Herbs & Spices

Ginger beer is often made as a live fermented brew, a time-consuming and messy process—our method shortcuts time, but not flavor. For a controlled version of premade ginger beer, use a soda siphon to provide carbonation.

This is a party version of the Pimm’s Cup (pages 110 to 112), for when you want to give your guests a break during a three-day cricket match marathon. The difference is you have a few more fresh fruits at your disposal. We find it tastes best if in addition to the cucumber and mint you add strawberries, diced apples, and orange half-wheels. Then again, you can experiment for yourself and play with some seasonal fruits. Maybe some pears will give it your special touch; gin and pears mix really well. When preparing the large-batch cocktail, try to press the fruits and herbs very gently. It’s essential that you mix the large batch several hours ahead—ideally, the night before your guests arrive. Refrigerate it to let the fruits steep and release their essence into the blend.

This punch is simple, easy, and highly refreshing. It was born out of necessity when we opened for brunch and had to serve tons of our West Side cocktails to the girls brunching in our garden. The solution was simple and a win-win for us and the guests. We love to recommend this punch in the summertime; its flavors and crispness will freshen up the nastiest hangover. Perfect for weddings, bar mitzvahs, bridal and baby showers, and all those cute get-togethers people have.

This cocktail is an Employees Only variation of the famous South Side cocktail (page 130), first served in the 1920s at the New York speakeasy Jack & Charlie’s—now known as the 21 Club. We replaced the gin with Meyer lemon–infused vodka to achieve a more balanced, subtler concoction. God only knows how many West Sides we have pushed over the bar in the last five years. It is by far the most popular cocktail served at Employees Only and lends itself naturally to being enjoyed in the sun. Why is this cocktail so popular? Even if we ignore the fact that it is a vodka cocktail and the fact that we are witnessing the end of the reign of vodka, the simplicity of a cocktail with just lemon and mint flavors makes it addictive and refreshing. It will definitely be a favorite at any cocktail party, served over ice or in pitchers.

Pimm’s is a proprietary cocktail in a bottle created by James Pimm in 1820 for his London oyster bar. His first blend, Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, was a gin-based liqueur infused with quinine, fruit extracts, and a secret blend of herbs. The word “cup” in this case refers to a punch made with spirits, wine, and soda or sparkling wine. Pimm started commercially offering Pimm’s No. 1 Cup around 1859, and by the end of World War II five more bottled blends had been developed: Pimm’s No. 2 Cup, based on Scotch whisky; No. 3, on brandy; No. 4, on rum; No. 5, on rye whiskey; and finally, No. 6, on vodka. Originally, most cups were garnished with cucumber or cucumber peel. Employees Only pays tribute to this forgotten trend in our Pimm’s Cup cocktail, which can be made as a long drink or in large batches or pitchers for parties. We build the base of the cocktail with Cointreau and fresh lime juice to add more alcohol and firm up the body. Fresh mint and delicious thinly sliced cucumbers are lightly bruised in the shake to release aroma, and we top it off with ginger ale, which adds to and opens up the bright flavors of the cocktail.

According to David Wondrich, the Whiskey Smash comes from the Baroque Age (see opposite page) of the cocktail. Obviously, it served as inspiration for our seasonal Ginger Smash cocktails, but it is in all its features a julep—the only difference being that the Smash has some ornamental fruits for garnish and is always shaken so that the mint is “smashed”—hence the name. From all the smashes in the Baroque Age, it appears that the Brandy Smash was the most popular (same drink, different base spirit—try it out for yourself), but somehow the whiskey version stuck with us. Maybe sampling Dale DeGroff’s rocking peach whiskey smash sealed the deal for us, or maybe it was just that we loved the term “smashed.” In any case, this is a very simple drink to make, and we suggest that you use our homemade Mint Syrup in place of simple syrup for a far more dimensional cocktail experience. This cocktail is one of the very few that contains no juice but nevertheless should be shaken and smashed.

This fall version of the Ginger Smash has been with us for years, but it truly came together with the addition of allspice dram, a highly bitter and aromatized liqueur. It contrasts two of our favorite ingredients—pears and ginger. Gin mixes very well with pears because it helps open up the subtle aromas that these pome fruits are prized for. Green Bartlett pears are our choice in this cocktail because of their tartness and solid nature. Feel free to try whatever pear you can find in its peak of season.

We had just finished working with the team that developed 10 Cane rum and wanted to use this excellent grassy pot-stilled spirit in a cocktail. Naturally, we gravitated toward fresh, sweet, and tangy pineapples, which are so common in the Caribbean. We added maraschino to the mix to help give a fruit punch to the more vegetal ingredients. The result is a cocktail so tropical and multidimensional that it will make your head spin, so tasty and good looking that you will fall in love with it instantly.

This version of the Ginger Smash was the last seasonal version added to our menu. When it was being created, we had become enamored with tequila and wanted to showcase it in the springtime. Pairing ginger with kumquats—small citrus fruits that come to market at the end of winter—we found the perfect canvas for 100-percent blue agave tequila. Its texture, slight velvety sweetness, and spiciness from fresh gingerroot make this drink one of our new favorites.

This version of the Ginger Smash is the original Employees Only seasonal cocktail. We set out to create a cocktail composed of ingredients that warm you up on a winter day. The result was so tasty and fresh in aroma that it was a “smash” from the start. It remains, to this day, one of our best sellers.

The Mojito was born at the La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba, in the 1940s. Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway wrote “My Mojito in La Bodeguita,” which still can be read today, hanging on the wall. Others claim that this was a forgery, a marketing ploy of the restaurant owners to promote their mojito cocktail and bring in tourists after communism took over. Over the last decade, the Mojito has quietly become one of the most recognized drinks in the world. Today, people carelessly consume it regardless of the season or weather. But somewhere along the way, the mojito has been reconfigured as a short, stout, bittersweet rum hybrid of muddled lime wedges and pulverized mint. Then a friend of ours who went to film school in Cuba came back and pointed out that mojitos were supposed to be tall, light, and fizzy, clean and effervescent. We brought it back to its true form and labeled it the Havana-Style Mojito. Although it never made it onto our menu, it is the closest you can get to a true mojito without the luxury of Havana Club Cuban rum. It is a fantastic cocktail—but please don’t order it while there is snow on the ground.

This Mint Julep is the quintessential American cocktail, so regal that it sits at the summit of cocktail Olympus next to classics like the Martini, the Manhattan, and the Sazerac. It hails from Kentucky and Virginia and is enjoyed throughout the South. We know for sure it was consumed as early as 1790, particularly in the summertime. A particular type of spearmint, Kentucky Colonel, is best suited for the preparation of this cocktail, commonly served in a silver or pewter cup to keep it chilled longer. Since 1938, it has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, where up to 120,000 mint juleps are served over the period of two days. There are many historical and regional versions: some use bourbon, others brandy; some only tap the mint, others pulverize it into a paste. We favor a bourbon recipe in which fresh spearmint is bruised with a ladle, then sugar, bitters, and bourbon are added; the mixture is chilled overnight so the mint releases all the flavors and essential oils into the whiskey, then strained the following day for final julep preparation. To simplify this process so the julep can be made to order, we use our own homemade Mint Syrup.

The original Gin Julep published in Harry Johnson’s 1882 Bartenders’ Manual was the only other julep that people generally ordered besides the whiskey and brandy versions. It’s likely that the prominent malt flavor of Holland gin, a product we know today as genever, appealed to the whiskey lover. With the rerelease of Bols Genever gin to the U.S. marketplace, we tested this cocktail but were not at first happy with the results. So we cut the amount of genever in half and substituted Plymouth gin for the other half—and then we had one of those great drinks that will stand the test of time. It is unlike most cocktails because it has two base spirits. It is delicate, light yet full-flavored, and very refreshing. It is a cocktail to fall in love with.

The Provençal is Employees Only’s most romantic original aperitif and a seductive start to an intimate dinner. Mouthwatering, sexy, and savory, it was created as a pairing for raw oysters to heighten the sensual experience. After years of watching certain cocktails being erroneously labeled “Martinis,” we felt the need to get back to the roots of the Martini and create a gin and vermouth concoction. We use lavender-infused Plymouth gin and French dry vermouth scented with herbes de Provence and blend them with Cointreau to give the Provençal its unique appearance and flavor. We hoped it would rival the standard dry Martini as the predinner cocktail, and it exceeded all expectations. The Provençal is a tribute to the golden age of cocktails when bartenders made many of their own ingredients in-house—it is the archetypical EO aperitif. Both the gin and vermouth infusions are easy to make, and the results are truly extraordinary.

This is possibly one of the most versatile building blocks I’ve ever made. This syrup has found itself into hundreds of my recipes because of its balance of sweetness, heat, and acid. Over the years, I’ve tweaked the mix, changing the acid, adding aromatics. For now, the formula below is what I’m sticking with. Originally conceived as the base for homemade Ginger Lemon Soda (page 25), it quickly became my go-to syrup for spritzers.

I consider myself a pretty high-energy guy, but some mornings, even I need something that will really wake me up. The fresh ginger and pinch of salt brighten the fresh fruit and vegetable juices here, making this an ideal breakfast drink. It also cures a hangover like nothing else. Or so I’m told . . .

When we have a lot of people over for brunch, I love serving my version of a New York classic. Each person can easily pick up a stack—only half a bagel—from a tower and not get full on too much bread. You can even cut each tower into quarters so your guests can pick up a bite. I like using H&H poppy seed bagels, but feel free to substitute your favorite bagel.

One summer morning, I decided to make good use of the ripe stone fruit I had picked up at the farmer’s market. I didn’t have any brioche at home, but I did have a loaf of sourdough. It turned out that the tanginess of the bread was delicious with the sweet fruit. And amaretto adds just the right hint of almond.

In spring, garden peas and young carrots need little embellishment to taste amazing. It’s all about the execution. You want them just tender, but not crunchy. And you use only a little butter here—just enough to make the vegetables glisten.