Elegant pear adds a velvety texture to this crimson cocktail, created by Summer-Jane Bell, partner at Hello Stranger Bar in Oakland, California. “The aromatic spices and tannin from the wine play well with the cask notes in the whisky,” Bell adds.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz. 10th Street Distillery California Coast Blend (or a peated blended scotch)
- 1 poached pear, quartered (recipe below)
- ¾ oz. pear poaching liquid (from recipe below)
- ¾ oz. lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Chill a stemmed cocktail glass with ice and water. Place one quarter of a poached pear in a shaker and muddle. Add remaining ingredients. Shake vigorously. Double strain into emptied cocktail glass. Make a slit in a poached pear slice and slide it onto the rim of the glass vertically for garnish.
Poached Pear
- 1 cup red wine (such as a blend, syrah, merlot, or zinfandel)
- ½ cup white sugar
- Peel of 1 orange
- 8 star anise
- 10 juniper berries
- 1-3 Bosc pears
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a loaf pan or other small, high-walled baking pan, add wine, sugar, orange peel, and spices. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove when hot and whisk until sugar dissolves. Peel the pear and cut off the bottom so it stands upright. Place the pear in the liquid in the pan and bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn it on its side, and bake for another 10 minutes. Turn the pear to its other side and bake 10 minutes or until soft. Keep remaining poached pears and poaching liquid refrigerated for up to three days.
