Sometimes you create an awesome drink and then sit for hours, scratching your head, trying to come up with a name to give it justice. In case you were wondering, this is not one of those drinks. The flip side of this phenomenon is when you are gifted a wonderful (or in this case, a "so terrible its wonderful") name, and have to come up with a drink to accompany the name. For the month of September, I was challenged by my lovely wife to come up with a drink called a "Dribbly Pear," named after the company of a particularly frustrating camp instructor that contracted at Saint Mary's this past summer. It is a nonsense name, and so the challenge became how to construct a drink to fit the profile.
Clearly we needed to begin with pear. I posed this "build a drink from a name" challenge to sometimes collaborator and friend of the blog Zack, but with a crucial misspelling. I gave him the name "Dribly Pear" (only one "b"), which sent him down a rabbit-hole trying to find a definition of "Dribly." His best guess was related to a Boston-area surname, so he riffed on a Boston Sidecar, using pear eau de vie for brandy and pear nectar for Cointreau. It was a valiant effort, but despite our best intentions, the pear flavor got lost (pear eau de vie is fragile - easily overpowered - as is pear flavor in general).
So what do we do to help bring out the pear? My first instinct was to wrap in white wine. It has a robust, noticeable flavor, but it is delicate enough to enhance and not drown out pear flavor. I also wanted gin, to add a little floral/botanical note without bumping in too much extra funk. Turns out, even the gin was too strong in this drink. I needed a base flavor that would enhance the pear flavor, not overpower it. I settled on the bottle of Żubrówka that has been sitting around since March, and never looked back. My final concoction was meant to be a summer sipper. Light, floral, easy to "dribble" down your chin as you take a sip on the porch or on the beach. This drink takes a little prep (20 minutes to reduce some Riesling and an hour to cool the resultant syrup), but it can still be worth your while during the last few days of Indian Summer we are experiencing! The Żubrówka and Riesling syrup taken together lend an almost caramel flavor to base pear notes in the drink, while a splash of soda water keeps everything light and sunny. Here's the recipe to follow along at home:
In a mixing glass, combine the following:
1.5 oz Żubrówka (Bison Grass Vodka)
0.75 oz Riesling Syrup*
0.75 oz pear nectar**
Shave over ice, and strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Top with ~1 oz sparking water. Garnish with a thin pear slice.
*For the Riesling syrup: Heat 2 cups of sweet Riesling over high heat, until boiling. Continue boiling until wine has reduced by half. Reduce heat, stir in one cup granulated sugar. Take off stove and allow to come to room temperature. Cool in refrigerator at least one hour before serving. Use within two weeks.
*I used Goya fruit nectars, available at most Mexican groceries (or in the Hispanic section of many large chains). If you want to be fancy, you could use fresh pear juice with some of the pulp retained, but I wasn't that ambitious this time.
I hope you enjoy your Dribbly Pear!
