A Bourbon Sour or Three, Gone with the Wind

We’re all friends here, right?  So I can share that I’ve already drunk three of these suckers. And the only thing stopping me from having another is that I’m out of mixer.

Specifically, I’m out of what was introduced to me as “lemon sherbet,” also known as a proper oleo saccharum.  The sherbet is a key component to classic punch recipes according to liquor historian, David Wonderich.  (Not to be confused with the icy confectionary namesake.)

It’s a liquid.  Its essence is an intense citrusy syrup made from lemon peel and sugar.  And it infuses some serious aromatics into your cocktail(s). 


The sherbet’s raison d'être is the drink. And once you’ve had it, your raison d'être may very well become the drink.  Don’t fret about that.


The recipe came to me via Ted Gallagher of Craigie on Main.  “Cocktails should be drank cold, and fast,” he said with the conviction of Rhett Butler.  And I can’t disagree.  (Remember my three friends from above?)  I’m a lady  broad who loves her bourbon.  And old-timey items like whiskey sours and things that require a little elbow grease.   


So lemon peels and sugar were tossed into a bowl and mashed with the end of a rolling pin every quarter hour from seven to nine-thirty on a recent weekday night.  Later in the week, eggs were cracked, lemons were squeezed, and bourbon was poured.   Oh, and there was a cocktail shaker, a narrow glass, some ice cubes … and a pink umbrella.  For flare.  Not that this drink needs any of that.  But sometimes a gal needs a pink umbrella in her drink for no good reason. 

And so the bourbon sour was made.  Whether you add ice cubes into your cocktail is a matter of preference. Just know that it should be drank cold, and often. And by someone that knows how. 

Bourbon Sour

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

3 ounces bourbon

3 ounces lemon sherbet (see recipe below)

1½ ounces fresh lemon juice

For the lemon sherbet

Adapted from Ted Gallagher via David Wondrich

2 large lemons

4 ounces (½ cup) sugar

Juice of two lemons (or in equal parts with the sugar)

Instructions:

For the lemon sherbet

Prepare the lemon sherbet at least 2-3 hours in advance.  Remove the peels from your lemons. (Be sure to remove all of the white pith; you can do this by running your knife along the inner peel of the lemon, like you were filleting a fish.)  Place the zests and sugar in a large non-reactive bowl.  Using a muddling stick or the end of a blunt object, like a rolling pin, press down on the peel and mash it into the sugar; continue this for a few minutes.  (You want to do this to release the essential oils from the zest.)

Continue this muddling process every 15-20 minutes for the next 2-3 hours, or until enough liquid is released that it forms a gel.  Once the liquid is the consistency of runny marmalade and smells of intense lemon, it's ready.

Juice your lemons (you’ll need about ½ cup of juice) and add the juice to your lemony sugar liquid.  Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves (this will likely take a few minutes); eventually, no sugar should remain.  You may wish to let the liquid sit a little longer if you are having a hard time dissolving all the sugar.  It will come with time.  Remove the peels prior to using or storing the sherbet.

For the bourbon sour

Place your egg whites into a cocktail shaker and shake them for a minute or two (be sure to do this dry, with no ice: it helps with the texture of the drink).  Once your whites are frothy, add the bourbon, lemon sherbet, lemon juice, and a generous amount of ice cubes.  Shake another minute or so and pour into glasses.

Add ice cubes to your cocktail, if that’s your thing.  I tried it both ways and, though the picture above is sans cube, I've found I prefer ice.  Run a little lemon peel around the rim of the glass, if it's readily available. Garnish at will.  Perhaps with a cherry; I like these.

Makes 2 cocktails (the lemon sherbet recipe will make enough for about two rounds or a tad more)

Notes:

-The sherbet can keep in the fridge for about a week.  And it can be done with any number of citrus fruits.  You can also increase the yield by scaling up the amounts: just keep the proportions the same.  This is a ratios game.

-This isn’t an impulse cocktail.  It does require a few hours of advanced planning to make the sherbet.  (But I promise it’s worth it.)  Seems like a lot of instruction for a cocktail, I know, but it’s a special drink and a fairly easy one to recreate at home.  Also, for those at home, know that an average-sized shot glass is about an ounce and a half.

-This drink uses egg whites, like other sours, such as the pisco.  (In a flip, as in a brandy flip, you'll want to use the whole egg.) 

-Some may be concerned about the use of raw egg.  I like to think the alcohol solves this problem, but I can’t guarantee it.  All I can say is that I’ve been drinking them with abandon.  And I'm still here. (And so is my drinking buddy.)

-I saw Ted Gallagher at the Institute of Contemporary Art of Boston’s Talking Taste summer series.  It’s an annual favorite.  And Gallagher was terrific.  

P.s.  A Plum was featured on Saveur this week, so check me out!

The Epitome of Pickle

Behold, a list of things I am suspicious of:  Raw garlic. Men in fedoras.  Colonics.  Bartenders who make negronis in martini glasses. (Please note: they should be served on the rocks.  In an old-fashioned glass.  With an orange slice.  Like you were making them for your eighty-seven year-old grandfather.) B-complex vitamins. People who claim to dislike cake. And, most recently, a forgotten pickle recipe ripped from the pages of bon appétit. 

I had clipped the page for its featured triple beef burger with spiced ketchup.  At one point in time, I was suspicious of people who used condiments like "spiced ketchup." But after developing an unhealthy attachment to the lamb burgers and fries with with homemade mace-laced ketchup at Matt Murphy’s in Brookline Village I have since changed my tune.  I would be nothing but a saucy, tomato-faced hypocrite.

Anyways, on my slightly rumpled tear out —low and behold—there was a pickle recipe by a Mr. Tony Maws.  Initially, I admit, I had my doubts. It seemed to contain less vinegar than I’m accustomed to.  And a bit more salt.  I am certainly not salt shy, but I was burned by a cured scallop recipe once; I haven’t been able to look at the mollusk the same since.  I am not, however, skeptical of the food that Maws creates. So, I threw caution to the wind and pickled as I was told. And then waited—a little impatiently—until I was able to finally bite into one.

Now, I am typically very, very distrusting of hyperbole—sniffing out superlatives with the best of them—but I am one-hundred and ten percent confident in saying that this recipe makes the finest pickles around.  I'm quite sure this is what all other pickles strive to be. Perfectly seasoned.  Impossibly crisp.  Top dog.  Most excellent.  Textbook. Spot on. A condiment to judge all others. You get the idea.  A pickle apotheosis.

Pickle Spears

Adapted from Tony Maws of Craigie on Main via bon appétit

Ingredients:

2¼ cups water

2/3 cup white vinegar

4 sprigs of fresh dill

2 tbsp kosher salt

1½ tsp whole black peppercorns

1 tsp pink peppercorns

2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 tsp juniper berries

1 bay leaf

1 serrano chile

About 4-5 pickling cumbers (or about 1 pound)

Instructions:

Bring all the ingredients (except the pickles) to a boil in a large saucepan and stir occasionally until the salt dissolves.  Meanwhile, slice the pickles into spears and place them in a glass container that will allow for the pickles to be fully covered with the brining liquid.  (I used a Weck jar.)  Just be sure your jar can withstand the heat of the hot liquid.  When the salt has dissolved, pour your brine over the liquid and allow to cool slightly.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, ideally at least 24 hours, before eating.  The pickles will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

Makes about 15-20 pickles

Notes:

-In his recipe, Tony also calls for 6-1/8 inch rounds of peeled fresh horseradish; 2 tsp coriander seeds; ½ tsp whole allspice; and ½ large red onion, thinly sliced.  He uses red wine vinegar, as well.  I didn’t have any of these things on hand, since I hadn’t really been planning to pickle and all. So I added some pink peppercorns, subbed brown mustard seeds for the yellow variety, and slightly adjusted some of the spice ratios.  (Of course, the spice amounts are rough estimates.) I guess what I’m saying is that there is room to play.  Though I’ll definitely be back with horseradish and red onion next time.

-This is not a pickle that is bracing with vinegar.  The recipe honors the cucumber, treats it in a way that summer produce should be treated.

-Maw's favorite burgers in Boston.