{recipe} Dolores Park Cocktail
Yesterday, we closed on a beautiful new house in the Castro, so we’ll be moving from our beloved flat off of Dolores Park. The new place needs about a year’s worth of construction before moving in–including lifting up the house three feet to add a garage. Only in San Francisco! Last night I made a special cocktail to toast this momentous occasion. Gin, lemon juice, cardamom bitters, agave syrup, and a muddled habañero pepper balance and layer perfectly. It’s tart, sweet, spicy, herbal, and complex–just like Dolores Park.
I have loved living near Dolores Park. If I hadn’t lived here, I probably wouldn’t be as tuned in to all of the fantastic things you can find at the nearby Bi-Rite Market, like Scrappy’s bitters. Their sampler packs have become my go-to host/hostess gift, and once you find your favorite flavors, you can buy the full-sized bottles. I love the lavender bitters in a gin and tonic. The grapefruit bitters are excellent with tequila or mezcal. But the cardamom bitters are best of all, as they add spicy notes to almost any type of liquor in the most delightful way. They have a list of retailers and online stores if you want to pick some up and give them a try. And they have recipes on their site, too, which inspired this cocktail.
RECIPE: Dolores Park Cocktail
makes one cocktail. You can double, triple, or quadruple the recipe in a cocktail shaker, depending how many people you want to serve at once.
- 1 1/2 oz. good quality gin
- 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 oz. agave syrup
- 2 dashes cardamom bitters
- 1 thin slice of habañero pepper
- lemon twist
METHOD:
- Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Muddle pepper with a muddler (or a wooden spoon.) Add ice and shake well, about 15 seconds.
- Fill a lowball glass with ice. Pour cocktail through strainer into glass. Garnish with lemon twist and drink immediately.
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Thanks for the recipe but more importantly, congratulations on the new house!!!