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Epicurious

Garden Party Cocktails

While most of my friends are foodies, David Alan’s central focus is liquid refreshment. A coffee distributor by trade, he devotes most of his free time to the art of the cocktail. He writes a witty, drink-packed blog called Tipsy Texan. I asked him to create a couple of drinks for my backyard garden party. Both are beautiful to look at and delicious enough to be dangerous. The drinks are tastiest made one at a time and enjoyed immediately. If you are throwing a party with a spouse or partner, suggest they help by manning (or woman-ing) your “bar”—any small to medium table will do—for the first 30 to 45 minutes of the party. The bar action provides a focal point for incoming guests, and it’s a great icebreaker. Have all the ingredients and drink-mixing paraphernalia assembled in advance and set them out on your bar just before guests arrive. A large ice bucket, or even two, filled with crushed ice is a must.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    each recipe makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

Fredericksburg Fizz

1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) gin
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) peach nectar
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 a medium lemon)
1 large egg white (1 ounce)
1/2 ounce (a scant tablespoon simple syrup) (see Tip, page 191)
Crushed ice

Black Diamond

6 blackberries, thawed if frozen
3 fresh cilantro leaves, stemmed
1/2 ounce (a scant tablespoon) simple syrup
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) blanco tequila (100 percent de agave)
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) Pimm’s No. 1 Cup
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 1/2 lime)
Crushed ice

Preparation

  1. To make the Fredericksburg Fizz

    Step 1

    In a cocktail shaker, vigorously “dry shake” (in bartender’s parlance, shake without ice) the gin, peach nectar, lemon juice, egg white, and simple syrup to emulsify. Add crushed ice and shake athletically for 20 seconds. Strain into a fizz (highball) glass or other decorative glass. Serve immediately.

  2. To make the Black Diamond

    Step 2

    Using a small wooden spoon or mallet, muddle (mash together) the blackberries, cilantro leaves, and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add the tequila, Pimms No. 1 Cup, lime juice, and crushed ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail (martini) glass. Serve immediately.

  3. tip: fredericksburg fizz

    Step 3

    If you are concerned about consuming raw egg whites, buy already-pasteurized egg whites at your grocery store.

  4. tip: black diamond

    Step 4

    Spicy, citrusy Pimm’s No. 1 Cup is a ginbased British liqueur that is the base of Wimbledon’s official drink.

Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved. A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances. Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.
TagsCocktailAlcoholBeveragesGinPimm'sLiqueurTequilaBlackberryBerryFruitSummerCookbooks
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