miXology: Poseidon

Made with a blend of brown butter & sage, fat washed Pinhook bourbon, St. George spiced pear liqueur, Carpano dry vermouth, Angostura bitters & sage smoke.

The Poseidon has quickly become our top seller at Zorba Cocktail Bar. Like many craft cocktails, it’s a recipe that takes time and planning for all the ingredients to meet their full potential.

Catering to a massive rise both in crafting cocktails and in bourbon drinkers over the past decade, Poseidon melds some very popular flavors and aromas. The base of the cocktail is a brown butter and sage fat-washed Pinhook bourbon. Pinhook bourbon is a blended whiskey from Kentucky that comes in at 100 proof – which I find ideal for cocktails – and contains 75 percent corn, 15 percent rye and 10 percent malted barley.

I choose Pinhook for the Poseidon because it has flavors of vanilla, caramel and cinnamon that layer nicely and pair well with other ingredients. Fat washing is a process of adding the flavor – and often texture – of a fatty ingredient. In the Poseidon I chose brown butter to add a nutty and almost caramel flavor that aligns so well with the Pinhook.

Once the butter is browned with the sage, it is added to the whiskey and left to set for several hours allowing flavors to infuse. By the time it is ready for the next step, you will notice all the fat is sitting at the top of the mixture. To separate the fat since it’s no longer needed or desired, freeze the mixture. With high alcohol content – one reason why 100 proof bourbon is ideal -- only the fat floating on the top will freeze. Remove the frozen layer and strain the remaining liquid once, twice or even three times with cheesecloth so all that remains of the sage butter is incredible infused flavor and a bit of texture.

The resulting fat-washed Pinhook is a whole new flavor experience!

When devising this drink I wanted pair the nutty flavor of the brown butter specifically with my choice for next most powerful flavor in the cocktail: St. George Spiced Pear. This spirit from Northern California is made from ripe Bartlett pear and has touches of cinnamon and clove.

At this point in the recipe, you may understand why Poseidon is a top seller – just imagine the indulgence in this blend of flavors.

In the final steps, just a touch of vanilla liquor along with the cinnamon and clove flavors of angostura bitters will round out the spice and nutty flavors. Carpano dry vermouth is my choice to cut the richness, enhance viscosity, and add a brightness to the cocktail.

The final touch to this cocktail is a smoked sage glass and sage leaf served right on top of your large cube – selected because it will slowly melt as your drink remains chilled and not dilute flavors as quickly as a scoop of small cubes.

Cheers!