Tomorrow night, Wednesday January 16th at the Ferry Building, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (better known as "the people who organize your neighborhood farmers markets") are hosting the Gathering of the Guilds — a winter cocktail event that highlights what to drink with what's in season. While the talented lineup of noted local barkeepers from Rye, Dosa, the Hotsy Totsy Club and more haven't quite finalized the cocktail tasting menu (some of the ingredients are being found at the Ferry Building Farmers Market as we speak), we reached out to CUESA to give us three of their favorite winter recipes so other local farmers market patrons can get sauced on their own.
The event itself happens tomorrow night from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Ferry Building. In addition to a couple of cocktails with your $50 ticket price, 10 of those aforementioned bar stars will be tasting fresh squeezed and locally sourced drinks. Members of the Good Food Merchants Guild will also be on hand serving up tastes of their lovingly crafted products ranging from chocolates to charcuterie and pickles to preserves.
If you're a lush for all seasons, you may also want to nab yourself a season pass, which works out to a discount when you attend all of CUESA's four seasonal cocktail events this year.
In the meantime: run, don't walk, to your next neighborhood farmers market and pick up some ingredients to impress the guests at your own cold weather dinner party with these three wintery, spiced apple concoctions from Seth Laufman, Josh Trabulsi and Nat Harry:
Apple Of My Rye
From Seth Laufman of Comstock Saloon
1.5 oz dry rye
.5 oz Sutton Cellars dry vermouth
1 oz Fresh pressed apple juice (strain out pulp)
.75 oz lemon
.5 oz Honey syrup (2 part honey 1 part water)
.25 oz Fresh pressed ginger juice (not syrup, strain out pulp)
Graham cracker garnish
Put all ingredients in pot, heat and serve with cinnamon stick in drink and piece of graham cracker over the top.
Caramel Palmetto
From Josh Trabulsi of Burritt Room and Tavern
2 oz Zaya Gran Reserva Rum
1 oz fresh pressed apple juice
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Fee Brothers old fashioned bitters
1 dash Bar Keep fennel bitters
The Gin Cleanse
From Nat Harry of Revival Bar + Kitchen
2 oz No. 209 gin
.75 oz Meyer lemon juice
.5 oz fennel juice (frond and bulb)
1 oz Apple Sauced Gravenstein hard cider
Scant .5 oz simple syrup
Shake all ingredients with ice for 20-30 seconds. Double strain into a rocks glass with ice. (Straining through a fine mesh strainer will help get the extra fennel bits and citrus pulp out of the drink.) Garnish with a fennel frond.
More information and tickets for tomorrow night's event can be found on CUESA's website here.
