They say that being a great mixologist is like being a magical alchemist. This is probably true, because the effects of a few good drinks are indeed spectacular. Which is why it makes perfect sense that a new recipe book on making unique cocktails is themed after a mystic place: Alice’s Wonderland!
The book is called DRINK ME, and features a range of drinks for any situation, and with imaginative names and ingredients. For example, the Queen of Hearts is a sweet, refreshing drink with bitter undertones, while Painting The Roses Red is a bubbly highball of sharp raspberry and gin flavors, softened with a hint of rose water.
We showed DRINK ME to several mixologists around San Francisco’s top bars and restaurants, and their reaction was both intrigued and delighted. We take that as a strong recommendation for the concept and the execution.
The authors are entertainment professionals Nick Perry & Paul Rosser, and as they describe it: “Great adventures often start with a drink—including Alice’s expedition down the rabbit hole, which began with a sip of a curiously labelled tipple. DRINK ME invites you to do the same; learn how to mix 20 cocktails that will fill you with wonder and childish glee at the surreal flavor combinations, while amassing the perfect selection of drinks for your own spirit-soaked Mad Hatter’s tea party.”
DRINK ME definitely includes everything you need to know for throwing your own Alice in Wonderland–themed cocktail party, including cocktail party advice and techniques for mixing and decorating your drinks.
Enjoy a few samples recipes from DRINK ME here:
The Pink Flamingo
“The balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes.”
When Alice is invited by the Queen to play croquet she isn’t expecting to be handed a live flamingo; it is a playful image steeped in Lewis Carroll’s absurdist nature while highlighting how all the creatures of Wonderland bend to the will of the Queen. We wanted to create a drink that matched this spirit while adding an air of sophistication. The vibrant pink color and delicate balance of flavors make this drink something you could quaff down at your very own croquet party.
Yield 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 oz (30 ml) Cîroc vodka
- 1 oz (30 ml) Briottet Pamplemousse Rose (pink grapefruit) liqueur
- 0.5 oz (15 ml) grenadine (page 104)
- Juice of ½ grapefruit
- 3 drops Bob’s Orange and Mandarin Bitters
- 3 to 4 oz (90 to 120 ml) sparkling wine
- Small piece dehydrated grapefruit wheel (page 136)
Method
1. Fill a Boston shaker with cubed ice and add the vodka, liqueur, grenadine, grapefruit juice, and bitters, giving the mixture a medium-hard shake for 6 to 8 seconds. Fine strain into a large wineglass over fresh ice. 2. Top with the sparkling wine, filling the glass to the brim.
3. Garnish with a small or half wheel of dehydrated grapefruit.
Curiouser and Curaçao
“ ‘Curiouser and curiouser!’ cried Alice.”
Our protagonist becomes quite anxious about the inexplicable physical changes the “Drink Me” bottle and “Eat Me” cake have bestowed upon her. If ever you needed a drink to steady your nerves it might be after finding yourself in Wonderland, and this drink is the perfect tonic for such a situation. Built around the Caribbean orange liqueur Curaçao, it is a contemporary twist on a classic Old Fashioned.
As its name suggests, the Old Fashioned has some history. It dates to the 1880s and to this day remains a stalwart of the modern cocktail menu. This twist uses caramelized fruit to add the sweet aspect of the drink and makes for a beautifully balanced alternative to many a bartender’s perennial favorite. Classic Old Fashioned recipes call for many minutes of stirring, so that the sugar will dissolve, but because this recipe uses a fruit puree and orange liqueur instead of cubed sugar, the need for stirring is greatly reduced, and helps simply to dilute the drink to taste.
Yield: 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 barspoons burnt peach puree (page 120)
- 1.5 oz (45 ml) Bulleit bourbon whiskey
- 0.75 oz (23 ml) orange Curaçao (page 110)
- 3 drops Bob’s orange and mandarin bitters
- 1 burnt peach slice (page 120)
- 1⁄4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Method
1. Add fresh cubed ice to a mixing glass or Boston glass, pour the burnt peach puree through a fine strainer over the ice, and use the end of your barspoon to help the liquid through the mesh of your strainer.
2. Add the bourbon, Orange Curaçao and bitters next, stirring gently for at least a minute, tasting for the desired level of dilution. 3. Strain the cocktail into your heftiest rocks glass over a large ice sphere (or fresh ice cubes). Garnish the drink with a burnt peach slice dusted with grated nutmeg.
About the Authors
Nick Perry is a lifelong hospitality professional who has secured a role in practically every department of the restaurant industry. Brought up in Greenfield, Greater Manchester (UK), into a food-and-drink-loving family, he began working in pubs and restaurants as soon as his age would permit. After studying in his hometown, he took up restaurant work full time in Central Manchester before embarking on a two-year working holiday, which took in Asia and Australasia. Here his passion for great food and drink grew and, upon his return to the UK, he quickly moved to London to seek professional growth in hospitality. It was working for London restaurateur Jamie Oliver where Nick first crossed paths with Paul Rosser, becoming friends, and eventually going into business together curating pop-up cocktail and restaurant events as Paloma Drinks Co.
Paul Rosser was born into a large Mediterranean family; as a child, he was surrounded by the tastes and aromas of traditional home-cooked food. He spent many years in the family kitchen cooking with his Nana, falling in love with fresh, seasonal produce, and learning an array of cooking techniques. As he grew older, Paul took these techniques and applied them to alcohol; experimenting at home by mixing his own cocktails with whatever ingredients were at hand, home-distilling spirits, and carbonating his own tonic water and soda concoctions. This combined passion for food and drink would stand Paul in good stead as, at 18 years old, he moved to London to take up a management position at the Modern British Canteen in Spitalfields Market, a restaurant which aimed to revamp the idea of what British food could be by using the highest quality local artisanal produce. Paul delved into his work, developing his knowledge and skill under the tutelage of Mathew Horvath, now one of Gordon Ramsey’s right-hand men. Paul went on to become the restaurant’s youngest-ever general manager, at 20 years old, and helped to open and manage four more sites for them over the next three years. During this time, Paul developed his palate for cocktails further, moving beyond the classics, experimenting with unique and unusual flavor profiles, adding cocktails to the restaurants’ drinks menus with close consideration to the food on offer. Paul went on to manage many other well-respected restaurants in the capital, including restaurants for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. In 2014, Paul crossed paths with Nick Perry, whilst working together at said restaurant, they became close friends and soon realized they had a shared passion for cocktails, flavor, and experimentation, which eventually led to their founding of the pop-up cocktail and restaurant events business, Paloma Drinks Co.
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DRINK ME
By Nick Perry & Paul Rosser
Publishing: October 16, 2018 | ISBN: 9781631065125
$17.99 US · $23.99 CAN · 144 pages · Trade Hardback
Rock Point Publishing, an imprint of The Quarto Group
Find it here on Amazon
