Spruce Tip Vesper Martini
The perfect serving for the perfect seasonal cocktail #ad21+
A Vesper is already a bold, spirit-forward martini but together with my friends at @WeberRanchVodka, I wanted to give you a seasonal rendition with a slightly different edge thanks to its agave base, which brings a subtle sweetness and soft herbal note that works especially well with dry vermouth and citrus.
A flask is the way to go here, the addition of spruce tips and juniper comes through in place of the traditional gin and really let’s the earthy notes in #WeberRanch shine with the bonus of adding that cozy holiday feeling around this time of year. It’s a great make-ahead option when you want a martini that pours clean and consistent every time.
As an added bonus, this cocktail can pull double duty, make sure to check out Jordan’s (@highproofpreacher) version for a lighter, crisp rendition by adding a few simple ingredients!
Cheers, y’all!
ingredients:
1½ oz | 45 ml Gin
1½ oz | 45 ml Vodka
½ oz | 15 ml Spruce + Juniper Infused Lillet Blanc
5 dashes Orange Bitters
Lemon Twist (garnish)
instructions:
Add 4 bruised spruce tips and 5 juniper berries to Lillet Blanc in an 8 oz mason jar. Steep for up to 24 hours. Combine vodka, gin, Lillet, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Express a lemon twist over the drink and discard or drop in, depending on preference. Serve immediately.
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I’m your huckleberry 🤠
I just got back from Montana with my friends at @traegergrills. It was strictly a grilling event but given what I do, of course I had to get behind the bar. I knew I wanted to incorporate local Montana ingredients like huckleberry, juniper (grown on site) and honey but also wanted to incorporate smoke from the grill. So I had the idea to make a bramble type cocktail.
For the smokey element, I smoked some local raw honey along with some juniper berries on the Traeger to just get a kiss of smoke. I then constructed the cocktail originally using gin like a traditional bramble, but the juniper botanicals overpowered the recipe so I switched to a reposado tequila and knew it was the perfect fit. They also had some locally made huckleberry liqueur which was the perfect last ingredient to top the cocktail and bring that sweet/sour/fruity element to the cocktail. Finally topped it with that smoked juniper berry branch to give it that botanical pop and tricking your brain into thinking you’re drinking a bramble when you’re actually drinking something closer to a margarita.
Given the ingredients and location, it was just fitting to call this the ‘Big Sky Bramble.’ Cheers y’all.
Big thanks to @i_drewcifer for the R&D help!
🎥: @tobojosh / @grillvaultbbq