Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
A strong stirred direct cocktail
“But the lavender softens it around the edges.”
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
Meghan Balser
If your tongue is quiet enough, it can taste the whisper of Japanese whisky folded gently into the other spirits that Herb & Wood’s cocktail curator Meghan Balser puts into her Vodka & Lavender.
“I think the bar spoon of Suntory Toki ties it all together,” she says. “It binds all the flavors – with a tiny unexpected note of honey and vanilla.”
That honeyed hint is only part of the subtlety in this variation of the classic vesper, now appearing in the new cocktail program at Herb & Wood.
With all the global scope of a James Bond adventure, Balser’s take on 007’s first love includes not only an elegant token of uisuki, but also lavender-infused Cocchi Americano (Italy’s iteration of Lillet Blanc, the tonic wine traditionally used in a vesper), San Diego’s own You & Yours Vodka, and the Spanish-made Gin Mari. In sorting out this melee of spirits, Balser says, the gin’s botanicals serve as a sort of focusing principle for the cocktail.
“The Gin Mari has some light rosemary and Mediterranean herbal influences,” she says. “I wanted to marry these two flavors together with some vodka and some whiskey.”
Admitting her love for “direct cocktails” that don’t fool around with much beyond distilled spirits and clean, assertive flavors, Balser says her vesper starts with a hard edge but ends in gentle repose.
“It’s a strong stirred direct cocktail,” she says, “but the lavender softens it around the edges.”
The lavender was also a sticking point in developing the drink, Balser adds.
“It was a challenge finding the balance in the lavender,” she says. “I didn’t want it to have an overly perfumed or soapy flavor.”
All the same, Balser sought to honor her favorite classic cocktail as much in the herb-cum-whisky breach as in the gin-cum-quinine-cum-vodka juncture.
“The Vodka & Lavender offers a floral and more feminine version of the vesper,” she says. “Since I used to work at a whiskey bar and love working with whiskey, I wanted to bring that into the cocktail as well.”
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
1 ½ oz. Gin Mari
1 oz. You& Yours Vodka
½ oz. Lavender-infused Cocchi Americano
1 bar spoon Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky
Pour ingredients into mixing glass three-fourths filled with ice, stir and strain into coupe with lemon twist garnish.
Here's something you might be interested in.
A strong stirred direct cocktail
“But the lavender softens it around the edges.”
A strong stirred direct cocktail
“But the lavender softens it around the edges.”
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
Meghan Balser
If your tongue is quiet enough, it can taste the whisper of Japanese whisky folded gently into the other spirits that Herb & Wood’s cocktail curator Meghan Balser puts into her Vodka & Lavender.
“I think the bar spoon of Suntory Toki ties it all together,” she says. “It binds all the flavors – with a tiny unexpected note of honey and vanilla.”
That honeyed hint is only part of the subtlety in this variation of the classic vesper, now appearing in the new cocktail program at Herb & Wood.
With all the global scope of a James Bond adventure, Balser’s take on 007’s first love includes not only an elegant token of uisuki, but also lavender-infused Cocchi Americano (Italy’s iteration of Lillet Blanc, the tonic wine traditionally used in a vesper), San Diego’s own You & Yours Vodka, and the Spanish-made Gin Mari. In sorting out this melee of spirits, Balser says, the gin’s botanicals serve as a sort of focusing principle for the cocktail.
“The Gin Mari has some light rosemary and Mediterranean herbal influences,” she says. “I wanted to marry these two flavors together with some vodka and some whiskey.”
Admitting her love for “direct cocktails” that don’t fool around with much beyond distilled spirits and clean, assertive flavors, Balser says her vesper starts with a hard edge but ends in gentle repose.
“It’s a strong stirred direct cocktail,” she says, “but the lavender softens it around the edges.”
The lavender was also a sticking point in developing the drink, Balser adds.
“It was a challenge finding the balance in the lavender,” she says. “I didn’t want it to have an overly perfumed or soapy flavor.”
All the same, Balser sought to honor her favorite classic cocktail as much in the herb-cum-whisky breach as in the gin-cum-quinine-cum-vodka juncture.
“The Vodka & Lavender offers a floral and more feminine version of the vesper,” she says. “Since I used to work at a whiskey bar and love working with whiskey, I wanted to bring that into the cocktail as well.”
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
Herb & Wood’s Vodka & Lavender
1 ½ oz. Gin Mari
1 oz. You& Yours Vodka
½ oz. Lavender-infused Cocchi Americano
1 bar spoon Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky
Pour ingredients into mixing glass three-fourths filled with ice, stir and strain into coupe with lemon twist garnish.
Comments