1.75 oz. St. George Terroir gin
.5 oz. acid-adjusted orange juice
.5 oz. 5% lactic acid solution
.75 oz. pinecone syrup
.25 oz. Amaro Braulio
.5 oz. aquafaba
4 drops 20% saline solution
Combine ingredients in a shaker, shake with ice, then strain and dry shake.
Fine strain into a large coupe glass rinsed with aquavit.
Garnish with Angostura bitter art.
Pinecone syrup
130g dried, destemmed pinecones
500g sugar
500g water
To dry the pinecones, place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and bake for 30 minutes at 225F. At this point it should be easy to remove the scales. If not, continue drying. Combine sugar and water in a vitamix or similar blender, and run for about two minutes. Add pinecone scales and blend for three minutes. Strain through a chinois and then through a nut milk bag.
Acid-adjusted orange juice
1000mL fresh squeezed orange juice
47g citric acid
5g malic acid
Combine all ingredients in a container and shake until acids are dissolved. Here I have used 1000mL as the base measurement to allow for easy scaling. You probably do not want to make this much at a time.
This drink combines one of my favorite amari, Braulio, with one of my favorite gins, St. George Terroir. Amaro Braulio is a complex alpine style amaro with a pine top note. With this gin, in addition to juniper, Douglas Fir is included as a botanical. To complement these flavors, I created a pinecone syrup using locally foraged pinecones from red and white pine trees. You could use a species local to you, but make sure to first do some reading on the edibility of your local evergreen species. Orange was the clear choice for citrus here, as it pairs so well with pine and spice flavors. The lactic acid helps with balance and adds a silky texture. For the foam, you could use an egg white at home, but at the bar I like to use aquafaba for a few reasons: it's vegan, easier to put in a bottle, cheaper, and has a longer shelf life. The aquavit rinse and Angostura garnish both add baking spice notes that are evocative of the wintertime. The name, of course, is a nod to the pine aspects in the drink, the Norwegian aquavit, and references Monty Python's wonderful Dead Parrot sketch.