PJ Ford, cocktail director at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music, uses the fat from gumbo to wash this traditional New Orleans cocktail.
“You aren’t necessarily drinking gumbo, but you are getting the essence of it,” Ford says. “There’s the savory and little bit of a spice flavor with it.”
Ingredients
- 2 oz. of our gumbo washed cognac/rye blend
- ½ oz. Turbinado syrup
- 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
- 3 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
Step 1: Cognac/rye bread
- Add 12 oz. of Cognac and 12 oz of rye (Old Overholt Bonded) together into a mason jar.
- Add 1/2 Tsp. of gumbo fat and let sit overnight, shaking every so often. (Or set the mason jar in a sous-vide for 1 hour at 135 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Set the mason jar in the freezer and let sit overnight to freeze the fat. Remove from the freezer and strain through a coffee filter. Bottle.
Step 2: Turbinado Syrup
- Add 1 cup of turbinado sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan.
- Turn on medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in a mason jar or clean bottle and refrigerate.
Step 3: Assembling your cocktail
- Add ice to ingredients and stir for approximately 30 seconds.
- Rinse glass with absinthe and strain the cocktail into the glass without ice.
- Squeeze oil of lemon peel over top.
Rocco Falleti is an editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com
