< Newer | Older >

This week marks World Cocktail Week, a celebration of the American culinary art of mixing spirits, sugar, water, juices and tinctures in to all manner of potations from the elegant to the absurd—Gin Martinis to Red Headed Sluts. Commonly wine gets the nod for “most pairable beverage” but a new emerging philosophy of pairing has the cocktail at the forefront of pairings. In some cases, cocktails may even work better than wine.

I’ll give you an example. Some time ago I was presented with a dish and asked for a pairing—a plate of pickled rhubarb, fennel and cucumbers. Wine just wouldn’t work, no matter what I tried. Champagne, maybe, but it still lacked a certain charm. So I grabbed my shaker and opened a few bar books. 

Finally, I settled on the Martinez—a pre-Martini cocktail from the 1880s that uses sweet vermouth and gin. With a couple of modifications it was perfect and the spice from the gin and vermouth melded beautifully with the pickling spices while the sweetness of the vermouth softened the acetic acid from the vinegar. It remains one of my favorite pairings to date.

 

You see cocktails main advantage over wines is that cocktail recipes are malleable. Cocktail writer Robert Hess, quoted in What to Drink with What You Eat, argues, “…with a cocktail, if a pairing doesn’t quite work, you can identify what the issues are and actually change the cocktail to make the pairing work better.” If a wine doesn’t work with a dish, you dump it out and try again.

 

Higher alcohol does, however, sometimes hinder otherwise perfect pairings. When making cocktails for food pairings I’ve found that going light on the booze can be advantageous and being creative with wine- and beer-based cocktails that start at a lower proof. Otherwise many similar rules apply to both wine and cocktail pairings.

 

One common trap to be avoided in pairing cocktails is making the same thing in a glass that you are making on the plate. While repetition of certain ingredients such as herbs and spices can make a great connection, liquor does not always carry flavors the way proteins do and the resultant pairing can be disastrous. Seafood Gumbo and Bloody Maries may seem to have certain affinities but the pairing is flat, whereas something with citrus and sugar such as a classic Daiquiri is on point contrasting the spices of the Gumbo and adding acidity.

 

There are plenty of other pairings yet to be explored. In honor of the cocktail, give it a try and post some of your favorites.