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.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 drink
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Muddle the ginger, kumquats, and sugar in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add the tequila, Shrubb, and juice and enough large cold ice cubes to fill a rocks glass. Cover and shake hard but briefly. Pour unstrained into a rocks glass and serve.
ginger smash
Step 2
When we were composing the menu for employees Only back in fall of 2004, we were building the restaurant mostly by ourselves and couldn’t really afford any time away from the construction site. So we had just one afternoon to test our recipes before opening. although we had discussed ideas beforehand and were clear on the direction of the opening menu, and had even created infusions and ingredients on our own time, we’d not had the chance to create the cocktails we had envisioned. But it all worked seamlessly in one afternoon in our “laboratory” in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Step 3
The one cocktail that came out unexpectedly was the Ginger Smash. The term “smash” refers to an old family of drinks, similar to juleps, in which mint would be muddled into spirits of any kind. Ginger has always been a favorite “hot” ingredient of ours, but when we combined fresh cranberries and gingerroot, muddled with sugar, the result was unlike anything we had tasted or made before. Short, snappy, tart, fresh cranberries; the heat from the ginger and gin; sweet apple cordial from Germany; and a little lemon juice produced the most complex ginger cocktail we had ever witnessed. After our December opening, it ranked as our number two selling cocktail. In February, with fresh cranberries out of season, we tried frozen, but they had no snap. This forced us to create a Ginger Smash for each season, using the spirit and fruit accompaniment dictated by the current harvest. all showcase ginger and are smashed or muddled.
tasting notes
Step 4
Dominant Flavors: ginger and bitter oranges
Step 5
Body: full, velvety
Step 6
Dryness: medium
Step 7
Complexity: high, due to bitters
Step 8
Accentuating or Contrasting Flavors: floral overtones of agave and tartness of kumquat oils
Step 9
Finish: long, spicy with citrus overtones
Step 10
Glass: rocks
