Cool as a Cucumber: A Summer Cocktail Sampler
For the AJC
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
“In the summer, people often think about drinking beer or white wine,” said Holeman & Finch mix master Greg Best. “But if they’re crafted with the right ingredients, cocktails can be just as refreshing and even hydrating.”
Starting with his stint at Restaurant Eugene, Best has emerged as one Atlanta’s star bartenders, pioneering the use of local and seasonal culinary ingredients in his cocktails, and making his own bitters, tonics and infusions.
Hyosub Shin / hshin@ajc.com
Bar manager Miles Macquarrie makes a Miller’s Cucumber Cooler at Leon’s Full Service in Decatur
He says he always looks forward to the bounty of summer to inspire new recipes.
“Cocktails as an art should be able to grow with the ingredients that are available,” Best said. “Because we’re going into summer, we’re going to be working with bright citrus, refreshing herbs like mint and basil, and we tend to use lighter spirits, like gin, and things like honey as sweeteners.”
One of Best’s most recent inventions uses bubbly beer as a primary ingredient. Dubbed Neutral Grounds, it’s a lively mix of bourbon, fresh lemon juice, raspberry liqueur and Angostura bitters, topped with Victory Prima Pils and a dash of fennel pollen.
“The reason we love it so much is that it has all the refreshing characteristics of a good pilsner,” Best said. “But the bourbon gives it good depth, as it plays on expanding the hops in the beer, and then there’s the fruit and the subtle spicy character of the fennel.”
Holeman & Finch, 2277 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta, 404-948-1175, www.holeman-finch.com.
Here are five more cool summer cocktails to look for and love:
Miller’s Cucumber Cooler at Leon’s Full Service, Decatur
Cool as its name, Leon’s Miles Macquarrie mixes Miller’s gin, English cucumber, fresh lime juice and Martinique sugar cane syrup to make a cocktail with a rejuvenating, slightly cloudy green glow. 131 East Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-687-0500, www.leonsfullservice.com
Orange Basil Julep at The Shed, Glenwood Park
Though Four Roses Bourbon is the main ingredient, the Shed’s Cindy Shera gives this sparkling drink a fresh citrus and herbal twist, with muddled orange, basil syrup and club soda. 475 Bill Kennedy Way, 404-835-4363, www.theshedatglenwood.com
Berry Tempting at Drinkshop at the W Atlanta, downtown
Created in honor of celeb shopper Jessica Dauler, Drinkshop’s Eric Simpkins blends silver tequila, muddled raspberries, fresh raspberry syrup, fresh ginger syrup and fresh lime juice for a tangy, dulcet taste of summer. 45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., 404-582-5789, www.starwoodhotels.com
Little Black Dress at 5 Seasons Brewing, Westside
Sure, 5 Seasons is a brew pub, but brewer and beverage director Matt Williams has come up with lots of chic cocktails, including this elegant, spritzy melange of sparkling wine, blackberry liqueur and a bouncy fresh blackberry. 1000 Marietta St. N.W., 404-875-3232, www.5seasonsbrewing.com
The Gin-Gin at Kozmo Gastro Pub, Alpharetta
Smooth but with a serious bite is the way Kozmo’s Jimmy Rudnick describes his newest creation, a concoction of ginger-infused gin, ginger liqueur, fresh ginger and soda that tingles as it refreshes. 11890 Douglas Road, Suite 105, 678-526-6094, www.kozmogastropub.com
