The Joyful Hour this week is a return of sophistication. It’s a result of the refined feeling you get when sipping on a well-crafted cocktail. The Drawing Room was designed to be enjoyed.
Alan Walter, the head mixologist at Loa Bar, New Orleans, creates The Drawing Room by combining Redbreast Irish whisky, rose syrup, Elisir M. P. Roux, watermelon, cayenne, and bitters. The result is a cosmopolitan cocktail with a sophisticated twist (no, it’s not the Cosmopolitan).
Do you think watermelon syrup is too complicated? You’ll want to make more after you try it. Watermelon’s sweetness is balanced by star anise and cinnamon, making the syrup not too heavy.
It’s candy. It’s savory. It’s spicy. It’s superior.
Drawing Room
What you will want:
Watermelon cubes, 4 cups.
1/2 cup cane sugar
Sprint cayenne pepper
Pinch salt
Star anise 3 products
Cinnamon sticks
Redbreast Irish whiskey 1.5 oz
.25 oz Crispin’s Rose Liqueur
.25 oz Elisir M.P. Roux
Sprint Angostura Bitters
Lemon peel
Make it:
- Make the syrup. Blend or process the watermelon. Pour the watermelon puree into a saucepan with sugar and heat on medium. Add the star anise and cinnamon sticks as soon as the mixture begins to reduce, approximately 5 minutes. Continue to simmer until the mixture reduces to about 1/3. This should take 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, strain through a mesh strainer with a positive pressure and then chill.
- Mix 1 tbsp of watermelon syrup with the liquor and bitters in a mixing cup. Add ice cubes. Pour right into a coupe. Pour the drink into a coupe and twist the lemon peel to disperse the oils. Serve the drink and discard the twist.
