemon twist

Fill a shaker ¾ full with ice. Add in the first five ingredients and shake well. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with the lemon twist. Concord Grape Syrup 1 qt (1L) Concord grapes, destemmed

Heat the grapes in a medium pot over a medium-low heat for 6–7 minutes, or until the grape skins crack and cook down enough to release their juice. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and press the cooled grapes to extract all the juice. Store in an air-tight container for up to one week or freeze for up to several months for future use.

* If you do not live in a Concord-growing region, here’s a simple and no-less tasty alternative. In place of the grapes, pick a slightly larger portion of wild blackberries from your garden or hedge. Follow the same method for washing, heating, and pressing, but keeping a close eye on the pot, as the berry skins’ may well take less time to crack.

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PUB DATE NOVEMBER 2015 From farmer’s markets to urban speakeasies, making great-tasting cocktails with foraged or grown plants is the hottest new trend in mixology. Full of mouthwatering color photos, this handy guide to drinking the great outdoors makes the most of fresh, healthy, and flavorful herbs and fruits and offers 40 inspiring recipes, divided into seasons, as well as tips on how to forage or grow the tastiest ingredients in your backyard or countertop garden. Raise your glass to nature’s bounty! • Review copy mailing to men’s, women’s, and beverage magazines • Review copy mailing to drink editors at daily newspapers • Outreach to beverage blogs and websites • Gift guide roundups Amy Zavatto is deputy editor of Edible Brooklyn and Edible manhattan and contributes to Imbibe, Details, and other publications. She earned her Level III certification in wine and spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, and she is the author of The Architecture of the Cocktail (Race Point), The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending (Alpha), A Hedonist’s Guide to Eat New York (HG2), and coauthor of The Renaissance Guide to Wine & Food Pairing (Alpha). She lives, eats, and drinks in New York City, and her favorite cocktail is a Manhattan. For more information, contact Blanca Oliviery at (646) 688-2548 or boliviery@sterlingpublishing.com DISCLAIMER Reviewers are reminded that changes may be made in this uncorrected proof before books are printed. If any material from the book is to be quoted in a review, the quotation should be checked against the final bound book. Dates, prices, and manufacturing details are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

November 2015 Culinary / Cocktails & Spirits $14.95 ($16.95 Canada) Hardcover 5 × 7 • 144 pages (all in color) 978-1-4549-1747-2 To order book, scan here sterlingpublishing.com


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