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(Photo credit: Paula Lukas)

Perhaps one of the most overlooked, and thoroughly lovely, cocktail ingredients? Fortified wine. Lower in alcohol content than a spirit but typically sturdier and more robust than your garden variety table wine, fortified wine gets the first part of its as-advertised name from the addition of high-octane spirits, giving it a boost of alcohol and, in effect, staying power once it’s opened.

The most well-known of the category are port and vermouth, but there’s another, lesser-known fortified wine from the Charente region of France — home of Cognac — that’s well worth grabbing for your bar cart: Pineau des Charentes.

The fortification here comes from (you guessed it!) Cognac, and in-the-know spirits hounds love it for its irresistible qualities (and often affordable price point). “Pineau des Charentes is balanced and slightly sweet yet clean and rich, [with] notes of dried fruit,  fresh stone fruit, honey and nuts with a touch of vanilla and spice,” says cocktail pro and national mixologist for Smoke Lab Vodka Paula Lukas. “

And yes, you can find it on shelves out here (you just haven’t been looking): from affordable versions to bottles to bring as a gift, Bottle Hampton, Race Lane Wines and Park Place Wines, there are several spots on the South Fork spots to find a bottle.

For the drink “Praise You,” Lukas wanted to draw out the inherent flavors of stone fruit, almond and honey. “Pineau Des Charentes has a subtle sweetness yet and it’s so rich in flavor,” she says. “I was creating a cocktail  that would work great for brunch [and] be very refreshing. Pineau Des Charentes is actually the perfect complement to the savory components in “Praise You.” It really stands out and I love to create cocktails with it!” 

With both peaches and tomatoes starting to pop up at farm stands, it got us in the mood for this gorgeous, original sipper from Lukas. Shake one up this weekend and fortify your chances of mixing up something memorable. Salute, South Forkers!

Praise You

Prep Time 1 minute
Serves 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz Smoke Lab vodka
  • 1 oz "Pineau Park" Pineau des Charantes
  • 2 oz mango-carrot juice
  • 1 oz grapefruit juice
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
  • 4 small cherry tomatoes

Directions

  • Combine all liquid ingredients, plus a pinch of the lemon-pepper seasoning, in a shaker with ice.
  • Shake until cold and frothy, about 10-15 seconds.
  • Wet half the rim of a coupe glass using the squeezed out rind of the grapefruit and dip that half of the glass into the remaining lemon-pepper seasoning.
  • Strain the cocktail into the glass and garnish with the three tomatoes skewered on a toothpick. Cheers!

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