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It’s not day-after-day a man will get an opportunity to hang around with a Blues Brother. So after I was invited to satisfy Dan Aykroyd—a.ok.a. Elwood Blues—for drinks at Aretsky’s Patroon and speak about his Crystal Head vodka model, I used to be there. And as an alternative of the usual Q&A (sure, Invoice Murray put the kibosh on Ghostbusters 3 final 12 months), I made a decision to go fingers on and work with him, his associates, and his signature vodka to invent a vacation impressed drink on the fly. Aykroyd was up for it, and with the assistance of Patroon bartender David DeCuir, the X(mas) Skull was born.
“Vodka within the bartending neighborhood is somewhat out of favor,” says Aykroyd. “However it’s a staple of alcohol consumption everywhere in the world and other people do love vodka drinks. So why not do good issues with it? And Crystal Head is ideal since you begin with a clean slate.”
To his level, Aykroyd’s vodka is certainly a tabula rasa. He prides himself on producing a pure spirit that’s devoid of the widespread components, like sugar and glycol, that many distillers add to sweeten taste, improve viscosity, and conceal the burn of alcohol on the end.
Constructing a cocktail is a balancing act, which is commonly why the straightforward classics are good templates to construct on as you invent your personal factor. On this case our baseline was Crystal Head vodka, after all, and soda. From there we added a little bit of maple syrup for sweetness (and a nod to Aykroyd’s Canadian heritage), and somewhat tart pomegranate juice for steadiness. Then we added a head-turning hit of pear brandy, a touch of cinnamon for vacation essence, and some dashes of orange bitters to anchor the entire shebang.
“I can’t consider it, however it works!” proclaimed Aykroyd as he ordered one other spherical of drinks and proceeded to go them out to the joyful patrons on the bar. A toast was made, the Skull was successful, and a superb time was had by all.
And to all a superb evening.
X(mas) Skull
2 components vodka (Crystal Head labored properly right here)
1 half pear brandy
1 half pomegranate juice
1 bar spoon maple syrup
1 pinch floor cinnamon
2 dashes orange bitters
2 components membership soda
Fill a shaker and a rocks glass midway with ice. Mix all components besides the membership soda to the shaker and shake effectively. Pour into your rocks glass and prime with membership soda.
