The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks
Page 31
Pepper
Capsicum annuum
Easy to grow in containers, requiring only heat and light. Try sweet varieties like Cherry Pick and Pimento-L and hot varieties like Cherry Bomb and the Peguis jalapeño. Great for garnishes and infused vodkas. (See p. 352.)
Pineapple
Ananus comosus
Pineapples grow out of the center of a small, bromeliad-like plant. Best grown in a container indoors, they take two years to produce fruit. Royale is a smaller variety better suited to home gardeners.
Rhubarb
Rheum
rhabarbarum
Rhubarb simple syrup is a must-have cocktail ingredient. Give it a permanent spot with rich, loamy soil and it will produce for years. Eat the stalks only; the leaves are poisonous.
Strawberry
Fragaria ×
ananassa
Perfect container plants; strawberries thrive in hanging baskets or strawberry pots with regular water. Strawberries grown in the ground should be mulched with straw to protect the fruit from coming in contact with soil and rotting. Look for everbearing or day neutral varieties that produce over a long season. Tiny alpine strawberries (F. vesca) are small, tart varieties that make beautiful garnishes and also bear over a long season. (See p. 350.)
Tomatillo
Physalis
philadelphica
These tart green fruits are essential to salsa verde but are fantastic muddled into tequila cocktails as well. Toma Verde is a classic green variety; Pineapple is bright yellow with a tropical, pineapple flavor.
Tomato
Solanum
lycopersicum
Juicy, ripe tomatoes pair perfectly with vodka and tequila. Sungold is everyone’s favorite cherry tomato, and Yellow Pear also makes a beautiful garnish. New grafted varieties are grown on vigorous, disease-resistant rootstock; although the plants cost more, they may be tougher and offer better yields.
Watermelon
Citrullus lanatus
Watermelon is divine in rum, tequila, or vodka drinks. Faerie is a yellow-skinned, red-fleshed variety that produces small fruit and resists disease. Little Baby Flower is another disease-resistant variety that produces lots of small fruit rather than a few enormous melons.
GARDEN COCKTAILS: A TEMPLATE for EXPERIMENTATION
With a garden full of fresh produce, you hardly need a recipe to mix an amazing cocktail. Just use a few basic proportions to combine ingredients and make a balanced drink. Here are a few examples to get you started:
REFRIGERATOR PICKLES
Cucumbers, green beans, asparagus, carrots, Brussels sprouts, celery, green tomatoes, zucchini, pearl onions, yellow beets, and okra all make fine cocktail garnishes. This quick pickle recipe requires no special equipment—just remember that the pickles must be refrigerated and will only last 2 to 3 weeks.
2 cups sliced or cubed vegetables
2 teaspoons coarse, noniodized salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup cider or white vinegar
1 teaspoon each pickling spices (such as seeds of dill, celery, mustard, fennel)
Lemon rind, onion slices, garlic slices (optional)
Slice or cube the vegetables according to the kind of garnish you’d like to make. Toss with the salt and set aside for 30 to 45 minutes. Heat the sugar and vinegar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves; let cool.
Fill clean jars with the vegetables, pickling spices, and optional ingredients, if desired. Top off the jars with the vinegar mixture, seal tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
STRAWBERRY
Fragaria x ananassa
rosaceae (rose family)
Those large, juicy red strawberries in your summer cocktail owe their unlikely existence to a French spy, a global voyage, and a serious case of gender confusion.
In 1712, an engineer named Amédée François Frézier was sent to Peru and Chile to make a reliable map of the coast for the French government. The area was under Spanish control, so to get the information he needed, he posed as a traveling merchant. He made a number of useful maps, but he also did a little botanizing while he was there. Although tiny native wild strawberries (including Fragaria vesca, the alpine strawberry, and F. moschata, the highly flavorful musk strawberry) were already cultivated in Europe, no one had ever seen a strawberry as large as the Chilean species, F. chiloensis.
He collected as many plants as he could, but only five survived the voyage home. Two went to the ship’s cargo master as an expression of thanks for letting him use some of the ship’s limited supply of fresh water to care for the plants. One went to his supervisor and one to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, leaving him with a single plant.
European botanists were happy to have the Chilean strawberry, but there was one problem: it was sterile. The only way to get more plants was to divide it. What Frézier didn’t know is that Chilean strawberries can be male, female, or bisexual. He chose the plants that were bearing the largest fruit, and those happened to all be female. They needed males nearby to reproduce and create larger, more luscious fruit.
Eventually farmers realized that the males of other strawberry species could do the job. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Chilean strawberry had been crossed with a native Virginian species that has also been brought to Europe, F. virginiana, and the modern strawberry was born.
THE FRÉZIER AFFAIR
This daiquiri variation uses Chartreuse as a nod to Amédée François Frézier’s French heritage. The yellow version is sweeter, but if you only have the green version, use it along with a dash of simple syrup. St-Germain, an elderflower liqueur, is another good substitute.
3 slices ripe strawberry
1½ ounces white rum
½ ounce yellow Chartreuse
Juice of 1 fresh lemon wedge
Reserve 1 strawberry slice for garnish. In a cocktail shaker, combine the remaining ingredients and crush the strawberries with a muddler. Shake over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the reserved strawberry slice.
PEPPER
Capsicum annuum, C. frutescens
solanaceae (nightshade family)
This tropical American plant was domesticated by native people fifty-five hundred years ago. A species called the wild bird pepper (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare) still grows in South and Central America and is believed to be the most similar to the original pepper in its wild, unadulterated state. The plant produces tiny fruit, each about the size of a raisin and shockingly hot.
The Aztecs called these peppers chilli. When Columbus arrived, thinking he’d reached India, he called the dried, shriveled fruits “peppers” because they resembled black pepper from India. Once the plants reached Europe, Spaniards attempted to rename them pimento to clear up the confusion. That name was applied to a particular kind of sweet pepper still popular in Spain, but otherwise the name pepper (or chili pepper) stuck.
A pepper is a fruit filled with air instead of juicy flesh. More specifically, it’s a berry, a berry being a single ovary containing seeds, but only a botanist would ever call it that. The fruit gets its heat from capsaicin, a substance that appears in highest concentrations in the inner membrane of the fruit and in its seeds. While capsaicin doesn’t cause a physical burn, it does send a signal to the brain that something’s on fire. The brain responds by issuing pain signals in an attempt to persuade the body to get away from the fire—fast.
The brain also releases a flood of endorphins, or natural painkillers, when it believes an injury like a burn has occurred. For that reason, hot peppers can deliver a genuine sense of euphoria—even when they’re not in a cocktail.
Peppers require rich soil, warm temperatures, bright sunlight, and regular water to flourish. Gardeners should choose their cocktail varieties according to taste; there’s no reason to grow fresh jalapeños if you can’t stand the heat.
Cayenne: A hot spice made from crushed, dried cayenne peppers.
Paprika: A mild spice made from crushed, dried sweet peppers.
THE PEPPADEW MYSTERY
Peppadew is the brand name of a kind of marinated sweet pepper that its manufacturer calls a sweet piquanté pepper. According to the company, a man named Johan Steenkamp discovered the plant growing in the backyard of his summer home in Tzaneen, South Africa. The jarred peppers have become so popular in cocktails and appetizers that gardeners have gone mad trying to find the seeds, but the company keeps the variety name a secret and has claimed international breeders’ rights to control access to the pepper. Until Peppadew divulges its secrets, try growing Cherry Pick or, for a little more heat, Cherry Bomb.
BLUSHING MARY
1½ ounces vodka or tequila
4 to 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 mild or hot pepper, sliced
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 leaves of basil, parsley, cilantro, or dill
4 ounces tonic water
Celery bitters
Cracked black pepper (optional)
Slice of pepper, cherry tomato, herb leaf, celery stick, or olive for garnish
Combine the first five ingredients in a cocktail shaker; then use a muddler to crush the vegetables and herbs. Shake well over ice and strain into an Old-Fashioned glass filled with ice. Add the tonic water and stir. Finally, add a dash of celery bitters, crack a bit of black pepper on top, if desired, and add your choice of garnish. Vegetarians wishing to avoid the anchovies in regular Worcestershire can try the Annie’s Naturals brand.
DIGESTIF
Vintners, brewers, distillers, and bartenders are an endlessly inventive lot. The cocktail revival that is under way in the first part of the twenty-first century, coupled with a renewed interest in fresh, local ingredients, means that drinkers will be treated to an ever-changing menu of interesting drinks. Obscure plants will come into vogue, long-forgotten herbal ingredients will be revived, and new, improved varieties will make it easier than ever to grow a damson plum or a black currant in your own backyard.
The end of this book is only the beginning of a dialogue about botany and booze. Visit me at DrunkenBotanist.com for plant and liquor sources, bibliographies and recommended reading lists, botanical cocktail events, farm-to-distillery tours, recipes, and techniques for both gardeners and mixologists. If you’ve got a question, a quarrel, a good gin recommendation, or a new horticultural discovery of your own, drop me a note through the website. I’d love to continue the conversation over a good drink. Salud!
Recommended Reading
recipes
Beattie, Scott, and Sara Remington. Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2008.
Craddock, Harry, and Peter Dorelli. The Savoy Cocktail Book. London: Pavilion, 1999.
DeGroff, Dale, and George Erml. The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2002.
Dominé, André, Armin Faber, and Martina Schlagenhaufer. The Ultimate Guide to Spirits & Cocktails. Königswinter, Germany: H. F. Ullmann, 2008.
Farrell, John Patrick. Making Cordials and Liqueurs at Home. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
Haigh, Ted. Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie and Beyond: 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them. Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 2009.
Meehan, Jim. The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender’s Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy. New York: Sterling Epicure, 2011.
Proulx, Annie, and Lew Nichols. Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider. North Adams, MA: Storey, 2003.
Regan, Gary. The Joy of Mixology. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2003.
Thomas, Jerry. How to Mix Drinks, or, The Bon Vivant’s Companion: The Bartender’s Guide. London: Hesperus, 2009.
Vargas, Pattie, and Rich Gulling. Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More. North Adams, MA: Storey, 1999.
Wondrich, David. Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar. New York: Perigee, 2007.
gardening
Bartley, Jennifer R. The Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2010.
Bowling, Barbara L. The Berry Grower’s Companion. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2008.
Eierman, Colby, and Mike Emanuel. Fruit Trees in Small Spaces: Abundant Harvests from Your Own Backyard. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2012.
Fisher, Joe, and Dennis Fisher. The Homebrewer’s Garden: How to Easily Grow, Prepare, and Use Your Own Hops, Brewing Herbs, Malts. North Adams, MA: Storey, 1998.
Hartung, Tammi. Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More Than 100 Herbs. North Adams, MA: Storey, 2011.
Martin, Byron, and Laurelynn G. Martin. Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in Any Home, Anywhere. North Adams, MA: Storey, 2010.
Otto, Stella. The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees in the Home Garden. Maple City, MI: OttoGraphics, 1993.
Otto, Stella. The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-on Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden. Maple City, MI: OttoGraphics, 1995.
Page, Martin. Growing Citrus: The Essential Gardener’s Guide. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2008.
Reich, Lee, and Vicki Herzfeld Arlein. Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2008.
Soler, Ivette. The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2011.
Tucker, Arthur O., Thomas DeBaggio, and Francesco DeBaggio. The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2009.
Acknowledgments
I owe a round of drinks to the many distillers, bartenders, botanists, anthropologists, historians, and librarians who took the time to answer my questions, share their work, and help me chase down obscure facts. This is only a partial list, but here it goes: in the booze world, thanks to Alain Royer and his French connections, Bianca Shevlin at SABMiller, Don Poffenroth at Dry Fly Distilling, Mrs. Loes van der Woude at Curaçao, Melkon Khosrovian of Greenbar, Tyler Schramm of Pemberton Distillery, Tom Burkleaux at New Deal Distillery, Matt Mount at House Spirits, Eric Seed and Scott Krahn at Haus Alpenz, Joel Elder and Gable Erenzo at Tuthilltown, Isabella D’Anna at Verviene du Velay and the Cassissium, the legendary Stephen McCarthy of Clear Creek Distillery, the incomparable Jacqueline Patterson at Lillet, Allison Evanow at Square One, everyone at St. George Spirits, Jose Hermoso at International Wine & Spirit Research, David Williamson of the Scotch Whisky Association, Matt Colglazier of Sorgrhum fame, Woodford Reserve master distiller Chris Morris, Scott Goldman at Cadre Noir Imports, David Suro-Piñera at Sierra Azul, Greg Lorenz at SakeOne, Debbie Rizzo of DrinkPR, Nathan Greenawalt of Old Sugar Distillery, and Avery Glasser of Bittermens.
On the academic and botanical side, thanks go to: SUNY Buffalo law professor Mark Bartholomew for a fascinating discussion of trademarks; the USDA’s David H. Gent for help on hops; Amy Iezzoni at Michigan State University for insight into cherries; Scott Calhoun, Greg Starr, and Randy Baldwin for cactus and agave expertise; Stark Bros. Nursery for damson plums; University of British Columbia’s Michael Blake for his sugarcane research; Alan Fryar of University of Kentucky for his expertise in limestone; Stuart Swanson of the Scottish Crop Research Institute; hop farmers Darren Gamache and Gayle Goschie; archeologist Patrick McGovern; James Luby at University of Minnesota on grapes; Lena Struwe and Rocky Graziose at Rutgers on gentian; Jeff Gillman at University of Minnesota for botanical inquiries of all sorts; Cornell pomologists Ian Merwin and Susan Brown; Cornell’s champion of the black currant Steven McKay; Véronique Van de Ponseele at France’s Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; Humboldt State chemistry professor Kjirsten Wayman; Tom Elias and Jacquelyn Kallunki at New York Botanical Garden on angostura; Laura Ackley for her Panama Exposition expertise; the German translation
team at Filomel and the French translation team of Vic Stewart and Guy Vicente; Kandie Adkinson at Kentucky’s Office of the Secretary of State; superstar librarians Axel Borg at UC Davis; Linda L. Oestry at Missouri Botanical Garden; the Bancroft Library staff; and Matthew Miles and everyone else at the Humboldt County Library and Humboldt State University library.
Index
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
A
α-crocin, 224
α-pinene, 171
α-terpineol, 298
Abbott’s Bitters, 197
Abipón tribe, 117
Abrialii lavender, 330
absinthe, 40, 66, 106, 178, 200–3
Absolut vodka, 109
acacias, 252
Acer saccharum, 257–58
palmatum, 258
achiote tree, 269
acholado, 69
Acmella oleracea, 329
acocote, 3
Acorus calamus (A. americanus), 148
Acremonium, 84
Adams, John, 101
Adiantum capillus-veneris, 185–87
Aframomum melegueta, 168
agaric, 233
Agastache foeniculum, 180, 322
agava, 15
agave, 2–16
bugs in booze, 16
field guide to, 11
French intervention, 13
list of spirits, 15
mezcal, 4–10
100%, 11
protecting the plants, 10, 13–14