Food network’s Chris Constantino is known for his use of unusual ingredients and bold flavors. His orange currant polenta cookies inspired me to come up with a cocktail that I call the orange currant pick me up.
I start with a shaker full of ice. Then I'm going to add half an ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Every half of lemon yields about half an ounce. Right, so I'm going to squeeze that into my shaker. Then, I'm going to add ½ ounce of orange liquor and that’s going to represent the flavors that you find in Chris’ cookies.
All right, in we go. And then for my bold and unusual flavors, I've decided to use grappa. Now grappa is made from the stems, the seeds and the skins that are leftover from making wine. This is 1 ½ ounces. I'm going to throw it into my shaker. And then I'm going to add cr?me de cassis Now grappa is a really strong flavor. So, the cassis is really going to help mellow it out. Now this is ¼ of an ounce. This is a black currant flavor. It's just going to represent the currant that you find in Chris’ cookies.
Then I'm going to put in a splash of simple syrup. Simple syrup is just one part sugar, one part water. Put it in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil. Let it cool, it's that simple. It's a staple for any bar tender because it helps sweeten cocktails. I'm going to put the lid on and give it a good shake.
All right now, I've got this tumbler full of ice and I'm simply going to pour it over these ice cubes. Look at the beautiful color of this. Now I'm going to garnish it with an orange twist. I'm just going to rub it on the outside of the glass so every sip has a strong orange flavor. Let’s give it a try.
This is delicious. I can taste the black currant, the orange. It has that really nice Italian twist. Chris, I think you’d be proud.