Serves one
2 oz rosemary-infused gin
(see below for instructions)
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz Aperol “sink” (small drizzle)
Fresh rosemary to
garnish, optional
Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake or stir until combined, and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Drizzle in the Aperol sink. Garnish with rosemary if using and serve.
DIY Rosemary Gin
Add five sprigs of fresh rosemary to a liter of quality gin. Use one that’s less botanical-forward, since the rosemary is assertive on its own. (Aurora uses New Amsterdam. Vodka lovers can try Bison Grass vodka as an alternative, which is herbaceous and has a slight vanilla tone.) Let the gin steep for about five days, then strain and chill. It will keep indefinitely.
Don’t underestimate the power of a classic cocktail mixed with a classic film. Aurora is serving up the Rosemary’s Baby, which marries the gin martini with Roman Polanski’s storied horror picture. By all accounts, it’s a runaway hit.
Audrey King, bartender at Aurora, is characteristically understated when she tells the drink’s origin story. “I woke up one day and was craving rosemary,” she says, as if that’s a quotidian craving to have on your average morning. “So then I got to playing around with infusions and gin seemed like a natural canvas for it.”
After nailing a simple but well-balanced gin infusion, she set about upping the ante by creating a martini with visual flair. Into a martini base, she adds an Aperol “sink,” which is the bartending world’s term for a liqueur drizzle that sinks like a lava lamp bubble and turns a humdrum drink into an “ooh-ahh” occasion. “The higher sugar content of a liqueur causes it to sink,” Audrey explains politely to my uninformed self, who left science behind in high school. As a “sink” agent, Aperol has the added drama of a shocking red color that, against the gin’s clarity, creates an ombre situation in a glass. It’s a teensy bit campy, a teensy bit traditional and totally fabulous in the end sum.
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