THE WINTER-WEEKEND-AWAY WARMER

Ideally, you should serve this cocktail in a fabulous French bolthole (like, say, Le Logis, the 17th-century manor house in the vineyards of Cognac that’s owned by Grey Goose and used year-round to teach mixologists and media alike about the brand, right down to what wheat is used), but, really, any ski chalet in the Swiss Alps or “cottage” in Muskoka will do. This vodka-based take on an Old Fashioned is just the thing to whip up for your pals as you settle in for the night (perhaps to ring in the new year?). Chin-chin!

RECIPE

11/3 oz. (40 mL) Grey Goose Original

2 tsp. (10 mL) organic maple syrup

2 sprigs of rosemary

A pinch of salt

12/3 oz. (50 mL) of freshly squeezed pink-grapefruit juice

In the bottom of a rocks glass, lightly crush the leaves from one sprig of rosemary into the maple syrup and salt. Fill with good-quality ice and add the Grey Goose. Top with the pink-grapefruit juice and stir well. Garnish with the remaining rosemary sprig.

PARTY TIP: Don’t freeze your vodka! It’s terrible for the flavour.

 

BONUS! MEET THE MIXOLOGIST

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François Thibault is actually the maître de chai for Grey Goose, which basically means he’s the guy who developed the original recipe for the brand all those years ago in Cognac, France (and then went on to develop its flavoured vodkas and the ultra-premium VX). To this day, he still has at least two other projects under development at any given time, but, alas, he told us with a Gallic wink and shrug, “I seem to have lost the key for the desk I keep those new recipes in!”

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of ELLE Canada.

 

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