Happy New Year – a phrase that holds a special sort of optimism this time around. To kick off a new and hopefully better year, I thought I’d offer a post on a different kind of drink: a molecular cocktail. The inspiration came from the Aviary Cocktail Book, a gorgeously illustrated compendium of complicated but delicious cocktails by the Aviary bar in Chicago. I decided to make my way through the book this year. My goal is not necessarily to try every recipe, but at least to consider each one, try a few out and share the results here and on Instagram. The first entry in the book is the Aviary gin & tonic. This drink is not actually served at the restaurant, but is a delightful recipe to enjoy at home.
It is worth noting that the reason the Aviary doesn’t serve this drink is that it is too labor-intensive. That word of caution is well-heeded if you intend to make the cucumber spheres that are the drink’s signature component. I would budget several hours to that task. And it wouldn’t hurt to have a friend help you speed things along.
The good news is that the gin and tonic component is not actually all that complicated. And it is a delicious recipe that does well without the cucumber spheres if you don’t have the time or inclination to make them. (For more gin & tonic inspiration and some fun travel photography, see my last post, the Sunset G&T. Or if you’re doing Dry January, check out my Actually Dry Martini recipe.) But we’ll go through the whole thing here. With enough patience, you should end up with something that looks like this:
