Peach + Almond Cocktails to Capture Summer

🍑 👌 bellini, almond-peach spritz, orgeat + alcohol free drinks inspired by a new bartending book

Hello there,

I’m a couple days delayed in writing to you because I got bogged down by working on a bunch of beverage recipes. I wish I could blame my tardiness on daytime drinking but alas, I can’t consume as much alcohol as I used to. However, I do relish a good mixed drink, which doesn’t always have to be paid for at a bar.

As my friend Sharon Suh, a New York City native, loves to say, “It’s cheaper to drink at home.”

It’s also more adventurous. What led me down the cocktail path was (1) a deal on super-ripe, jam-quality peaches at the farmer’s market and (2) The Bartender’s Pantry (TBP), a new book by mixologist extraordinaire Jim Meehan and illustrator Bart Sasso, who were ably aided by their collaborator Emma Janzen.

Jim and I were table mates at the 2018 James Beard Awards dinner, where both of our books fortunately won (his was Meehan’s Bartender Manual and mine was The Pho Cookbook). He’s a beverage expert with deep cultural knowledge and a love for bound books. Jim is also genuinely kind.

Typical cocktail books are fast reads because the recipes are short and you can flip through them looking for flavors or spirits that meet your needs. TBP is built for teaching and rigorous usage. It explains many hows and whys in brief enough detail.

For instance, the book explains how different bar-friendly fruit ripens so as to help you be a better cocktail crafter. I added “climacteric” to my vocabulary to sound smart about whether or not fruit can keep ripening after it’s been harvested.

TBP also includes instructions for doing elaborate things like making your own carbonated drinks. I wish I had the time and energy to take on such a project because Bart’s illustrations confidently lead the reader through the process.

But, Rory reminded me that I had cookbook project deadlines and online classes to teach. Turning our garage into a soda fountain had to wait.

For hobby and pro barkeeps

I’m a casual beginner cocktail maker. What could I do with TBP? The fruit chapter offered an answer in the form of a peach puree that can hold for a spell. Since early July, I’ve made the super easy puree twice for what I consider my best Bellinis, with a brilliant peachy color that says summer in every sip.

The remarkably simple cocktail is Nature’s quaffable gift, inspired by Venetians, made with Stateside fruit. And no, I wasn’t drunk when I typed that.

TBP didn’t have a Bellini recipe; it’s freshman-level and I came up with my own (keep reading for the recipe link). Meehan et al did offer a recipe for the Bellini-esque, very summery Windowsill Spritz featuring sparkling wine, vodka, soda water, peach puree and orgeat, a sweetened almond syrup that typically stars in tiki-bar cocktails.

The spritz is refreshing and highly drinkable. You can happily switch between a Bellini and the Windowsill, described as being a cross between “an almond croissant and a peach hand pie”.

Try TBP recipes and play with them

For space considerations, recipes for the drinks mentioned are at my website. Take them for a spin and hopefully, you’ll get a copy of the handy book for yourself!

• Peach Puree + Simple Syrup, Bellini, Windowsill Spritz — Not mentioned in post: Frozen fruit can be used for the peach puree. My strategy: buy peak season, jam-quality peaches, trim and freeze them for off-season Bellinis. (Peel the fruit before freezing, if you like.) Excellent frozen fruit yields Bellinis possibilities year round!

• Orgeat, a Happiness Recipe — The super versatile almond syrup isn’t just for cocktails. Iterations of it are served chilled at joyful events like engagement parties, weddings, and baptisms in places such as Crete, Tunisia, and Libya. Just dilute the orgeat with water and serve it over ice.

Alcohol-Free Drink Ideas

You don’t have to get liquored up to enjoy the peach puree and almond syrup. I played around with the them to come up with bonus non-alcoholic ideas not mentioned on my website recipe posts:

• Fresh Peach-Basil Soda: 2 oz Peach Puree + 3 to 4 oz seltzer + ice + short sprig of basil (use any kind of basil; clap the sprig between your hands before dropping it in to release some of its aroma and flavor)

• Almond-Peach Soda: 1/2 oz Orgeat +1 1/2 oz Peach Puree + seltzer + squeeze of lime over ice

I opened The Bartender’s Pantry not knowing just how much I could use its culinary insights, history, and wonky know-how to fuel my cooking and drinking adventures. As it turns out, I couldn’t have asked for more in a beverage book.

In my next PTFS dispatch, expect a superb orgeat-related, marzipan-ish cake recipe. It’s a surprise result from TBP’s orgeat recipe. So, make a batch and save the almond solids (it freezes like a dream!).

Viet Lemongrass Pork Follow-up

Speaking of recipes at the website, have you made the thịt heo nướng sả recipe? Emily jumped on it and sent this note:

In case you wonder, this is how you pronounce thịt heo nướng sả: