March Drink of the Month - The Gosia

Our drink for March is one of my own creation, inspired by a bottle of Żubrówka (Polish bison grass vodka) that I found at a Mardi Gras party. I'd never tried Żubrówka before, but I knew it was a favorite among bartenders, and that it went exceedingly well with apple juice. I did some light reading this morning, and found that most experts ascribe the following taste notes to Żubrówka: vanilla, lavender, thyme, "spring flowers," and, of course, grass. Żubrówka is made by steeping vodka in the tall grass that grows in the Białowieża Forest (which is favored by the local bison - hence the name). Żubrówka has a slight yellow-green hue, and usually is bottled with a blade of grass in the bottle.

My muse for this month

I wasn't quite sure what to do with my bottle of Żubrówka (apple juice was nowhere to be found), but I remember reading that it also paired well with lime. Inspired, I decided to try my own riff on a Margarita, using Żubrówka and Saint Germain (a personal favorite for elevating Margaritas). The lime accents the grassy notes well, and the Saint Germain provides a little bit of sweetness (along with Cointreau), as well as some other floral notes to compliment the earthy Żubrówka. It is a slightly bracing, slightly sweet drink with a nice acidic backbone from the citrus to keep everything together. It was a hit at the party, so the only thing left to do was find a name for my creation.

Long time readers may remember the entomology of the name "Margarita" (need a refresher? See this post from 2013 - wow, I've been doing this for a while now!). For those readers who have not been around that long, the short story is that the Margarita was a take on the popular "Daisy" drink during Prohibition. A brandy drink with lemon and Cointreau became a tequila drink with lime when brandy was hard to come by. "Daisy" was a nickname for Margaret, hence Margarita (or "little Margaret). Since this drink uses Polish vodka, I decided I would use the Polish word for "daisy" as the name for my new drink. Unfortunately, "stokrotka" is super hard to pronounce, as I was informed by everyone at our party. The name I ultimately settled on is a better fit however - Gosia is a Polish nickname for Margaret (or Małgorzata in Polish), so it better fits the name scheme for the Daisy/Margarita. Now that you know where that odd name came from, enjoy the recipe below to make one at home:

In a Boston shaker, combine the following:

2 oz of Żubrówka*

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Saint Germain

1/2 oz lime juice

Shake over ice for 10 seconds, and strain into a coupe glass (no margarita glasses please, we're using vodka here!)

Notes:
*Only one note this month - there are other bison grass vodkas on the market, but Żubrówka is officially licensed by the Polish government, and far outshines its imitators. Make the investment. Apparently, if you can find stuff from Poland, the flavors are a bit stronger. The US government bans the strong Polish stuff, so the bottles sold here are a little different, but still excellent.

I hope you enjoy your Gosia!