The Straw(berry) that Stirs the Drink
As a purist, I have to admit I hate finding the suffix “tini” slapped upon any drink served in an up glass. A martini is one thing—OK, four things (gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters, olives)—and one thing only. So spare me a vodka martini, or a saketini, or a tequila-tini, aka a margarita in Dior’s clothing. It’s not demeaning for a poor drink to be just called a cocktail.
Despite this opening admonition, this spring’s concoction I’ve dubbed the Very-Berry-Tini. You see, its base is the martini itself—gin and dry vermouth—but then it heads to fruitier frontiers that also help it fit in this issue’s theme. The tricky part is that strawberries and drinks tend to merely meet in a Venn diagram where a blender sits, and although a strawberry margarita can satisfy, well, how could something sweet and icy and with an alcohol kick not?
We’re after something a bit more refined, here, something shy and enticing, not brassy and almost embarrassingly outto-please.
So here’s a general guideline: Think of concocting cocktails just like cooking—what flavors do you like together? Strawberries play well with a surprisingly diverse range of accents, and this drink aims to bring some of those into one orbit. Sure, you could use mint with strawberries, but basil gives you an almost mint hint without any of the sweet, since you’ve got the berry for that. Following that train of thought, balsamic vinegar has more sugar than you’d think, but its tartness makes the berries both brighter and tarter themselves, and, somehow, sweeter, washed of any lingering cloying. And then black pepper provides just a tickle of heat, some more depth and earth. (You’re not trying to make the drink spicy, just more pleasing to the full palate.)
The bulk of these flavors come from a simple syrup you need to make at least an hour before you want to make Very-Berry-Tinis, since it will need to cool. Simple syrups are a barkeep’s way to get sugar into a drink without graininess, since you’ll have it dissolve in boiling water. It’s really easy to measure that way, too. Even better, beyond the basic 1:1 water and sugar mix, you can add all sorts of flavors to your syrup, and that means your cocktail will have “secret” power boosters. (If you read this column regularly, we used a simple syrup in the Tangerine Dancer last fall.)
The recipe calls for you to make much more syrup than you’ll need for a batch of cocktails, but you’ll be sure to find other uses: Who needs maple syrup when one can pour strawberry-basil-black pepper simple syrup upon one’s pancakes? We’re talking flavors of which IHOP has never even dreamed. Or use a bit in your salad dressing, cut with champagne vinegar, and add sliced strawberries to your salad (wild arugula, toasted walnuts, Fourme d’Ambert?). Thanks, spring.
Obviously the better the berry, the better the final sip, so here’s hoping you’re growing some in your yard or have visited the farmers market. Same for the basil, which can even come from a window box. Here’s a chance to use one of our local gins—Cutler’s Artisan Spirits Gin or Ventura Spirits Wilder Gin—but you don’t have to be picky or extravagant given all the other flavors alongside gin’s juniper. As for the balsamic vinegar, you can use a cheaper one and not that special $50 finishing bottle you’ve had for five years as it hurts every time you drip it on something. You’re using the vinegar as a substitute for bitters in this drink, and because it’s phenomenal with strawberries, the amount you’ll use is pretty tiny.
Very-Berry-Tini
Ingredients
- 5 strawberries, sliced
- 2 ounces dry vermouth
- 1 ounce strawberry-basil–black pepper simple syrup , see below
- 5 ounces gin
- 4 dashes balsamic vinegar
- 1 strawberry, cut in half with a cut partially down the center of each half
- 2 smallish basil leaves
Strawberry-Basil–Black Pepper Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup basil, loosely packed
Instructions
- Add sliced strawberries, vermouth and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the strawberries, really trying to break them down as much as possible but stop before boredom sets in. Add the gin and balsamic vinegar (be careful not to add too much vinegar—if necessary, pour the amount into a cocktail jigger first, then add). Add ice and shake well, until contents are well-chilled and the strawberries break up even more. Pour into 2 coupe glasses. Attach a strawberry to the rim of each glass and after slapping the basil leaf once to help it extrude its oils, float one atop each drink.
For the Strawberry-Basil–Black Pepper Simple Syrup
- Bring the water and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to be sure until all the sugar dissolves. Add the basil, strawberries and peppercorns. Reduce heat and let contents simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, pushing the berries through the strainer with the flat of a spoon to get the most liquid out you can without making the syrup chunky. Let cool. Simple syrup will remain good for at least a week when stored covered in the refrigerator.
