Ginger Pear Martini
A couple of summers ago on a leisurely car trip from San Francisco to Seattle, my husband and I stopped in Ashland for a few days. We stayed at a unique inn that had its own natural spring. The inn was built above the spring and all the water at the inn was from that very source. The promise of curative waters to help revitalize and soothe us sounded perfect. But by the second day the strong smell of sulphur from the shower, the bathroom sink, and the tub was starting to make us retch. We wondered if we were beginning to smell like rotten eggs ourselves and got a bit self-conscious about it, although no one said anything. Maybe the locals were used to tourists with a slight whiff to them, so no one commented or even raised an eyebrow at the Italian restaurant where the bartender made us each an unforgettable Ginger Pear martini. After a couple of these we forgot about rotten eggs. I have tried to recreate it below. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz. pear vodka
2 oz. ginger syrup (recipe below)
2 oz. pear puree´
1 oz. lemon juice ( 1 lemon)
Wet the rim of a martini glass with a piece of lemon and dip it into a plate of sugar. Fill a shaker with a cup of ice cubes. Add the cocktail ingredients. Top with the tall shaker and shake for 5/6 seconds. Pour in your prepared glass and garnish with a slice of pear and a lemon slice. Makes one cocktail.
NOTE: You can buy Ginger syrup but making your own is easy and you can control the strengthen of it by add more or less ginger. The syrup is also good warm as in a cup of tea or cold with more lemon juice and some sparkling water.
Ginger Syrup
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 oz ginger roughly chopped
In a small saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and let cool( about 1 hour). Add the chopped ginger and sugar water to a blender and pulverize. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer, discard solids. Pour the syrup into a jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Keeps for a couple weeks. Makes about a cup.
