Deep Autumn
The North Delta is a flat expanse of a place that seems to go on forever. Indeed, only a few generations ago the entire place was a swamp bottom and if not for the intervention of man, or perhaps you’d call it invention, or perhaps still, greed, the land would still be mostly underwater for the better part of the year. But with clear-cutting and drainage districts, the area is home to some of the most fertile soil on the planet and in the warm months it explodes in a riotous sea of green. Yet as the weather cools and the harvest comes, and as the fields and their crops dry they are brought in to be offloaded into glinting stories-tall silos, and further dried. The fields where they came from are burned, and the entire expanse of the place is overcome with the smells of sweet grain, butter, smoke.
So from my porch in the delta as the silos whir in the background, to a glass wherever you are, I offer the following Autumn cocktails.
Toasted Rice Manhattan
Ingredients
2 oz. Toasted Rice infused Old Dominick Bourbon
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
.25 oz. Madeira
6 dash Angostura Bitters
Dried Citrus Wheel
Preparation
Add the first four ingredients to a mixing glass and stir to chill. Strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass and garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel.
To Prepare the Toasted Rice bourbon: Toast rice on a sheet tray in the oven (450 degrees) until fragrant and starting to brown. Place equal parts by weight toasted rice and bourbon into an airtight container and steep overnight or longer as desired until the bourbon has taken on a slight roasty flavor.
Smoked Gin 75
Ingredients
1.25 oz. Old Dominick Gin
.75 oz Smoked Honey Syrup
Sparkling Wine
Atomized Laphroaig
Lemon Ash
Preparation
Add the gin and honey syrup to a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Strain into a garnished coupe and top up with sparkling wine. To garnish, atomize the side of the glass with the Laphroaig and roll in lemon ash on a plate.
To Prepare the Smoked Honey Syrup: Add equal parts honey and water to a sauce pan and place in smoker or bbq grill at low heat for 1-2 hours or until the syrup has developed a smoky flavor.
To Prepare the Lemon Ash: Zest three lemons on a microplane and place on a roasting tray covered with parchment paper. Roast in the oven on high heat until the zest has burned thoroughly.