I’ve been enjoying St. George’s Terroir Gin for some time now. It was actually a year ago at a trade show that I first tasted it, walking away after a sip feeling like I had taken “a hike in Northern California” due to the local California botanicals used in making the gin. Just today, I was at this year’s edition of that same trade show, and came across the folks from St. George again. This time, they had some mysterious looking bottles with hangtags marked “Manhattan Project” and “Barrel Aged Martinez.” Of course, I had to try them.
The “Manhattan Project” was a nice barrel-aged cocktail in a bottle, rich and balanced, but really nothing too out of the ordinary. You dig Manhattans? You’ll dig their Manhattan. The Martinez, on the other hand, was like a hiking boot kick in the dusty pants. That Terroir Gin was put to marvelous use in this lightly aged (two weeks) cocktail, mixed with Carpano Antica plus Dolin rouge vermouth, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, and a bit of bitters. I tasted many things at the show, but this little sip of a new spin on a classic cocktail was what blew me away.
Now, I know you probably don’t have a barrel sitting around at home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tackle this Terroir Martinez cocktail. The Martinez is a classic cocktail whose typical components are Old Tom gin, Maraschino liqueur, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Of course, there are many variations on this, in the ratio of gin to vermouth, and in the types of gin or vermouth or bitters employed. The key for this iteration is the Terroir Gin, no substitutions allowed. It lends an herbal evergreen entry that segues seamlessly into the sweet dark cherry and vermouth. While St. George uses two different vermouths in their house recipe, I’ll simplify it a bit and just use one vermouth for this home version. Without the barrel aging, this is a bit sharper than the intended version, less mellowed by time, but it still packs the invigorating buzz of a good, vigorous hike.
Terroir Martinez Cocktail Recipe
2 oz St. George Terroir Gin
3/4 oz Dolin rouge vermouth (or other sweet vermouth)
1/4 oz Luxardo Marachino liqueur
Dash Angostura bitters
Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Add ingredients and stir very well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add whatever garnish floats your boat.
* Thanks to Quality Wine and Spirits for hosting another great trade show.
Over several visits, the basic menu (shown below) has remained roughly the same. The formula is aperitif (such as a barolo chinato, or Aperol, or an amaro) + fruit juice (such as lemon or lime) + soda (such as ginger ale or tonic or cola or sparkling mineral water) + bitters. Of course, there are a few twists along the way, like a touch of absinthe in the mix in the “Reviver Pop.” And the results all fall on a spectrum that starts off heavily bitter (the “Cynar Lime Soda” packs a dry vegetal bite) and moves to equal parts sweet and bitter (the “My Amaro Cola” uses Mexican Coke for a heavy dose of sugar sweetness). My favorite choice for a hot summer day is the “Aperol Orange Soda,” for its bright citrus acidity and its powerfully refreshing base bitterness. These drinks are ideal to start off a meal, cooling you down, whetting your appetite with a not-too-strong kick in the pants, putting you in the mood for something rich and indulgent to counter the bracing jolt of the drink. The price is right too – six bucks seems like a bargain drink these days, and these beauties are worth every penny.
Cocktail purists will not be thrilled that there’s not a fulltime bartender on duty – the two heavy duty cocktails on the menu are pre-batched and the sodas are (in theory) easy enough for anyone to throw together. I must say that the pre-batched cocktails work wonderfully: the Negroni being everything you want in this classic cocktail, and the Italian Manhattan offering a rich and intriguing twist on its American counterpart. But I have had some variability of quality on the aperitif sodas, suggesting it may be worth the staff’s time to have some more in-depth training on putting these sodas together properly.