Winter's Bite softened as Seasonal Ingredients whipped up Cocktails, warming not just Bellies, but Spirits too
Seasonal Cocktails Take Centre Stage in New York City's Bar Scene
In the bustling city of New York, bartenders are not just mixing drinks, they're creating culinary experiences. Many of them view cold-weather fresh ingredients not as a challenge, but as part of the year's natural cycle.
At Aska, head bartender Selma Slabiak utilizes root vegetables like beets, sunchokes, and turnips in her cocktails. Her preference leans towards winter herbs like rosemary and oregano for their flavor pairings with dining life. One of her favorite syrup ingredients is tart sea buckthorns, and she looks to nettles, spruce tips, woodruff, ramsons, sorrel, goutweed, and even flowers like daisies and violets in early spring.
Jenn Smith, the executive director of the New York Cider Association, shares a similar approach. She teaches a class called "Greenmarket Cocktails" where students learn to build beverages using appropriate spirits and current harvest offerings from farmers markets. Woody herbs and microgreens, according to Smith, are seasonal wayfinders for creative bartenders. Peas shine in a cocktail, she says, and can be used as a fresh garnish, pickled garnish, or muddled with mint.
Peas, rhubarb, squash, beets, nettles, spruce tips, apples, and pears are just a few of the cold-weather ingredients that are abundant. Rhubarb, in particular, provides a flavor nuance for market-oriented bartenders when local citrus is unavailable. It can be used fresh, pickled, made into syrup, or even used to make a sour cocktail, serving as a replacement for citrus.
Amor y Amargo's Sother Teague uses celery and celeriac in various infusions and spirits. He charrs and rapid-infuses rosemary in his cocktails. Cristian Molina, head bartender at Rouge Tomate, finds winter drink-building to be creative, exploring preservation techniques or new ingredients like root vegetables, herbs, yam, pumpkin, etcetera.
As spring begins to arrive, Smith uses ingredients like arugula, asparagus, ramps, and peas in her cocktails. She appreciates the bitterness of ingredients like sorrel or dandelion greens in spring cocktails. At Aska, the entire food and bar programs rely on seasonal and local ingredients.
Innovative winter cocktails can also be found at seasonal pop-ups like Miracle and Sippin' Santa. These festive establishments craft inventive drinks using available ingredients such as spiced cranberry, gingerbread, and holiday spices to warm body and soul.
Slabiak and Smith often study and taste throughout the year using resources like The Flavor Bible and The Drunken Botanist. They believe that the only rule in creating seasonal cocktails is to avoid vodka, as it doesn't contribute much flavor. Instead, they encourage the use of spirits that complement the flavors of the season.
Whether it's winter, spring, summer, or fall, New York City's bartenders are continuously pushing the boundaries of what a cocktail can be, creating unique and delicious drinks that celebrate the flavors of each season.
