Rainy Day

There’s a theory in molecular gastronomy that two ingredients will pair well together if they have chemically similar aromas. Due to a quirk of chemistry, the name for a chemical you can smell is not precisely aromatic compound, because there are also some non-aromatic compounds that we can detect with our noses. Anyway, tomatoes and black tea are one of these “molecular” pairings, though when we try to dig into exactly what molecule that is, things get a bit dicey.

The unfortunate truth is that it's hard to get excited about savory drinks, and tomatoes lean very heavily toward the umami side of the flavor spectrum, so even if you sweeten it, it's going to be savory. One trick I have found for making tomato a more appetizing cocktail ingredient is to clarify it. The procedure is simple; pour fresh tomato juice into a funnel lined with a coffee filter and wait a few hours. You could even set it up in the fridge and let it go over night if you needed to make a lot. The end product still tastes like tomato juice, but it has a mercifully un-chunky texture, which I think is the worst part of tomato in a cocktail.

I wanted to use a relatively neutral spirit for the base of this drink, and I've been flush with Pisco lately, so it was a convenient choice. In order to get some black tea in this drink, I decided to infuse earl grey into the Pisco. Tea infuses into hot water in a matter of a few minutes, and it infuses into strong spirits only slightly slower. I let the earl grey steep in the Pisco for only fifteen minutes before it became dark and cloudy with the tea. But don't trust my steep time; as with all infusions, your own good taste must be the final arbiter regarding how long to allow it to infuse.

Rainy Day

1.5 oz Earl Grey-Infused Pisco (Tabernero)

1.5 oz Clarified Heirloom Tomato Juice

.25 oz Simple Syrup.

25 oz Lime Juice

Pinch of Salt

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Shake over ice and double strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with a tiny grilled cheese sandwich and a cherry tomato.

This drink had a tangy, pungent flavor from the combination of the tomato and lime, which also went nicely with the bergamot in the earl grey. I did enjoy the interplay between the tea's bitter tannin and the tomato's roundness, but as with all savory drinks, it's hard to love it.

Before I go, a quick note on the theme: I garnished this drink with a grilled cheese because I reasoned, on a rainy Washington day, what could be better than a cup of hot tea, a bowl of tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich? This drink was my attempt to capture all of those elements in a single preparation. You have to eat the grilled cheese right away, unfortunately, as it is but a single bite, and it does not retain its heat, not even long enough for a photo shoot.

Cheers.