Eat Drink Local Profile #12: End of Summer Cocktails (The Cuke Ellington & The Almost Paradise)

‘Tis the season for farm-stand cocktails–one of our 11 Eat Drink Local week ingredients of the day. So we’re going around our towns (meaning our Edible communities of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the East End) asking bartenders to show us what they do this time of year with Crop organic vodka and Farmer’s gin. These two American-made spirits–the first a varietal vodka produced in Minnesota from organic American grown grains and vegetables, the second a gin handcrafted in small batches from sustainably farmed American grain and botanicals, including juniper, elderflower, lemon grass, coriander, and angelica root–are both supporters of Eat Drink Local, our seasonally minded food fest that starts next month.

During the 11-day event, our EDL restaurant partners, like Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton, will be pouring these liquors during the week, and we offer the below recipe by Nick & Toni’s bartender Henry Lopez, shown in the video above, as inspiration for any cocktail making you do at home in the next few weeks, when you’ll no doubt have extra cukes and watermelon on hand.

Two End of Summer Cocktails
From Henry Lopez, Nick & Toni’s, East Hampton
(Both were originally created at Court + Spark, a bar at Court and Ninth Streets in Brooklyn.)

The Cuke Ellington

Muddle together 1 Medium-Sized Strawberry and a Similarly Sized Piece Of Cucumber
Add 1 Dash Simple Syrup
Add 3/4 Oz Fresh Sour Mix
Add 2 Oz Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka
Shake and Strain Over Fresh Ice
Add a Splash of Club Soda
Garnish with a Cucumber Slice

The Almost Paradise

Start with 2 1/2 Oz Fresh Seedless Watermelon Juice
Add 3/4 Oz Fresh Sour Mix (Tart Lemonade Will Do)
Add 2 Oz Farmer’s Organic Gin
Shake and Strain Over Fresh Ice
Add a Splash of Club Soda
Garnish with a Fresh Lemon Twist

From September 26th to October 6th Edible Manhattan, Edible East End and Edible Brooklyn — in conjunction with Edibles statewide and GrowNYC — present Eat Drink Local week, our celebration of the local food chain through heirloom vegetable auctions, wine tastings, DIY challenges, lectures, garden tours, farm to table dinners and countless other events. Over the next few weeks we’re highlighting a few of the restaurants, wine shops and wineries, breweries and beer bars, farms and food artisans and cultural institutions that the week is meant to celebrate.

Brian Halweil

Brian is the editor at large of Edible East End, Edible Long Island, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn. He writes from his home in Sag Harbor, New York, where he and his family tend a home garden and oysters. He is also obsessed with ducks, donuts and dumplings.

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