Modern Spirits Vodka Dinner 6.24.07

[KatieLoeb]

Hi all:

I've been meaning to post this thread for some time, but have been having trouble getting the photos needed until today. My apologies for the long delay.

On Sunday June 26, 2006, I participated in a paired cocktails and dinner event hosted by Martini Beach restaurant in Cape May, NJ. The featured spirit of the evening was the new line of infused vodkas produced by Modern Spirits. Martini Beach is one of the first restaurants in NJ to feature the new vodkas, which are all created in small batches for maximal delicacy of flavor. We used six of the seven available flavors for the dinner - Celery-Peppercorn, Grapefruit-Honey, Pear-Lavender, Candied Ginger, Chocolate-Orange and Three Tea. Here is a pictorial of each of the six courses offered, as well as the cocktails created by myself and Karin Rickard, my good friend and the proprietress of Martini Beach.

Cocktail Hour - Trio of appetizers - Chilled Cape May Salt Oysters, Shrimp Cocktail and Hand Cut Gazpacho. Served with a fresh Yellow Tomato Celery Peppercorn Bloody Mary.

We made fresh yellow tomato juice, mixed it with the Celery-Peppercorn vodka, fresh lemon juice, the tiniest bit of worcesterhire and tabasco (so as not to change the lovely color) and rimmed the champagne flutes we served it in with a mixture of fresh dried lemon zest, celeery seed, a pinch of cayenne and kosher salt which we'd buzzed through the coffee grinder. The juice sadly began to separate after a few minutes, but it looked glorious when it first got into the glass.

First course - Ruby Red Scallop Ceviche with Basil. Served with a Grapefruit Honey Mimosa.

The scallops were about as fresh and delicious as I've ever had. Poached in fresh ruby red grapefruit juice and mixed with fresh basil. The cocktail included the Grapefruit-Honey vodka, a dab of honey syrup, a splash of ruby red grapefruit juice and a splash of X-Rated Fusion Liqueur as the base which was then topped with sparkling wine.

Second Course - Smoked tenderloin of Kurabuta pork with roasted Bosc pears. Served with a Lavender-Pear Sidecar.

The sidecar is a variant of a drink I've made in the past. This one contained the Modern Spirits Pear-Lavender vodka, Belle de Brillet pear cognac, lavender simple syrup, Cointreau, pear nectar and fresh lemon juice, garnished with a lemon twist. This one was the crowd favorite for the evening, I think.

Third Course - Seared Opa with Sauteed Snow Peas, Mango Salsa and Pineapple Beurre Blanc. Served with a Candied Ginger Pina Colada with Mango syrup.

The Pina Colada was the Candied Ginger vodka, a wee bit of Malibu rum, a splash of pineapple juice, fresh lime and mango syrup drizzled in for a Tequila Sunrise effect at the bottom of the glass. Garnished with a fresh pineapple wedge.

Fourth Course - Grilled Kobe beef with Foie Gras Butter over Spring Onion White Polenta. Served with a Smoky French Martini made with Chcocolate-Orange vodka.

This cocktail was a bit trickier to pull off. I wanted to riff on the Dreamy Dorini Smokin' Martini of Pegu Club fame, but rinsing the glass with Laphroaig scotch was still leaving too much of a whiskey taste in the drink. The eventual solution was to put the Laphroaig in a spray bottle with a couple of strips of orange zest and allow it to infuse for a couple of hours before the dinner. We then misted the glasses with the scotch and added the chilled Chocolate Orange vodka and Lillet afterward. Garnished with a fat orange twist. It's a shame you really can't see the drink, because we chose to serve them in pewter goblets that looked like the Holy Grail, but the choice of stemware seemed apropos for a big meat course. Everyone had fun swinging around their "grog" and clinking the big-assed glasses.

Dessert - Chai infused Creme Brulee. Served with a Three Tea Vodka Old Fashioned.

This was really delicious. I love creme brulee and this was a very delicately spiced version that complimented the Three Tea vodka very well. For the cocktail, we muddled cherries and orange segments with a splash of grenadine and orange bitters then filled the glass with crushed ice. We topped it off with the Three Tea vodka and added a tiny float of Grand Marnier on the top.

I have to thank Chefs John Siuta and Dan Winkler of Martini Beach, as well as the entire FOH staff for making this dinner seem so effortless. I actually had the pleasure of sitting down and acting like a guest as the kitchen, waitstaff and bartenders did all the heavy lifting. After having a near nervous breakdown that afternoon while doing the last minute shopping and batching up all the drinks, this all came together by the appointed hour with even a tiny bit of time to spare. Whew! I must also thank my friend Dino Galanti of Party Rental Ltd. for donating all of the beautiful tableware, glasses and linens to help make everything look as appealing as it did, and of course my good friend Karin at Martini Beach for asking me to participate in this great event and acting as the other half of my brain when coming up with the drink recipes. This was really challenging and a lot of fun to pull off.

The Modern Spirits vodkas are interesting products. Probably not for everyone, but I think that's fine with them. Some are better than others for solo sipping, at least to my taste, but they're certainly an interesting entry into the flavored/infused vodka portfolio. I'll be interested to read about the other cocktail dinners around the country that are featuring these and see what those chefs and mixologists come up with!

[dockhl]

Katie~

very interesting thread ! Delicious looking food and mouthwatering drinks.

I remember asking on the forum about anyone's take on the Modern Spirit Vodkas when they first came out. I then forgot about them, and have never tasted any ! (Of course, we just got a BevMo two weeks ago )

Tell me about your impressions of them, please?

Thanks~

Kathy

[aaronwcpa]

Happy to read that you are well and keeping busy.

Everything looks wonderful with all the vodka drinks. It makes me wish that I was a vodka drinker.

[KatieLoeb]

Katie~

very interesting thread ! Delicious looking food and mouthwatering drinks.

I remember asking on the forum about anyone's take on the Modern Spirit Vodkas when they first came out. I then forgot about them, and have never tasted any ! (Of course, we just got a BevMo two weeks ago  )

Tell me about your impressions of them, please?

Thanks~

Kathy

←

Hi Kathy:

I never did see your original post about the vodkas. I didn't know about them myself until my friend in Cape May contacted me in May about helping her plan this dinner. Here's my take on the different flavors:

Celery-Peppercorn: Well balanced and perfect for bloody marys or other savory applications. The celery flavor is well pronounced and the perppercorn is just enough, not too much.

Grapefruit-Honey: More citrusy than sweet, but with a definite honeyed flavor in the background. Purposefully kicked up those aspects in the mimosa so those flavors wouldn't get masked by the sparkling wine. I'd probably enjoy this one on the rocks or with soda as well.

Pear-Lavender: The most subtle of all the flavors we used. A flavor combination I'd availed myself of previously in a cocktail, so definitely a favorite flavor duo of mine. However, because the flavors were so subtle in the vodka, I again chose to kick it up with the use of Belle de Brillet, Lavender simple syrup and a bit of pear nectar so the flavors would come through in the drink and stand up to the pork.

Candied Ginger: Definitely the strongest flavored vodka of the bunch. A little of this went a long way. Almost like biting into a piece of candied ginger with a bit of the heat still remaining in the vodka. Tamed it with coconut rum, pineapple juice and a little mango syrup so it would compliment the flavors in the fish dish. This would likely have to be mixed with juice or soda to cut it back to palatable levels of flavor/heat.

Chocolate-Orange: Bittersweet and a little bit like that old Israeli liqueur called Sabra with vodka. This would probably be good in a creamy drink a la White Russian as a dessert drink, maybe with a tiny splash of Godiva and some cream. I wanted to use the mist of smoky Islay scotch in the glass to echo the flavor of the grilled meat, and the chocolate and orange already go well with beef, so making a smoky French Martini seemed the best way to soften the vodka with a bit of Lillet and

Three Tea: Really liked this one too. Another I could see myself sipping on the rocks. Very delicate balance of tea flavors without the harsh tannin I've always gotten from my own attempts at tea infused spirits. Seemed like a natural to pair with the Chai creme brulee.

The other flavor that's available that we chose not to use was the Black Truffle. When we tried it we thought it was just a bit too funky to try and create a cocktail with, and we definitely wanted to do variations of classic cocktails for this dinner. I suspect this one might be good just chilled and served on the side of a cheese platter or maybe with a very simple complimentary protein.

You can see what Modern Spirits recommends as the best food pairings with their products, HERE.

I'm not holding my breath as to when these will be available in PA, since it's such a niche product, but the Modern Spirits website has a spot to find a distributor in a *ahem* neighboring state if you're feeling so inclined.