There’s a lot to like about Maine’s summer of 2015 so far.
The weather? Wonderful. Lots of sun, but enough rain to delight growers.
The economy? It looks like a strong season so far, with more cars on the Maine turnpike and reports of more people in Maine’s tourist havens.
And, to get hyper local for a second, L-A’s annual celebration to the skies, the balloon festival, was considered a washout by weather forecasters right up to the opening balloon. But it ended up having three glorious launches out of a possible six, including a stellar Saturday.
So for those reasons and many more, it’s appropriate that with the unofficial end of summer just one day away (and the official end a scant 17 days), we toast the season and what’s left of it with six special celebratory concoctions from six local mixologists.
Today we not only offer recipes for you to try, but we reveal what’s trendy, we muse about muddling and we share the secret to the “martini mystique.” (Hint: It’s all about the vermouth — that under-respected fortified wine — and what you do, or don’t do, with it.)
And in the process, our mixologists will offer up a world of top-shelf flavors that will take you from Mexico to Japan (laced with a bit of France and Germany), to Italy, to the tropics and even to Portland, Maine.
It’s just a suggestion, but before you conjure up these concoctions at home using the recipes offered, you may want to take the time to go wet your whistle and meet your friendly local bartenders. Ask them to show you their muddlers, and hey, bottoms up!
* * *
Pedro O’Hara’s ‘Horny Rita’
Ryan Haggerty, who has tended bar for all the Pedro O’Hara’s locations over the past eight years, can be found at the Lewiston Pedro’s 134 Main St. location on Tuesdays, where she hosts Trivia Night. She’s also busy tending bar there every Wednesday. According to Haggerty, Pedro’s is the “Cheers’ “of Lewiston-Auburn. “I chose to share the ‘Horny Rita’,” she says, “because it’s perfect for warmer weather.” She adds, “A great cocktail is one that makes your taste buds dance!” This mingling of buzzed-up strawberry and habanero plata (unaged) tequila, set off with orange liqueur and a hint of lime, will surely have you breaking out into the Macarena in no time. Delicioso!
The drink:
2.5 ounces Hornitos plata tequila, infused with strawberries and habanero peppers*
1 ounce Cointreau liqueur
Dash of agave nectar, to taste
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Rim salt
Club soda
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker (except salt and club soda) with crushed ice and pour into a pint glass, half rimmed with salt. Top off with club soda.
*To infuse tequila, add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup crushed fresh strawberries and a slice or two of habanero pepper. Keeping in mind that the habanero is very hot, use the amount that suits your taste buds. Let this mixture mingle in a glass jar until the flavor is to your liking, then strain and continue with the recipe.
* * *
Sea40’s ‘Japanese Lady’
Having tended bar at Sea 40 Japanese Cuisine at the Lewiston Mall for over a year now, Garrett Keene’s enthusiasm is contagious as he describes the “Japanese Lady,” a cocktail he says represents the exotic flavor combinations that can be found throughout the restaurant’s dishes. This beverage also has the unexpected health boost of green tea that mellows out the sweet elixirs of French ginger liqueur and German honey liqueur, truly making this an international cocktail. Matcha, a green tea powder found in the health food section of the grocery store, is sprinkled on top.
The drink:
1 ounce Domaine De Canton ginger liqueur
1/2 ounce Barenjager honey liqueur
3 ounces freshly brewed cold green tea
Matcha powder
Shake all ingredients except matcha powder with crushed ice. Pour into chilled martini glass and sprinkle with matcha powder.
* * *
Davinci’s ‘Limoncello Collins’
Robin Berube, bar manager at Davinci’s Eatery, a Lewiston institution for almost 20 years, recommends this citrusy pick-me-up, which is one of the restaurant’s featured summer drinks. Once you take a sip of this sublime limoncello Collins, you’ll be spirited far away from the historic Bates Mill complex to the hills of southern Italy. The lemon liqueur, paired with Portland’s own Maine Craft Distilling’s 100 percent barley-based Black Cap vodka, is the best way to get from Maine to Italia without buying a plane ticket.
The drink:
2 ounces limoncello liqueur
1 ounce Black Cap vodka
Simple syrup, to taste*
Sour mix**
Splash of seltzer water
Lemon wedges
Sugar for rim
Pour limoncello, vodka and simple syrup into cocktail shaker with ice and lemon wedges. Shake. Transfer into sugar-rimmed, ice-filled Collins glass. Fill with sour mix and add a splash of seltzer. Stir and garnish with lemon wedge.
*Simple syrup
2 parts sugar
1 part water
1 tablespoon (1 ounce) vodka (optional)
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan then add sugar, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Transfer to a glass container. To prolong its shelf life, vodka can be added.
**Homemade sour mix
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Bring sugar and water to a boil, about 7 minutes. Stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool. Strain citrus juices into a glass container. Discard pulp. Add the cooled water and sugar. Shake and use immediately or refrigerate.
* * *
Mac’s ‘Mac’s Delight’
Kerry Landry of Mac’s Grill at 1052 Minot Ave. in Auburn offers this legendary cocktail created by former owner Scott McFarren more than 15 years ago. Says Landry, “This drink simply dominants sales all year, every year. It’s smooth, sweet and light. The swirly pinkness and heavenly taste will have you wanting another.” While sipping this delightful refreshment, you’ll surely be fantasizing about ocean cruises, tropical islands and white-sand beaches. After two of these, you may be looking for a pirate ship to stow away on.
The drink:
1 ounce coconut rum
1 ounce Bacardi rum
1/2 ounce peach schnapps
Equal parts cranberry juice and pineapple juice
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry
Combine liquors in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice. Pour into pint-sized, ice-filled glass. Add equal parts cranberry and pineapple juices. Stir. Garnish with orange slice and float the cherry.
* * *
Fish Bones’ ‘Old Fashioned’
Kate Landry, co-owner of Lewiston’s Fish Bones American Grill at 70 Lincoln St., shares this elevation of a classic bourbon cocktail, turned into an elegant affair. For this rendition of an Old Fashioned, Solerno — a blood orange and lemon liqueur exclusively made in Sicily — is married with dark cherries and vanilla. I can picture Sophia Loren sipping this libation as she ignores Marlon Brando, can’t you?
The drink:
1 1/2 ounces Bulleit bourbon
1 ounce Solerno liqueur
Splash of vanilla cherry syrup*
2 vanilla cherries*
1 slice orange
Soda water
Muddle** chilled cherries with orange slice in an Old Fashioned glass. Add ice. Pour in bourbon, Solerno and cherry vanilla syrup, fill with soda water and stir gently.
*Vanilla cherries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
1 12-ounce bag frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
In a saucepan, simmer water, sugar and vanilla bean. Take off heat and stir in cherries. Cool.
** Yes, a synonym for “muddle” is another M word: mash. But to aficionados, muddling a cherry is different than, say, muddling a mint leaf for your Cinco de Mayo mojito. Crush the cherry (watch that pit!), but go easy on that mint leaf, to release the mint flavor but not the chlorophyll.
* * *
Rolandeau’s ‘Perfect Martini’
In business for nearly 45 years, Auburn’s Rolandeau’s Restaurant, at 775 Washington St., has a reputation for the best martinis around. Bartender Nick Talarico says, “I’ve learned, over the course of 40 years that the brand of gin or vodka used is entirely individual to one’s palate. From the very top of the line to bar stock, people have their preference. The big secret is that you must use only top-shelf vermouth (which is wine that has been fortified with distilled spirits and flavored with various botanicals).”
Talarico adds, “For the very driest martini, pour just a drop of dry vermouth into a chilled martini glass, swirl it around to coat the inside of the glass, then discard it.” Everyone has their opinion on the ratio of vermouth to liquor. For a less dry martini, Talarico goes with one part vermouth to three parts gin or vodka. “This is a tried and true way to make a perfect martini,” he says. What do you say, James Bond?
The drink:
Gin or vodka
Dry vermouth
Twist of lemon or 1 Spanish Queen olive
Pour gin or vodka and vermouth into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and stir until a film of ice forms on the outside of the shaker. Pour into a chilled martini glass that has been swirled with vermouth as described above and garnish with a lemon twist or olive.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
