Our language is rich with fascinating terms for gatherings of kindred creatures. A romp of otters. An exaltation of larks. A congregation of plovers. And now, a pitcher of Presbyterians.
Who better to sample and critique this little-known cocktail than a group of honest-to-goodness Presbyterians?
My official tasting partner for the evening is our host, the Rev. Dr. Douglas Gerdts of First & Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Del., who takes on the honorary mantle of Minister of Mixology. Rounding out the group are four clergy people and a minister of music, who display such zeal for our mission that they all are recruited for future tastings.
We start with a recipe from Martha Stewart:
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces whiskey or Bourbon (some recipes call for Scotch or Rye)
2 ounces club soda
2 ounces ginger ale
2 dashes Angostura bitters
DIRECTIONS
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add bourbon, club soda, ginger ale and bitters. Stir and enjoy.
Our base is J.R. Ewing bourbon, provided by the nice folks at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Warner produced the discontinued TV drama “Dallas” for TNT and named the bourbon for the villainous tycoon played by the late Larry Hagman. Expect to pay about $33 for a 750 ML bottle.
The four-year-old, 80-proof bourbon is distilled in Kentucky and bottled in Texas in a square glass decanter with a wooden stopper and a screen-printed image of the show’s iconic Southfork Ranch. (Witness Rev. Kaci Clark-Porter, a native Texan, contemplating the bottle.)
It’s a pleasant relaxer with notes of vanilla, oak and orange. It is not my first choice as a sipping bourbon but it does play nicely with other ingredients, which makes it a good choice for cocktails.
Our mixers are Q ginger ale and Fever Tree club soda. The bitters: Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry. Our own special touch: fresh ginger and lime.
We serve the Presbys in tall glasses with lots of ice, paired with a fanciful, Presbyterian-themed cocktail menu: savory shortbread; charcuterie sausages John Calvin might have enjoyed; cheeses from Germany and Switzerland; and an assortment of tea sandwiches, including salmon (a nod to the Church of Scotland), peanut butter and pickle (a Presby favorite), and cucumber, in case an Episcopalian wandered in. And because Presbyterians truly do have a sense of humor, deviled eggs with crab.
As for the cocktail, it’s remarkably refreshing for a drink with a brown liquor base. Slightly sweet and positively pleasant. The premium mixers are a good investment, offering a clean, fresh balance to the complexity of the spiced cherry bitters. Lime and ginger usher in summer. This is a drink we are adding to our potable portfolio.
Here’s to food, drink and fellowship. Amen.