Spring Aperitifs

Many of us travelers are still lamenting last year’s canceled European trips.  I may have a solution to soothe our house-bound woes.  Since we missed Europe in 2020, why not bring Europe to us in 2021?   In fact, let’s celebrate Spring’s arrival with a toast to our beloved France, Italy and  Spain.  Here are some aperitifs that you may not know, but let’s be adventurous in this doggone pandemic!

               Pastis colored with a little grenadine & diluted with water is a Provencal delight

We’ll start with France.   There’s no more beautiful area of the country to welcome Spring than Provence.   Located in the south of the country, Provence is an idyllic landscape of rolling hills, olive trees, budding grapevines, and blossoming fruit orchards at this time of year.  Pastis is synonymous with Provence.   A licorice flavored spirit, Pastis is often seen on most tables at Provencal sidewalk cafes occupied by locals.

 

The most common Pastis aperitif is simply diluting it with water (a kind of 50/50 ratio).   But, I’m ratcheting my cocktail up a notch to pay homage to Provence’s other famous drink, rosé wine.   Like rosé, my Provence aperitif is pink.  This is as easy as 1-2-3 by adding the following simple ingredients:

1.   1 ounce of Pastis
2.   1 dash of grenadine
3.   5 ounces of cold water     

Add all of the above ingredients to a glass filled with ice.   Voila!  Viva La France!

 

                             A taste of the Amalfi Coast can be yours without leaving home

              

Next, we’ll cross the border into Italy for an aperitivo.   Most everyone knows Italia’s Limoncello, the most famous of which comes from the jaw-dropping Amalfi coastline.   This lemon-based liquor is usually consumed after dinner, but we’re switching it up in the pandemic.  Our Limoncello drink is easy-peasy:  1/3 Limoncello, 1/3 tonic water, 1/3 sparkling water.   Serve it over ice or shake, strain & serve in a martini glass.  Top both with thin slice of lemon.     Cin Cin!

       

         Wine-Knows will be visiting Gonzalez Byass on their October trip to Granada & Seville

Let's now travel to Spain’s southernmost wine region, Jerez de la Frontera.  Our apertivo here will be a dry Sherry.   If you’ve never had a dry sherry, you must as it’s nothing like the sweet or “cream” sherries you may have had.  It’s also nothing like the insipid “cooking sherry” you have in your kitchen.   This dry sherry is on an entirely different planet.

One of my favorite Spanish aperitivos from Jerez is Una Palma, made by Gonzales Byass.  This dry sherry is aged from three to five years.  It’s delicate but yet offers layers of complexity.  I would serve it well-chilled and pair it simply with Spain's yummy Marcona almonds or black olives.  This wine is a knockout and deserves to be the star of the pre-dinner show.    Viva Espana!

For more info on our 2 last seats to Granada & Seville:

http://www.wineknowstravel.com/granada-and-seville-itinerary/

St Germain---the Mixologist’s New Best Friend

Southern California is ripe with strawberries at the moment and I can’t think of a better early spring aperitif than berries with Prosecco and a splash of St Germain (or replace the sparkling wine for bubbly water to make a nearly non-alcoholic version).   While created only ten years ago, St Germain feels like it’s been around for a century with its classic art-deco inspired bottle---the bottle alone is worth the price of admission at about 30 bucks.

St Germain is an artisanal French liqueur made from hand-picked flowers of the elderberry shrub, a member of the honeysuckle species of plants.   Like the family to which it belongs, the elderberry’s tiny white flowers are especially fragrant.   Grown in France’s Alps, the star-shaped flowers are harvested from the hillsides during a short four to six week period in spring.  Immediately after picking the flowers are macerated to preserve their bloom’s delicate flavors.  The method used in extraction of the flavors is a secret process which the company keeps a closely guarded secret.

                                         Delicate elderflowers require painstaking plucking

After maceration and extraction a type of un-aged brandy is added to the elderflowers to create an alcoholic liquid.  There are also additions of other ingredients such as citrus.  Last, a small amount of sugar is added to remove some of the bitterness and accentuate the subtle flavor of the elderflowers.                                    

Elderflowers have recently been in the press as the upcoming Royal wedding's cake will be flavored with St Germain.   This is no surprise as Europeans have long used elderflowers to flavor foods and drinks (e.g. jams and jellies, cakes and puddings, teas and lemonades).   In the last several years in the US, however, St Germain has been rapidly gaining in popularity in the cocktail arena.  One of the most unusual aperitifs I’ve had on American soil in the last five years was a concoction made with St Germain, pear vodka and Champagne.  Sublime.

Not only does St Germain offer a unique flavor profile (think lychee, pear, peach with a hint of lemon), but its aromas are an intoxicating nectar reflecting a palette of floral and ripe fruit notes.   Moreover, each one of its gorgeous French-inspired bottles are individually numbered, reflecting the year in which the flowers were picked.  (I save mine and use them in a collection of candlestick holders on my dining table).  While several guests usually inquire about this “candlestick,” all ask about the St Germain aperitif I serve to kick off the event.