...stinging nettles (continuation)

First of all my apologies for the delayed continuation of my cliff hanger - Those of you who are actually following what's going on here I left you in deadly suspense promising I would return soon with a fantastic recipe using stinging nettles. In the mean time my old internet connection was closed down and my new internet wasn't working at all so I've remained silent for a few weeks.

However, and with no further ado, I give you 'Stinging Nessie' cocktail:

'Stinging Nessie'

35 ml Chivas Regal 12 yo
15 ml lemon juice
10 ml pink grape juice
10 ml stinging nettle syrup*
5 ml maple-choco-malt syrup*
2 drops of Aperol

...
Pour everything into a shaker and shake for about 5 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a grape zest

...
*stinging nettle syrup

- a lot of young baby stinging nettles.
- sugar syrup ( 1:1 ratio)

You need to blanch it ( I.E. quickly rinse it boiling water - quickly is the keyword here: Too long and the stinging nettles will start to taste like boiled spinach... not really what we're looking for).
:The blanching will prevent the nettle from stinging the patrons in the mouth as they drink, which would be a bad thing!
Put it in a container and cover it with sugar syrup (1:1 ratio) leave it for a few days. Taste it as it progresses - when it tastes like you would expect a stinging nettle syrup would taste like pour it through a strainer of some sort and you're ready.

*maple-chocolate-malt

- maple syrup
- dark chocolate liqueur
- a light malt extract ( I buy mine from Urtegaarden).
mix it all together in a 2:2:1 ratio ( 100 ml maple syrup; 100 ml chocolate liqueur; 50 ml malt)




Now, in my bar I don't usually carry Chivas Regal. No special reason to why not I just don't... So it surprised me a little when I was contacted by a Japanese magazine that wanted to do an profile on me - they were apparently sponsored by Chivas Regall, so of course they wanted me to do something with that product. To be honest I kinda opposed to the whole idea: Doing a piece on me as a bartender, as bar manager at Karriere without taking an interest in what I do as bartender or what we serve at Karriere just seemed as a waste of my time: I mean, at Karriere I do joyful things with a Nordic twist, not whisky drinks!? It seemed like they where mostly interested in showcasing Chivas Regal. Nevertheless, I am a professional and above such petty matters: Someone wants me to do a cocktail, I'll do a cocktail! But I am going to do it on my terms:

I planned to do a light cocktail perfect for late spring using Chivas Regal and mind you with a Nordic twist: The rest kinda went as these things go: I smelled, I smelled more. I compared smells, I let my mind drift and slowly but surely I designed the battle plan for this drink. It was the combination of dark chocolate, honey and wet hay that I found in the whisky that let me to the before mentioned flavours - grape fruit and lemon to pick flavours up make them brighten up a bit; chocolate, malt and maple to enunciate the chocolate and the honey in the Chivas; stinging nettles to give the herbal flavours in the whisky a leg to stand on.
I am not really proud of the name - i was in a rush for time and it was all I could come up with. The drink, however, is beautiful and balances perfectly - This is, in my most humble opinion, a very nice cocktail indeed!!
Of course, when it became time to do the interview they revealed to me that they needed 4 cocktails; not 1 like they had said on the phone!! So even though I didn't want to I ended up doing Rob Roy's, Bobby Burns'es, blood and Sand's or what ever I chose, can't remember... Quite a dissapointing experience but at least one truely good thing came of it..

Cheers