Thursday, August 23, 2012

avalon

1/2 oz Old Port Rum
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass. Top with 2-3 oz of dry sparkling wine.

Two Sundays ago, I ventured down to Eastern Standard for dinner. For a first drink, I asked bartender John Drew for the Avalon which was a sparkler subtitled, "Arthurian Legend, Ferry Classic." I later spoke to bartender Naomi Levi and asked her about the drink. I inquired if it were a Carrie Cole recipe for the style mimicked a few of her other drinks including the Nouvelle Fleur except that it was lacking the requisite pinch of salt. Naomi nodded that it was indeed Carrie's, but the give away for her was the lime and grapefruit which is one of Carrie's signature pairings.
The Avalon began with a grapefruit and cinnamon aroma that led into a sparkling wine sip that presented the crisp grapefruit and lime notes. The swallow then showcased the dark rum and savory Yellow Chartreuse flavors with a growing cinnamon note on the finish.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

My lady tried this at Eastern Standard and absolutely loved it. I would like to make it for her, but am having difficulty locating a bottle of Old Port. Any suggestions for a liquor store in the Boston area that carries this? Conversely, is there an effective substitute?

frederic said...

I know I have seen it around plenty but I cannot say with 100% certainty where. The liquor store at Fresh Pond, Liquorworld (?) down Mass Ave past the medical center), and Marty's of Newtonville are possibilities.

A good substitute is any dark rum. Old Monk (I know it is at Ball Square Liquor) is another dark rum from India (like Old Port). Given that there is only 1/2 oz in there, it shouldn't matter too much.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the prompt response. I had contacted Liquor World earlier, and they did not have it in stock. I will try some of your other suggested locations.

I enjoy your postings very much, by the way. You do a good job of straddling the fine line between necessary information and superfluous detail.