The past several days have been full of gem-like blue skies and ideal temperatures for sitting outside with a book and some alcohol. If the world weren’t ending, it would be perfect. But we make do with what we can.
The clarity of the weather made me crave a bright, slightly sweet drink, but rather than breaking out the shaker and the citrus reamer, I cracked open a bottle of white verjus. This highly acidic juice pressed from the unripe grapes culled before the wine harvest is an excellent substitute for almost any kind of citrus (although subbing for lemon juice will result in a drink that bears the greatest resemblance to the original recipe). For this cocktail, I used the Cocktail Codex Aviation recipe as my starting point. Because verjus is not quite as sour and assertive as fresh lemon juice, I find that I usually have to “round up” (in this case, from 3/4 oz. of lemon juice to a full ounce of verjus). The resulting drink is silkier, subtler, and, of course, mostly clear, delivering all the bright, refreshing qualities of a shaken cocktail with the rich mouthfeel of a stirred drink.
Wild Purple Yonder
2 oz. London dry gin
1 oz. white verjus
0.5 oz. simple syrup (1:1)
0.25 oz. creme de violette
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
1 dash Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s Teapot Bitters
Stir all ingredients well over ice and strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Express a lemon peel over the top and discard.