(Photo credit: Doug Young)
This drink from Southampton’s Greek-chic Calissa is a wintry nod at the summery sour family of drinks, adding in holiday-appropriate seasonal flavors of pear and ginger, along with nutty notes of amaretto to this frothy, festive drink. Don’t fear the egg white: It’s the key to the beautiful white crown that adorns the top of this tipple. Simply separate your egg white from the yolk (save the latter for another purpose), and refrigerate it until you’re ready to make your cocktail.
Plato’s Academy
- 1 egg white
- 1 1/2 oz Belvedere Pear Ginger Vodka
- 1/2 oz amaretto
- 1/2 oz agave syrup
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1 oz pear puree
- 3 drops Angostura bitters
Add egg white into a shaker and shake well, 20 to 30 seconds.
Add in ice and the rest of the liquid ingredients, except for the bitters. Shake well for another 10 to 15 seconds, until frothy and cold.
Strain into a coupe glass.
Carefully add three drops of bitters in succession at the center of the drink. Drag a toothpick through the drops of bitters to create little heart shapes. Cheers!
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.