Caught Up In the Newness

Caught Up in The Newness is a girl’s night out exploration in to herb-utilized bourbon cocktails. In the song, The Newness, Eric Roberson is speaking to freshness, fun & excitement he’s having when starting a new relationship. This cocktail creates that feeling for women who don’t usually forage into the space of bourbon especially alongside the use of aromatic Lemongrass. Using the herbaceous, sweet & refreshing notes of familiarity that women like in cocktails, we cohesively meld these flavors with Maker’s Mark 46’s higher proof and its signature notes of vanilla & caramel to create a New cocktail to enjoy.

-Glassware: Narrow Highball glass

-Charred Pineapple Syrup prep:  Put 8-10 pineapple chunks into a dry pot on medium heat and allow to char on all sides while pressing into them with a muddler to release the additional juices. Once the pieces start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of cane sugar. Continue to cook for 30-45 minutes on medium until the mixture reduces and the pineapple pieces are dark & very soft. Allow to cool. Place in strainer to remove pineapple pieces and store syrup in squeeze bottle. Set aside.

-Mandarin Orange Juice prep: Take 1 can of mandarin oranges, strain off the syrup & add wedges to a blender cup. Blend & strain out any unwanted pulp. Keep in a glass bottle.

-Lemongrass Paste prep: Get 1 large bushel of lemongrass (8-10 stalks) and set aside a few for the garnish. Cut off the green tops, similar to a scallion, and keep the yellow/purple bottom. Take a heavy pan or rolling pin & bang the stalks to loosen the fibers. Cut them up & place into a blender with a sprinkle of sea salt & water. Blend until a paste is formed. Scoop the paste out and set aside. (Store-bought Lemongrass paste will work for this purpose as well.)

-Garnish directions:

            Lemongrass Frond (the part where the stalk splits): Use a stalk of Lemongrass with the green still attached and cut it right past the start of the yellow, keeping the stalk intact.

            Dehydrated Pineapple: Place pineapple pieces onto a baking sheet & bake in the oven on 200 degrees for 8 hours. Cool and keep in an airtight container. (Store-bought dehydrated pineapple pieces will work also if allowed to soften.)

            Pomegranate Aril (seed) Ice Balls: Sprinkle 3-4 arils (seeds) into each space in a small silicone half ball mold & freeze. Upon those halves being frozen, remove from freezer and moisten halves to stick together to form the balls and re-freeze until ready to use.

-Cocktail Creation:

Into your shaker place:

2-3 ice cubes

0.5 oz Charred Pineapple Syrup

0.75 oz of Lemongrass Paste

1.5 oz Maker’s Mark 46

3 oz Mandarin Orange Juice

3 oz Club Soda

Stir vigorously. Strain into a spouted glass to remove lemongrass paste. Place 8-10 pomegranate ice balls into the narrow highball glass. Pour mixture into the highball glass. Drip 0.5oz of pomegranate juice on top. Garnish with lemongrass frond & dehydrated pineapple piece placed partially in the glass. Drink and get Caught up in The Newness!