We asked Robert Gomez, sommelier, musician and bartender at Passatempo Taverna in Walla Walla, for some recipes for his favorite quarantine cocktail recipes for creative and crafty 'comfort drinks' you can make at home. Check them out and while you're at it, read this interview with Robert for more advice on how to stock a home bar, and how he started his own wine label!
This was the first cocktail I made while stuck at home during the shutdown. I really was looking for something of a “comfort drink” like you would a “comfort food”–you know, those things you seek out during rough patches. I gravitated towards a spirit warm and welcoming, aka whiskey, and comforting notes of Amaro, maple and nutmeg. It was still cold outside when I first made this so maybe it made more sense weather-wise than right this second but honestly, I could drink this all year!
2oz Rittenhouse rye
¼ oz Fernet Branca
¼ grade b maple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Lemon peel
Grated nutmeg
Pour whiskey, Branca, syrup and bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Express lemon peel and discard. Top with freshly grated nutmeg.
I love simple drinks with minimal ingredients and the rickey (spirit, lime, seltzer) fits the bill. In this non-alcoholic riff, I was inspired by Toby Cecchini’s treatment of the lime (found in his gin and tonic recipe) which I incorporated for this highball. With some added refreshing springtime flavors of course.
1oz lime juice
½ lime hull
1 oz ginger syrup (here’s a good recipe for ginger syrup)
a few slices of cucumber
pinch of salt
high-quality sparkling mineral water
Juice your half lime and put the juice in a shaker tin. Take the lime hull and cut into thin strips and place into the glass with the lime juice. Throw in some cucumber slices, pour in your ginger syrup and add a pinch of salt. Muddle well. Add ice and shake. Dump your ingredients into a glass and pour in your sparkling mineral water to fill. Give a slight stir to combine. Garnish with a cucumber.
