Make the Mōst of Your Aperitif Hour with atōst

 

The weather is warming up, it's the first day of spring, and it's time to start having drinks outside (get that fire pit going if you're still chilly). It can be particularly pleasing to enjoy an aperitif pre-dinner, especially with dusk holding off ever longer. What a perfect way to ease into a night, to release the tensions of a day.

Even better, we have a fine new local product to enjoy. Created in Ventura, atōst is a tribute to California agriculture--co-founder Cindy Pressman's grandparents migrated from Mexico to work in CA's citrus fields, and that's where the liquor's flavoring begins, with oranges. (Its alcohol base, and that's not a crazy strong base at 18% ABV--it's built to savor and not slump over--starts from grapes, which is even more Californian.) Then there are strawberries, and other local botanicals they keep a secret, as most such products do. They hand zest, chop, and blend. It's artisanal, y'all. The ultimate result to my palate is a West Coast Aperol, a bit of bitter, but then plenty of unctuous fruit and that good syrupy quality such products can have.

Not surprisingly, they first suggest we enjoy it as a spritz, as one might imagine with an Aperol-ish liquor. Two ounces atōst, 4 ounces sparkling rosé, garnish with orange. Hard to go wrong there, and the bubbles bring the jollity to the party. 

But you know me, I had to make my own cocktail with it. Leaning in to the Alta California feel, I opted for a margarita variation, only to see they offer one to on their recipe page, a Sunset Margarita. Mine's a bit different, though, leaning into my love of smoke, so mezcal, and my good fortune to be able to pick delicious Meyer lemons in my own yard. Plus I thought getting another local-ish product--Camarillo, but coming to Santa Barbara, at least that's the rumor?--Chareau in couldn't hurt. I mean, something that ups the aloe, but also gets in cucumber, lemon peel, a bit of mint, etc.? Sounds good to me (tastes good too, as I'm my own test kitchen). 

Smoke at Sunset (makes one drink)

1 oz. atōst

2 oz. mezcal

1 oz. fresh squeezed Meyer lemon

.25 oz Chareau

lemon peel

Add everything but the peel into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel. Let the world feel better.

I Left My Heart in Fizzy Pisco

 

It’s easy to go a bit mad considering mandarins. Clearly pulling apart tangerines from clementines from trademarked brands like Ojai Pixies and Cuties… well, it’s certainly not as easy as pulling apart the luscious segments from these oblate wonders of the citrus world. Actually, telling them apart has something to do with the roughness of the skin, and, of course, genetic crosses you’d have to be a botanist to bother about. But the best thing is many of us locally have a tangerine tree of some sort or know someone who does who is probably offering you fruit. Say thanks, and get cracking on this cocktail.

Care to read the rest then do at Edible Santa Barbara & Wine Country (they've even got a fancy new site for you).

Basil So Nasal (Yes, This Is a Cocktail)

There's always that temptation to save dinner's leftovers for tomorrow's breakfast scramble, or if there's enough remaining, the next supper. My suggestion is this--throw those leftovers into a cocktail. Tonight our daughter and daughter-in-law kindly made us a scrumptious vegetable red curry dinner that got some Thai basil as garnish. So while we devoured every last curry drop, we still had a bit of the basil left.

I'm drinking it right now. I had a bag of limes that desperately asked to be juiced, and I had that lovely curry still warming my palate. You can guess where the flavor profile will go from there for The Curiouser Cocktail. And yes, buy some Aperol. Think of it as Campari light (not lite)--less alcohol, less bitters, less color. But lots of exotic citrus and spice. It gives the ginger, lime, and basil mid-range they'd never have on their own. As for that shrub, you can buy it in Santa Barbara at Still, where all you discerning drinkers should be shopping.

The Curiouser Cocktail

(makes two drinks)

2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 TBS. or so of torn Thai basil leaves
4 oz vodka (I used Snow Leopard)
1 oz. ginger shrub (I used the one by Shrub & Co.)
1 oz. Aperol

Muddle the basil in the lime juice. Add the vodka, ginger shrub, and Aperol, ice, and shake well. Strain with a mesh (to keep out all the torn basil) into two old-fashioned glasses that each have one large ice cube. Garnish with a star anise per drink, if you got them, but that's all for added aromatics, a nice plus but not crucial.