Yesterday we met Jon Doholis, bar manager at swanky neighborhood restaurant and wine bar Cork. Today he shares with us the recipes for not one but two vegetarian cocktails, the Carrot Cosmopolitan and the Celeri-addict, added to the restaurant's menu for August to celebrate Vegetarian Month.
The vegetarian cocktails make use of ingredients Cork has in abundance, and the restaurant tries to utilize all parts of the ingredients, from the bar to the kitchen.
"Why try to reinvent the wheel?" Doholis says. "Let's use what we have and utilize them fully, in different ways. The only problem is we've been juicing all these carrots for these cocktails, and now we've got almost too much pulp for the carrot cake."
Though the Carrot Cosmopolitan may scare away pickier drinkers, it shouldn't -- Doholis adds just a bit of the pungent and colorful juice to put a subtle twist on a classic.
"With the carrot cosmo, I wanted to give it just a light touch of the carrot juice," he says. "Carrots have a flavor profile a lot of people aren't used to. I mean, I love it; I used to drink carrot juice every day. It's healthy, but carrot juice imparts a pretty strong flavor. You don't need too much. Here, it's mild. It's still a cosmo; it's still got the sweetness. I wanted it to be subtle.
The Celeri-addict, however, screams celery.
"When I was making it with Danielle [Morris, Cork's part owner and executive pastry chef], I gave it to one of the servers to try," Doholis says. "He said it was horrible, so I made it sweeter, and he liked it. Then I gave it to Danielle, and she said, 'I don't want it to be sweeter. The celery is the whole point.' If I wanted something sweet, I'd just make any other drink."
Carrot Cosmo
The ingredients:
One part Fresh carrot juice
2 parts Vodka
One part Cointreau
One part lime
Half part lemon
Garnished with a carrot curl
How to make it:
Add all liquid ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a curl of carrot peel.
Celeri-Addict
The ingredients:
One part Fresh celery juice
2 parts Hendricks Gin
Mint
½ part fresh lemon juice
½ part simple syrup
Garnished with mint
How to make it:
Add the liquid ingredients into an ice-filled shaker along with some mint sprigs, but don't muddle the mint -- the herb should be subtle, and the ice will do enough to release its flavor. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. If you want less celery flavor, add some simple syrup to boost the sweetness. Garnish with some mint sprigs.
