Although our dinner was comprised of six dishes, only three were specifically cocktail pairing focused with the rest being paired with wine or a less “elegant” cocktail that needs not receive too much attention lest it become too proud of itself, which it need not be. In any case, this third dish was a Miso Sake Sablefish in Duck Broth with Hedgehog mushrooms.
So again we were dealing with relatively high fat content coming from the sablefish and the duck broth. I also knew that there was some ginger in the broth. For this course I chose Trader Vic’s El Diablo cocktail. Here’s how I did it:
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El Diablo
Ingredients:
2 oz Tequila (here I just used Cazadores, it’s my favorite as far as value for money, 100% agave, mixing tequilas)
1 oz House made ginger beer
0.75 oz Creme de Cassis
0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Garnish with a lemon wheel
Method:
Shake everything but the ginger beer and garnish on ice. Strain into a chilled rocks/old fashioned glass. Garnish with the lemon wheel. I made my own ginger beer, but you can use your favorite store bought if you prefer. I’d vote for Fentiman’s, it’s got a solid gingery kick to it. If you want to make your own, scroll down for the recipe.
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House Made Ginger Beer
Ingredients:
2 cups water
.25 cup minced ginger
1oz brown sugar (I used Demerara for extra richness)
.5 oz lime juice
Method:
Bring the water to a boil. Turn of the heat, add the ginger and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to sit for an hour. Strain it through a choinois or fine mesh strainer, pressing down on the ginger with a muddler or the back of a spoon to get as much liquid out as possible. Discard the solid bits. Add the sugar and lime, stir to dissolve the sugar. This will yield a still ginger beer that you can store in the refrigerator.
The PDT cocktail book recipe for the El Diablo, and in turn for their house made ginger beer, stops there and that’s just fine. But I like mine with a bit of sparkle so I put it into a iSi soda fountain and charged it with CO2 before serving, which I think turned out mighty fine!
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That brings us to the end of one dining adventure, but fear not, another one is just around the corner with even more delicious food, cocktails and of course, accompanying pictures.
