We're mostly wine drinking gals, but when we drink the hard stuff–vodka, bourbon, scotch– we usually prefer it straight up. These are adult drinks and each maker works hard to give their spirit a distinct taste. We don't want the flavor adulterated. If we want lemonade or a milkshake that's what we drink—not some gussied up beverage that obscures the flavor of the alcohol. We like to taste what we're drinking.
You could call us purist bitches.
So, we were all set to hate on 'bitters'. Instead, we love them. Peychaud and Angostura are the two most easily found, but there is an entire cottage industry devoted to crafting cool new ones. Like Coca Cola and Thomas' English muffins, bitters recipes are cloaked in secrecy, but typically include herbs, barks and the roots of gentian flowers all steeped in alcohol. More savory, to our buds, than sweet, a dash or two in a drink converts an ordinary cocktail into something most interesting.
The Pollinator
-2 jiggers Kirkland Vodka (rumor has it that this Costco brand is really the same as Grey Goose, while we're not stating this as fact, we like the flavor. We also likethe industrial size bottle and great price .)
-1/4 jigger Mathilde Pear Liqueur
-2 dashes bitters
-A generous squeeze of fresh lime juice
We combined them in a cocktail shaker with loads of ice and then got someone way bigger and stronger to shake the hell out of it, so that there were shards of ice and the mix turned frothy.
