This version of the Ginger Smash is the original Employees Only seasonal cocktail. We set out to create a cocktail composed of ingredients that warm you up on a winter day. The result was so tasty and fresh in aroma that it was a “smash” from the start. It remains, to this day, one of our best sellers.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 drink

　　2 thin slices fresh gingerroot

　　10 fresh whole cranberries

　　1 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar

　　1 1/2 ounces Plymouth gin

　　1 1/2 ounces Berentzen Apfelkorn apple liqueur

　　3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

　　

Step 1

Muddle the ginger, cranberries, and sugar in the bottom of a mixing glass. Pour in the gin, apple liqueur, and juice and add enough large cold ice cubes to fill a rocks glass. Cover and shake hard but briefly. Pour unstrained into a rocks glass and serve.

　　

ginger smash

Step 2

When we were composing the menu for employees Only back in fall of 2004, we were building the restaurant mostly by ourselves and couldn’t really afford any time away from the construction site. So we had just one afternoon to test our recipes before opening. although we had discussed ideas beforehand and were clear on the direction of the opening menu, and had even created infusions and ingredients on our own time, we’d not had the chance to create the cocktails we had envisioned. But it all worked seamlessly in one afternoon in our “laboratory” in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

　　

Step 3

The one cocktail that came out unexpectedly was the Ginger Smash. The term “smash” refers to an old family of drinks, similar to juleps, in which mint would be muddled into spirits of any kind. Ginger has always been a favorite “hot” ingredient of ours, but when we combined fresh cranberries and gingerroot, muddled with sugar, the result was unlike anything we had tasted or made before. Short, snappy, tart, fresh cranberries; the heat from the ginger and gin; sweet apple cordial from Germany; and a little lemon juice produced the most complex ginger cocktail we had ever witnessed. After our December opening, it ranked as our number two selling cocktail. In February, with fresh cranberries out of season, we tried frozen, but they had no snap. This forced us to create a Ginger Smash for each season, using the spirit and fruit accompaniment dictated by the current harvest. all showcase ginger and are smashed or muddled.

　　

tasting notes

Step 4

Dominant Flavors: ginger and crisp apples

　　

Step 5

Body: full, chewy, rich texture

　　

Step 6

Dryness: medium

　　

Step 7

Complexity: high

　　

Step 8

Accentuating or Contrasting Flavors: juniper and tart cranberries

　　

Step 9

Finish: long, spicy with ginger overtones

　　

Step 10

Glass: rocks

　　Reprinted with permission from Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined by Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric, © 2010 Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.