A Sumptuous Serenade

How do you celebrate love? Is it through thoughtful actions? Kind words? Physical touch? Time and time again I find that I return to thoughtful actions, often in the form of cooking and making cocktails. A holiday like Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to craft a cocktail to surprise and enchant your partner or friends, but truly this can and should be done any time of the year.

When building a cocktail with the theme of love or romance it’s important to me to make it not stereotypically gendered, something anyone can enjoy even if it may be a spirit they are not as used to. I started this recipe with the flavor inspiration of chocolate covered strawberries while not necessarily being limited to being a dessert cocktail.

For the base I decided on unpeated single malt scotch, a spirit with enough character not to be overshadowed but to complement strong flavors like strawberry and chocolate. To keep the cocktail’s sweetness in check I introduced strawberries as an infusion in the scotch rather than a syrup. I highly recommend having organic strawberries in your freezer for this (Costco is a great cost-effective source) as they’ll be most dependable in ripeness any time of year and texture isn’t a factor when making an infusion. Be sure to use a glass vessel for your infusion (a mason jar will do) and agitate once a day to facilitate progress. Keep it in a dark place and taste and smell along the way until it’s to your liking. Somewhere between 3-7 days should do the trick.

The star of this cocktail is Mozart Milk Chocolate Liqueur - a velvety and indulgent Austrian treat made with Belgian chocolate, cream and Bourbon vanilla. It’s made from a sugar beet distillate and sweetened with sugar from sugar beets as well. This liqueur brought a wonderful richness and depth of chocolate flavor to the cocktail. I further enhanced the vanilla notes with a bit of my favorite cherry bark vanilla bitters.

To round out the drink I added cold brewed milk oolong tea. Milk oolong hails from Taiwan and is known for its creamy buttery taste. It’s absolutely fantastic on its own but is also great to enhance a creamy mouthfeel in a cocktail while keeping it light.

The resulting cocktail is sumptuous but refreshing, with the strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavors being perfectly balanced by the creamy freshness of the oolong.

A Sumptuous Serenade

• 2 oz strawberry infused unpeated scotch*

• 0.5 oz Mozart Milk Chocolate liqueur

• 1 oz cold brewed milk oolong tea**

• 1 dropper cherry bark vanilla bitters

• Strawberry, for garnish

Add all ingredients other than strawberry to a shaker with ice and shake until chilled and incorporated. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a strawberry half on a cocktail pick (use cocktail pick to stir cocktail occasionally to keep it from separating). Serve with chocolate covered strawberries on the side for an extra special treat and enjoy as a celebration of love.

*To make infused scotch, add strawberries and scotch in a 1:2 ratio to a glass jar and put in a dark place. Agitate and taste daily until desired flavor is achieved (3-7 days), then strain before enjoying. Keep in the fridge for better shelf life.

**To make cold brewed tea, add 1 tbsp tea leaves and 8 oz of water to a jar and allow to infuse for 8-12 hours. Strain and keep in the fridge.

The Orchard's Splendor

As I’ve worked my way though cocktails, my tastes have changed and expanded. One preference that has remained true from my initial dive to today is pears. I adore their flavor and versatility - they can pair with floral notes in one drink than turn around and shine in a strong whisky cocktail. They shine especially when they’re in season in the fall, and I got so lucky this year as my parents have a pear tree that yielded probably 6 large boxes of delicious fruit. I let them ripen in the box in the garage (they can last an impressively long time whole), then juiced them. Some of the puree went to immediate cocktail consumption while some was put away into the freezer for later use.

If you don’t have a juicer, you can always peel pears, lightly simmer them, then puree them with a bit of water in the blender and strain out any chunks. Of course you can also use store-brought pear juice for an easier option. Regardless, this cocktail will be a cozy, warming bouquet of fall flavors.

I decided to play with Scotch in this cocktail, and chose an intriguing bottle of Monkey Shoulder that I stumbled upon at Trader Joe’s. Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt Scotch that’s not smoky but rather mellow and smooth with notes of fruit and vanilla (a nice alternative to a bourbon). It’s an affordable price point and a great Scotch for mixing, particularly in this cocktail.

I also knew I wanted to incorporate sherry, which I’ve grown incredibly partial to the more I learned about cocktails. While I occasionally use vermouth, I often find it to have too much funk or sweetness for my tastes. Sherry, on the other hand, adds just the right amount of complexity and offers a spectrum of varieties depending on the flavors I’m looking to compliment. I used Amontillado sherry in this cocktail - a medium dry variety with rich nutty notes. If you’re looking for a great one on a budget, check out Trader Joe’s (they have three varieties for $4.95 each).

While the sherry would have been delicious as is, I tried my hand at infusing it with cloves. This allowed me to add clove flavor without watering down the cocktail or adding more sugar. Clove worked beautifully with the palate of the Amontillado, and I’ve enjoyed trying the infusion in other cocktails as well.

Finally, I added a bar spoon of maple syrup to round out the cocktail and give it an impeccably smooth mouthfeel. The resulting cocktail starts with spiced ripe pear and finishes with the malty richness of the Scotch. It’s fantastic for the season and would serve as a delicious addition to a Thanksgiving dinner!

The Orchard’s Splendor

• 2 oz Scotch whisky

• 3 oz pear juice

• 0.5 oz clove-infused Amontillado sherry*

• 1 bar spoon maple syrup

• Dehydrated pear slice, for garnish

Shake liquid ingredients with ice until chilled, then strain into a rocks class over a large ice cube. Garnish with a dehydrated pear slice and enjoy under a cozy blanket.

* To infuse sherry, add 1 tsp of cloves and 1 cup of Amontillado sherry to a jar and allow to steep for 24 hours. Strain and keep infusion in the fridge.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography.