It’s no secret that I’m a fan of recipes from the 12 Bottle Bar book, and not just because the authors have generously served up how-to-make bitters and how-to-make scrubs at Cocktails on the Roof the last two years. We actually have local cocktail aficionados living here and I, for one, am going for the gusto in learning all I can from them.
From the 12 Bottle Bar website, this is who they are:
David Solmonson
An avid home-bartending enthusiast, David is a screenwriter and media executive by trade. He is married to author Lesley Jacobs Solmonson. David is BarSmarts certified.
Lesley Solmonson
Lesley’s book “Gin: A Global History” (Reaktion) was published in 2012, and she is currently working on “Liqueur: A Global History” (Reaktion). She is the cocktail/wine writer for the LA Weekly and writes for Chilled magazine. Lesley has written for many other publications, including Wine Enthusiast, Gourmet, and Santa Barbara, and she serves on the Advisory Board of the Museum of the American Cocktail.
Now about the main ingredient in this cocktail, genever, it took David and Lesley about three times to get me to say it like Geneva with an r at the end and I’m still not sure that’s right. What is genever? Well…I’m a gin fan and the Solmonsons are gin fans so the logical step in my cocktail education was to try a gin-like spirit. Enter genever.
As 12 Bottle Bar explains: “…Modern genever is essentially a blend of two distinct spirits. The first is triple or quadruple pot-distilled ‘maltwine’, equal amounts of corn, rye, and malted barley.
The second is neutral spirit like that used in London Dry. And then, of course, there are the botanicals, which must include juniper. It’s the use of juniper that has caused many to call genever “gin”; the term “genever” translates quite literally as juniper. Indeed, when genever made its way to America in the mid-1800s, it was often referred to as Holland gin…” Read more here: http://12bottlebar.com/2012/06/bottle-reboot-part-4-genever/
And the cocktail I loved made with Genever this week is:
The Turf Cocktail
2 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Add all ingredients to a chilled mixing glass.
Stir with ice and strain into a coupe.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Contact: drinks@12bottlebar.com
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
