The cocktail should drink a lot like an autumn, white variation of a Sazerac. Lots of herbacious, licorice aromas with flavors of fresh, bright, flower pears. When made right, this drink is balanced and awesome.
Glass Type: Rocks
Garnish: Star Anise
Method: Shake all ingredients together and finely strain into a chilled rocks glass lightly sprayed with Absinthe using an atomizer. Float Star Anise on top of drink.
1½ oz Asian Pear Infused Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin*
½ oz Elderflower Liqueur
3 oz Asian Pear Nectar**
Squirt of Fresh Lemon Juice
French Absinthe - For glass atomizer spraying only
1 Star Anise (For garnish)
HATE LICORICE OR ABSINTHE? Substitute the absinthe spray with Catoctin Creek Pearousia Pear Brandy and the star anise with a melon-balled-out Asian pear, flesh and skin equal parts on a toothpick.
*Asian Pear Infused Watershed Gin Instructions:
Simply cut up Asian Pears and allow to steep in Watershed Gin over night, skin and flesh included, no seeds or core with juice from half a lemon to help retain color - Refrigerate and use for up to three months.
**Asian Pear Nectar Recipe:
1 Asian Pear
½ Lemon
1 inch of fresh, peeled Ginger
Micropane grated fresh nutmeg (to taste, about five to seven scrapes)
Juice one entire Asian Pear minus it's seeds, core and stem with a good nub of fresh ginger. Add Juice from half a lemon and grate Nutmeg to the mix, stir and keep refrigerated for up to two or three days. Always greatest when made and served day of.
Makes enough for three drinks
Courtesy John Shope.
One of the feature cocktails for Virginia Spirits Month 2017. A nod to the classic Manhattan with a southern twist. Wonderful cocktail to pair with traditional hors d’oeuvres or appetizer course.
2 oz Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye Whiskey
½ oz Grand Marnier Cordon Rogue
¼ oz Broadbent Rainwater Madeira
1 wedge of orange
1 wedge of lemon
Build all spirits in a mixing glass. Squeeze and drop in both lemon and orange wedges. Add ice and stir well. Strain into a martini glass or coupe. Express oil of an orange twist into glass and/or onto the rim of glass and use twist as garnish.
Recipe courtesy Marilee and Matt Billingsley, Postbellum, Richmond, VA.
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for the month of September.
Quarter Branch apple brandy
A touch of simple syrup
Fresh fine strained orange juice
Fresh fine straineda lemon juice
Top with Angostura/apple bitters
Garnish with orange peel
Courtesy Denise Petty.
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for the month of September.
Catoctin Creek White Rye Spirit
Element blueberry/rosemary shrub
Rosemary infused simple syrup
Topped with Q seltzer
Garnish with rosemary sprig
Courtesy Denise Petty.
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for our August dinner.
2 oz Watershed Gin
1 oz Elderflower liqueur
¼ oz fresh lime juice
⅛ oz local rosemary infused simple syrup
Prosecco to top
Combine all ingredients in a nick and nora glass, top with Prosecco, and garnish with a lime twist.
Courtesy of Denise Petty
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for our August dinner.
1½ oz Mosby's Spirit
¾ oz Ancho Reyes Chile
1 oz fresh lime juice
½ oz whisky barrel chip infused simple syrup
Combine all ingredients and pour into a rocks glass with a chile salt rim.
Courtesy of Denise Petty
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for our August dinner.
2 oz Short Hill Peach Brandy
½ oz Aperol
1 oz fresh orange juice
½ oz fresh lemon juice
orange/honey syrup* (for rimming)
turbinado sugar (for rimming)
Dip the rim of the glass in the orange/honey syrup, then into the turbinado sugar. Combine the first four ingredients over ice, and strain into the glass, being careful not to disturb the rim.
*Orange/Honey Syrup
1 oz fresh orange juice
2 oz local honey
Combine the two ingredients until well mixed.
Courtesy of Denise Petty
This cocktail is one of our feature cocktails for our August dinner.
2 oz Roundstone Rye 80 proof
½ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz fresh orange juice
¼ oz Luxardo grenadine
dash of Angostura bitters
Combine first four ingredients and pour into a nick and nora glass, dash with Angostura bitters on top, with a brandied cherry garnish.
Courtesy of Denise Petty
On August 21, 2017, we will have a full solar eclipse in the United States. This won't happen again here for something like 100 years! To celebrate, we created the Midsummer Moon cocktail. We'll be drinking this and wearing our eclipse glasses when the end times come!
1½ Roundstone Rye
3 oz Ceylon black tea
¾ oz lemon juice
¾ oz ginger syrup
2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
Lemon wedge garnish
Combine ingredients in a Nick and Nora glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon wedge and 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Recipe courtesy Jen Coate.
This patriotic cocktail was featured in the tasting room for the month of July.
1 oz Watershed Gin
¾ oz blueberry lavender syrup*
½ oz fresh lime juice
Combine ingredients slowly over a bar spoon, to create layers, syrup first, then gin and lime, and top with seltzer. Garnish carefully with fresh blueberries, so as not to disturb the layers.
*Blueberry Lavender Syrup
11 oz bin of fresh blueberries, muddled
½ cup lavender flowers (food grade)
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
Combine all ingredients, let steep for 1 hour, strain out blueberries.
Recipe courtesy Denise Petty.
This cocktail comes to us from Sam Scarlett at the Wine Kitchen, and was one of our feature cocktails at our speakeasy dance party last month. If you missed the party, don't worry! We're going to do more coming up for Repeal Day and New Years Eve!
The proportions for this cocktail are that for a punch. Feel free to scale it down for personal consumption.
40oz Watershed Gin
10oz Lemon juice
10oz Honey syrup (equal parts honey and water cooked together)
20 dash Lavender Bitters
Combine all ingredients and use 40 small rosemary sprigs and 40 brandies/maraschino/etc cherries for garnishes.
Recipe courtesy Sam Scarlett.
This cocktail is a classic! This drink is the original cocktail, the forefather of them all. Legend has it that it came from a Confederate General who didn't like his whiskey neat, so he added sugar, bitters and water to it. Hence, the cocktail was born. Originally called the whiskey cocktail, and later the old fashioned whisky cocktail, it eventually ends up as just the old fashioned. Since its creation, it's gone through lots of variations (some of them painful). This is the original, and the one we like best... no fruit, no Sprite.
We are purists, after all.
2 oz Roundstone Rye
¾ oz rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar:water)
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients with a heavy ice cube and serve in a rocks glass. Garnishment is optional, but keep it light.
Photo is of Scott and Alexa at our Catoctin Creek Speakeasy Party in 2017. Reward if found!
