June Drink of the Month: Room Service

Down in my basement bar, I have a little mini-fridge/freezer combo. Usually I keep it stocked with the essentials - simply syrup, citrus fruit, etc. This morning, however, I noticed a theme: the whole bottom shelf is filled with RED. There are a couple of reasons for this. It is cherry season in nearby southwest Michigan, so of course I had to make a new batch of brandied cherries (OK, two batches - we got an industrial cherry pitter as a wedding present, and it is AWESOME). I also just found what I think are the very last blood oranges of the season, so I made another batch of Charred Rosemary & Blood Orange Shrub. And I made some homemade grenadine, because store bought stuff sucks. That's four mason jars full or red liquid on its own, but I also have another jar full of strawberry simple syrup, kept on hand just for this month's featured cocktail:

We made a pitcher full to celebrate
my dad's birthday. Perfectly
acceptable serving method, as long
as your little sister knows just how
much gin is in the drink and doesn't
try to pound half the pitcher
thinking it is a lightweight
champagne drink.

While Ann and I were traveling in Arizona in in April, we stopped through Scottsdale and visited their mall (its huge and quite luxurious). Across the street was a little spot we decided to try for lunch called Culinary Dropouts (how can you resist a name like that?). They had an excellent little cocktail menu, and Ann ended up picking a sparkling drink that they called "Room Service." The menu told me that it was a combination of Prosecco, Plymouth Gin, lemon juice, and strawberry simple syrup. Ann loved the drink, so we asked the waiter for the recipe for us to try at home. Sometimes restaurants will be incredibly accommodating and will happily hand out recipes for home bar guys like me. However, Culinary Dropouts was a little more secretive. All the waiter would tell me was that the drink used gin and strawberry syrup in equal proportions. Armed with this knowledge, Ann and I entered the Bar Lab (TM) and started tasting possible recipes (a really arduous task, I know).

Any time you are replicating someone else's recipe, your own taste ends up playing a factor, so I will readily admit that we might not have gotten the recipe exactly correct. The one I will publish here is made to Ann's standards. She loves sweeter drinks and can often do without lemon in her drinks. If I were to make this to my specs, I would probably bump up the lemon juice in the recipe by 1/4 to 1/2 ounce. Keep that in mind if you are playing along at home - always adjust these recipes to your taste!

To make our version of the Room Service cocktail, combine the following ingredients in a Boston shaker:

2 ounces Plymouth Gin

2 ounces strawberry simple syrup*

1/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice (again, if this was for me, I would use at least 1/2 ounce)

Shake over ice and strain into a coupe glass. Top with 2-3 ounces chilled Prosecco and garnish with a frozen strawberry slice.

The remains of the strawberries used
for our syrup. Still quite good with
a champagne pour-ove!

*The process to make strawberry simple syrup is quite simple. Warm 1 cup distilled water and slowly add 1 cup granulated sugar, as normal. Once the syrup has combined, add 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (pitted) strawberries (fresh are better, but frozen work just fine here) to the syrup and brind toa quick boil. Reduce to simmer for 3-4 minutes and then allow the liquid to come to room temperature. Double strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer and cheese cloth and bottle for up to 3 weeks.

I hope you enjoy your Room Service cocktail!