While we are already half way through the month of August, I still am no closer to finding the perfect cocktail for the month, which is a real bummer! Last weekend, Ann and I were able to take a trip up to Northern Michigan. On our way back home, we stopped in Traverse City and picked up some wonderful "Spirit of Pear" eau de vie from Black Star farms. I've been looking for some micro-distilled pear brandy for some time now, and I knew that I should be able to find some in Traverse City, Michigan's cherry capital. We both loved Black Star farms (their Late Harvest Riesling is excellent), and I went home with a bottle of their pear and a bottle of their aged "Spirit of Apple" brandy. Since then, I've been wracking my brain and scouring the internet for something that really shows off the wonderful pear flavors in their eau de vie well. Instead of putting off writing this blog post for another week while searching for one definitive recipe, I decided I would present to you the story of my search instead and let you be the judge! I hope you enjoy it and find something below you might enjoy making again!The simplest solution seems to be to combine a healthy portion of the pear with brut sparkling wine, lemon juice, and either simple syrup or soda water, depending on how dry or sweet you like your cocktail. The fine folks at Black Star recommend tempering a flute of champagne with a "splash" of the pear, a tsp of lemon juice, and a sugar cube. This does add subtle flavor to the champagne, but the pear is not the star in this drink. Verdict: PASS - not enough pear flavor.
The next cocktail I tried intrigued me, because it stayed away from the bubbly. The folks over at Kindred Cocktails called it a "Poire Bomb," and the recipe called for combining 2 oz of pear eau de vie, 1/2 oz of Maraschino, 1/2 oz of Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, 1/2 oz or lemon juice, and a dash of Peychaud's bitters. I didn't love this cocktail at first sip, but it improved as I got further down the glass. Pear pairs well with ginger, so the recipe had instant appeal, but the Maraschino overpowered the drink at first. Overall, I liked this drink, but I still rate it a PASS - too much Maraschino, not enough pear. Were I to make this again, I would drop the ginger and Maraschino to 1/4 oz, which would still provide a hint of flavor while letting the pear shine through.
The folks at Difford's Guide had a number of pear eau de vie cocktails, but most of them were simply riffs on martinis. If that was what I wanted, I would have just bought some pear flavored vodka and been done with it. However, two cocktails intrigued me. The first, The Pernelle Cocktail, ended up having really nice flavors, but pear was still not the star of the show. It combined one ounce each of vodka, elderflower liqueur, pear eau de vie, and lemon juice, topped with soda water. This isn't that different from a previous Bar Kiley entry, the St. Tropez, only with a hint of pear instead of the extra lemon kick. Fine beverage, but again I will PASS - the pear isn't running the show.
The other Difford's entry intrigued me. Named the "Twisted Sobriety," this drink combined an ounce of VSOP cognac, an ounce of pear eau de vie, and brut champagne. The aged cognac pairs well with the un-aged pear brandy, and here finally the pear comes through well. Brandy also happens to be one of my favorite cocktail bases, so this one was a winner. I find it hard to name this the drink of the month, but it finally showed off the pear eau de vie in ways I wanted a drink to do. KEEP.
One drink I am still intrigued to try, which I have seen pop up once or twice, combines an ounce of rye, an ounce of pear eau de vie, and brut champagne. A very similar recipe to the one above, but adding the extra smoky flavors of the rye into the equation. Some also called for a swirl (and then dump) of bitters in the glass before preparing the cocktail (Peychaud's, blood orange, pamplemousse, you name it). I haven't tried this yet, but I think the rye would also be a nice pairing. I'm worried it might be a little bit too smoky, but don't knock something until you try it! Verdict: UNDECIDED.
So there you have it - no one Drink of the Month this month, but rather a journey to feature my new eau de vie. While the Twisted Sobriety ended up being my favorite, I also enjoyed drinking the pear eau de vie straight, or in a tall sipper with a little bit of lemon juice and soda water. I'm sure there are many more possibilities out there, so feel free to try your own as well! And whatever you do, make sure to enjoy your next cocktail!
