Drink of the Week - 34 Degrees
This week’s cocktail is based upon a very intriguing vodka and a fun cooking experiment I tried. 34 Degrees combines Purity Vodka and homemade blueberry syrup in a fun, vibrant early spring cocktail.
Purity vodka is a small batch spirit produced in the south of Sweden by master blender Thomas Kuuttanen. Using a proprietary copper and gold pot still specifically designed for the production of vodka, they distill the winter wheat and barley mash 34(!) times, losing 90% of the liquid in the process. The resultant 96%/vol spirit, the true heart of the distillation, is then mixed with deionized water and natural mineral water and finally blended with organic custom crafted column still wheat spirits. Purity vodka has a rich, almost oily texture with hints of minerality, vanilla and licorice. A very intriguing vodka with far more body and character than one would normally expect.
I love the amazing brightness of blueberries but have always found them unwilling to fully express their character in cocktails. Infusions don’t impart enough flavor and muddling fresh berries into a drink provides only the slightest hint. I did a little research and found a recipe for a blueberry syrup using only water, sugar, and blueberries. Its a very small amount of sugar by volume and the resultant syrup is a richly textured yet bright and clean expression of blueberries (yes, we did put it on pancakes). It was a bit of a labor intensive process, but well worth the time. If you want to know how to make your own, send me an email.
For the 34 Degrees, I muddle fresh basil, add the Purity vodka and blueberry syrup and then finish it off with some Cointreau, lemon and a hint of simple syrup. A quick shake and the resultant cocktail has the brightness of blueberries, a hint of citrus and the herbal depth of basil all balanced on top of the base mineral notes from the vodka. 34 Degrees is a refreshing cocktail perfect for the early onset Spring we’re experiencing.
Come on down to Lucca this Saturday to try the 34 Degrees, talk about the insane production process of Purity vodka or whatever else you have in mind. We’ll be serving Happy Hour snacks from noon to 6!
Thanks for reading and happy drinking!
Chris
