Citrus: Better Than Ambrosia

"In the wintertime, in the snow country, citrus fruit was so rare, and if you got one, it was better than ambrosia." - James Earl Jones

Citrus fruit evokes light feelings in all of us, and the memories of Spring and Summer come to life when we savor a lovely, citrus forward cocktail. How did this magical family of fruits find their way here, and when did our fascination begin?

Early explorers wrote of Persian Citron, and its fragrant aroma. Many historians believe bitter orange was first brought to Southern Europe by Alexander the Great. Lemon first appeared in Western History during the Roman Empire. In Spain and Greece, citrus fruits flourished and were eventually sent North to France and England. These early citrus fruits were used as perfumes, and kept rooms smelling fresh. In 1492, Christopher Columbus brought the first orange seeds to the New World just before pillaging the place and killing or enslaving the natives, and citrus found a new home.

We use citrus in all of its forms in so many cocktails, that it only seemed proper to highlight these wonderful fruits, a primary method of brightening otherwise flat flavors.

Common Citrus:

-Lemon

-Lime

-Orange

-Grapefruit

-Tangerine

-Pomelo

East Main Street

1.5oz Bombay Sapphire East

.5oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

.5oz Pomelo Oleo Saccharum

.75oz Lemon Juice

1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe.

Garnish with expressed Grapefruit peel.

Pocket Full of Caryptonite

1.5oz Housemade Carypton (recipe here)

.5oz Lime Juice

.75oz Honey Syrup

.5oz Fresh Pineapple Juice

1 Egg White

In cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients.

Add ice and shake.

Strain and discard ice.

Resume shaking without ice.

Pour into a chilled cocktail coupe.

Garnish with Lime Zest.

Three Dots and a Dash (1940, Donn's Beachcomber Cafe)

1.5oz Rhum JM Gold

.5oz Lemon Hart 151

.25oz Falernum

.25oz Allspice Dram

.5oz Lime Juice

.5oz Orange Juice

.5oz Honey Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake and strain into a chilled pilsner glass.

Fill with crushed ice.

Garnish with pineapple frond and cherries.