Bitterness and Blackberries
Inspired (once again) by what’s in season, this week’s cocktail is all about the blackberries. We started with a straightforward blackberry syrup, then build the cocktail around that.
Brandy as a base spirit, with Unicum to add bitterness and depth. Orange juice and egg whites add body and flavor, and a tiny bit of vanilla extract to round out the flavor.
ROUND AND LAYERED
The result is a fantastic, rich and creamy cocktail that manages to avoid the common pitfall of sickly-sweet berry drinks. The Unicum is a key component that really highlights the herbal side of the blacberries while making the drink a whole lot more interesting at the same time.
I think you could probably skip the orange juice and compensate with a touch more of the blackberry syrup if you wanted to play down the orange flavor, but I wouldn’t skip the egg whites. They really add a lot of body and mouthfeel and finish the drink beautifully.
Blackberries in Budapest
Equipment
Ingredients
Cocktail Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Brandy I used Courvoisier VSOP
- 0.25 oz Unicum
- 1 oz Fresh Orange Juice
- 0.75 oz Blackberry Syrup
- 0.75 oz Egg White
- 2 dashes Vanilla Extract
Blackberry Syrup Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Blackberries
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 ea Zest of Lemon I used Meyer lemon
Instructions
Cocktail Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice.
- Dry shake.
- Add ice and shake to chill and dilute.
- Strain into a bucket glass and garnish with a piece of orange peel.
Blackberry Syrup Instructions
- Add blackberries, zest of one lemon and sugar to a bowl and lightly muddle.
- Macerate for 3 hours.
- Puree the mixture until smooth.
- Fine-strain with cheesecloth or fine strainer to remove the seeds.
