When your bartender goes on vacation, she looks forward to having the drinks made BY SOMEONE ELSE… taking a welcome break from the order-mix-serve of the everyday! If you see her, raise a glass and know that you are in great company!
When a mixologist goes on vacation, she’s out surveying the land, looking for new and exciting tastes and smells! Foraging or market searching for ‘local flavor’ and searching for ever new ways to tickle your fancy!
Far flung locations are great for this and are an endless source of culture and inspiration that can hopefully be harnessed on your return home… the saketinis and sumac-sours of the cocktail world are great evidence of this.
This year, I ventured out to the northern reaches of …. Arkansas! Dipped my toes in the man-made reservoir Beaver Lake and swam with… bass! Not so exotic you may say, however, not to be scoffed at! Arkansas has a rich history of bootlegger liquor. The Ozark hills have been making still whisky and moonshine for as long as anyone can remember!
So with the hills around me and some Arkansas gin in my shaker, I had a lot of fun with some local produce this summer. It turns out July 4th is the perfect holiday for wild Black Raspberries in Northern Arkansas. So I present, an Ozark Clover Club – with Artanical Gin (by Foxtail Dist), a forest blend with local botanicals, Elderflower syrup, foraged raspberries, lemon juice and egg white from local hens!
Thoroughly enjoyed in my treetop paradise in the green hills of Northern Arkansas!
Cheers!