Watch Butterjoint’s Will Groves Make Artisanal Cocktails With a GoPro
Who says produce can’t be fun? Butterjoint’s bar manager shows us some fresh cocktail tricks.
Every year, I like to take a break from all this righteousness and give you a dose of relief, just so you know I’m not some nerdy health nut (which I am).
I do like my cocktails. Last year, I showed you how you can become a Locavore Lush. This year, I got Will Groves of Oakland’s Butterjoint to demonstrate how to incorporate fresh farmers market finds in the perfect summer cocktails.
GoPro hooked us up with some hardware, so we can get a first-person bartender view of two amazing cocktails with a couple of key ingredients that are in-season at local markets: blackberries and basil.
We’ve got something for fans of both dark and light liquor — a Blackberry Bourbon Smash and a Summer-y Gin. Both are extremely delicious and perfect for the summer. I tasted them for you, folks. In the name of science.
Want more insight? You’re in luck. Groves is teaching a Summer Drinks Class July 12 at the Butterjoint. The class will cover cocktail-friendly ingredients that can be found locally and seasonally, including a couple unexpected ones such as snap peas and rhubarb! MY KIND OF CLASS, people.
The session also will cover cocktail basics such as muddling, stirring and shaking. Register for the class here. Hurry – there’s a limited number of seats!
Recipes by Will Groves
Blackberry Bourbon Smash
Ingredients
- 3-4 fresh sweet basil leaves
- 2 fairly thin lemon slices
- 5-6 ripe blackberries
- .25 ounce demerara syrup, or 1 sugar cube, or 1 teaspoon demerara sugar
- 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
Directions
1. Muddle all ingredients, except for whiskey, in an old-fashioned glass until fairly uniform.
2. Press basil and lemon peel to extract flavor.
3. Add whiskey.
4. Add ice and stir until well-chilled.
5. Top with a splash of club soda if desired.
6. Garnish with lemon wheel.
Summer-y Gin
Ingredients
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- .5 ounce demerara or simple syrup
- .5 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
- 6-8 fresh blackberries
- 2 ounces gin
Directions
1. In a shaker pint glass, lightly press basil and syrup.
2. Add blackberries and muddle until thoroughly macerated.
3. Add lemon juice and gin.
4. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker until thoroughly mixed and chilled.
5. Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
6. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf.
