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We’ve got Your Holiday Spirit! | The Charm City Fizz

December 22, 2016

holiday drinks

Charm City Fizz

Recipe from Daniela of Wishing Well Liquors

Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin
Pom Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice 
Charm City Meadworks sparkling Basil Lemongrass Mead
Pomegranate seeds
A twist of lemon

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour 2.5 oz of Bombay Sapphire Gin, and 2 oz of 100% Pomegranate Juice to shake. Shake well, then strain over ice in a rocks glass. Pour Charm City Meadworks sparkling Basil Lemongrass Mead to fill, and garnish with several pomegranate seeds and a fresh twist of lemon.

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From Daniela of Wishing Well Liquors: The Charm City Fizz is named after Charm City Meadworks in Baltimore, Maryland. The meadery itself is monikered after the city of Baltimore’s affectionate nickname. Sense of place and time were ideas we felt deeply about this holiday season, and in developing our new cocktail, it was important for me to highlight the bridge between modern flavor profiles and ingredients with a deep and iconic history. 

Gin is one of those timeless spirits that (in my opinion) doesn’t see enough use in modern cocktails, even though it has an exceedingly wide variety of styles and potential flavors. I chose Bombay Sapphire Gin as a base largely because of its complex and harmonious composition, and in part due to its fascinating story. Bombay Sapphire, unlike most other gins, uses a vapor infusion technique with 10 different botanical ingredients. Instead of boiling ingredients in the spirit itself, the vapors rise through a perforated copper basket, allowing for a more subtle and balanced infusion. It’s something like steaming all the flavor in!

Mead, a fermented honey drink with a rich background in world mythos, has been produced in various parts of the world for literally thousands of years. Throughout this time, this concoction has lent itself to hundreds of manipulations and recipes. A personal favorite has to be CCMW’s Basil Lemongrass Sparkling Mead. This offering is a dry and concise mead, very unlike anything else in the world of craft beverages today. The effervescence lends a crisp hint of dry white wine, while the understated and savory basil tempers the vibrant citrus qualities of lemongrass. One of the most elegant beverages I have come across, I can’t say enough about Charm City Meadworks! The good people at CCMW are innovative minds lending their own charm to an old-world beverage once recognized for bestowing the drinker with scholarly and poetic inspiration. Not cloyingly sweet, or laden with a busy list of adjunct flavors, this mead was the perfect bubbly choice for a gin-based cocktail with a splash of fruit.

100% pomegranate juice really is the perfect addition to two such complex and distinct spirit types. Pomegranate has all the rich juicy textures and berry flavor of most other dark stone fruit, but none of the acidity or bitterness. On it’s own, it can be rather dry, and just the perfect amount of tart–something like a wild cross between cherries, apples, and cranberry.

Pomegranate seeds also remind me of holiday decorations you can eat, they’re like natural sprinkles! The twist of lemon also serves to tie in the immediate citrus aroma that is shared in the bouquet of lemongrass and basil from the sparkling mead while adding a little color to the color palate of the whole drink.

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