Cocktail Friday: Tamarind Bourbon Sidecar

Last week I was in my frigid homeland: Minnesota. Yes, the temperatures were cold enough to force anyone and everyone to run politely between cars and buildings in an attempt to minimize the amount of time spent in the dangerously cold air. This is a practice my husband says he had never seen before living in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It never seemed strange to me for two reasons: 1) when it is below zero degrees you want to do anything to get from outside to inside as quickly as possible, and 2) it's like a little mini-workout that could potentially warm you up a bit more than a simple stroll...right? Yes, Minnesotans are a little strange (I'm allowed to say that because I am one) to live in such a cold place by choice, but we are not stupid. We have a survival mode of sorts.

For me, another necessary method of surviving winter is simply reminding myself that warmer weather will come. Mixing up a cocktail is a pretty great way to do just that. In this case, I've made a Tamarind Bourbon Sidecar. Tamarind is a fascinating ingredient that is used in familiar Southeast Asian dishes such as Pad Thai. It's flavor is sweet-sour, similar to citrus, but it is a little richer and more complex. It's the perfect addition to a warming bourbon sidecar because it gives just the right amount of brightness. Plus, since it is used in warm-weather countries like Thailand, it helps paint a mental picture of palm trees, oceans, sandy beaches...all the things many of us start to long for this time of year.

Just to be clear: I LOVE winter. This weather is my bread and butter. I'm not typically the type of person to long for an escape this time of year. That comes for me in the middle of summer when temperatures are stiflingly hot and I can't breathe. That is not my favorite. Still, a reminder of warmth and sun is good for the soul no matter what season you prefer.

Tamarind Bourbon Sidecar

Ingredients

For the cocktail:

For the tamarind syrup:

• 2 oz Bourbon
• 3/4 oz Tamarind Syrup
• splash of cointreau
• ice
• fine sugar
• 3/4 cup tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Lime wedge for garnish

Instructions

1. Using your (clean) finger, coat the edge of a cocktail glass with some of the tamarind syrup. Put the sugar on a plate. Gently put the rim of the glass in the sugar and rotate just slightly to coat. Set aside.
2. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the bourbon, tamarind syrup, and cointreau. Cover and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Pour through a strainer into your prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with a keffir lime leaf (or lime wedge) and serve.
3. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
4. Using a wooden spoon, break up the tamarind paste and stir until the syrup is completely combined.
5. Bring the syrup to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid thickens slightly.
6. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof jar.
7. Bring to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.
8. Kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the syrup will stay fresh for two weeks.

Cocktail Friday: Lavender Honey Sidecar

I started working in restaurants when I was in college. The first was a café on campus. I made milkshakes, pizzas, burgers, and lattés for masses of sleep-deprived, starving college students. I like to think that I did my part to nurse hangovers and fuel all night study sessions. The next place of employment was at a classy restaurant off campus where they graciously trusted me to work behind the bar. I had had exactly zero experience mixing drinks, but they were very patient with me and helped me to learn the basics of cocktail mixing, stirring, shaking, and everything in between. They never said I did a bad job, which is either because they wanted to spare my young college-girl feelings, or because I wasn't terrible. After a while, I moved on to waiting tables at the same restaurant, which I much preferred. Still, I attribute much of my initial interest in cocktails to La Rana Bistro in Decorah, IA. If you ever find yourself in that area of the U.S., I highly recommend stopping in Decorah. It's a sweet little place and much more beautiful than most people expect for that part of the Midwest. 

Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup

Lavender-Honey Sidecar Cocktail

I didn't learn to make this particular cocktail while working at the bistro, but I did think about my time in Iowa the first time I made it. Something about the honey-lavender syrup made me think of, as the sign says when you enter the state of Iowa, "Fields of Opportunities". It's funny how a scent can bring you somewhere totally unexpected. As far as I know, there aren't lavender fields anywhere near Decorah, IA, but with the first whiff of the dried flower I was transported there anyway. That's the thing about food. Or drinks, in this case. Sometimes the smell or taste brings you someplace you didn't know you needed to go. I haven't physically been to Decorah in quite some time, but I welcomed the brief reminder of a place so dear to my heart.

So, a little about this Lavender-Honey Sidecar. The recipe for this lovely cocktail has been calling my name for a couple years. I only just got around to trying it out a little while ago and immediately smacked myself in the forehead for not doing it sooner. The original recipe calls for brandy, but I didn't have any on hand. Then I remembered a whiskey sidecar that I had on a visit to the Brown Palace in Denver a while back and decided it might work well here. Fortunately, I was right. I'm pretty picky about my whiskey cocktails but this one was right up my alley. Softly floral from the whiskey and the lavender, with the gentle sweetness of honey which was cut by fresh lemon juice and a splash of Cointreau. I am sometimes wary of cocktail recipes that incorporate ingredients easily mistaken for a cold remedy, but this was perfectly balanced and clean on the palate. Even my whiskey-loving husband enjoyed it!

My recommendation for this weekend? Sit back, enjoy the smells, sounds, and sights around you, and see where your mind wanders.

Lavender-Honey Sidecar

Adapted from a recipe in The Art of the Bar

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 ounces whiskey (or brandy, as called for in the original recipe)

3/4 of an ounce Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup (recipe follows)

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

A dash of orange bitters

Fine white sugar or granulated sugar for the rim of the glass.

Put your sugar in an even layer on a small plate. Use enough so that when you dip the glass in the sugar, enough will collect on the rim to be visually appealing. I usually use about 1/3 cup, even though not nearly that much ends up on the glass. Using your clean finger, put a dab of honey on the tip and trace the edge of your cocktail glass, making sure the honey is in an even, consistent layer but without clumps. Turn the glass upside down in the sugar to coat the honey and gently turn right side up. Set aside while you make the cocktail.

In a shaker, add the whiskey or brandy, simple syrup, cointreau, lemon juice and bitters. Fill the shaker to the top with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Pour through the strainer of the shaker into your cocktail glass and serve immediately.

Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup

1/3 cup Wildflower honey

1/4 cup dried lavender

1/4 cup hot water

Combine the honey, lavender, and water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let steep for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Pour through a fine mesh strainer and use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.