Valley fruit a favorite for summertime cocktails
The central San Joaquin Valley will soon be awash in summertime fruits. Already, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries are in abundance. And before you know it, the region’s stone fruit farmers will be churning out dozens of varieties of peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots. If you are not careful, you could quickly become overwhelmed with too much fruit.
But not to worry, what you are unable to eat, freeze, bake or turn into jams, you add to make a refreshing summer cocktail.
Peggy and Alexandra Thurlow, the mother and daughter duo at Mountain View Fruit Sales, say stone fruit provides a nice balance of sweetness, tartness and acidity. It also has a flavor that marries well with herbs like basil, thyme or rosemary.
“I am a big fan of the craft cocktail movement and the use of fruits, herbs and natural sugars,” Alexandra Thurlow says. “And with all the fruit we have available, they are perfect to use in a drink. The flavor profile is easy to work with.”
On their website, www.mvfruit.com, the Thurlows have posted several drink recipes they created, including a favorite, the Sparkling Summeripe Nectarini. Summeripe is one of the company’s brands. The drink combines a nectarine, thyme-infused simple syrup, gin, St. Germain liqueur, lime juice and sparkling water.
“It is a great summer drink,” says Peggy Thurlow.
The Thurlows say if you are going to use stone fruit in your drinks, they have some advice. First, use ripe fruit. If the fruit isn’t ready, put it in a brown paper bag for a day or two. The riper the fruit the easier it is to juice. Also, invest in some quality bar tools, including a strainer, a mason jar shaker, and a muddler. Large ice cubes also help prevent your drink from becoming too watery in the Valley heat.
Ripe tree fruit can also be used to make simple syrups or to infuse vodkas. Alexandra adds peach slices to a container of vodka and lets it sit for three weeks. She adds a few shots of the peach-flavored vodka into her sangria.
A simple syrup combines equal parts, sugar, water and fruit or herb of your liking. (Recipe below.)
Bartender Miriam Widenham says she loves incorporating summer fruits into her craft cocktails. She works two nights a week at the Landmark Restuarant on Olive Avenue where she has developed a loyal following. Widenham recently experimented with the Masumoto family’s Diamond nectarines and came up with bourbon-based drink that has become a hit at the bar. Widenham calls it Diamonds on her Nectarines.
The drink has a crisp, refreshing taste and a dash of rhubarb bitters gives it another layer of flavor. Widenham says you can easily use peaches instead of nectarines if that is available, both work well.
“Their fruit is really amazing and tastes great in a cocktail,” Widenham says. “That nectarine flavor works so well with bourbon.”
Widenham says the nectarine drink will be available for the next few weeks. And after that, she’ll look for another fruit to feature.
“That’s one of the great things about living here, there is so much fresh fruit to experiment with,” Widenham says.
Robert Rodriguez: (559) 441-6327, @FresnoBeeBob
Diamonds on her nectarines
From Miriam Widenham
2 oz Makers Mark
1 oz Peach Nectar
Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters
Squeeze of Lemon
4-5 Basil leaves
Chiffonade all but one basil leaf. Pour whiskey and nectar into a mixing glass. Add a few shakes of bitters. Squeeze a wedge of lemon and add 1/2 the basil. Add ice to the mixing glass. Top it with the tin and give it a good shake. Strain into a Collins glass. Add ice and top off with club soda. Garnish with the basil leaf.
Blackberry mojito
From Driscroll’s
12 blackberries
12 large mint leaves
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cups seltzer water
1/4 cups vodka or rum
6 to 8 ice cubes
Muddle blackberries, mint leaves, sugar, lemon juice and lime juice in a tall glass until berries are mostly crushed. Add seltzer, vodka and ice. Stir well and serve.
Summeripe peach & nectarine sangria
From Alexandra Thurlow
2 very ripe yellow peaches, sliced
2 very ripe yellow nectarines, sliced
1 lemon
1 1/2 bottles of dry white wine, we suggest using a Fumé Blanc or a Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup raw cane sugar
6 ounces peach infused vodka, may substitute peach schnapps or any peach flavored vodka)
Add in yellow peach slices and yellow nectarine slices into the bottom a pitcher or jar. Cut lemon in half and juice one half of the lemon into the pitcher. Thinly slice the remaining half of the lemon for garnishing. Add raw cane sugar, white wine, and peach infused vodka into the pitcher. Let the pitcher chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Serve chilled and garnish with a slice of a Summeripe peach, nectarine and lemon.
Summeripe peach infused vodka: Slice a very ripe peach into a jar, add in 1 cup of vodka. Keep vodka and peaches covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Sparkling Summeripe Nectarini
From Alexandra & Peggy Thurlow
1 very ripe nectarine, sliced
2 ounces of gin
1.5 ounces of Thyme infused simple syrup
1.5 ounces fresh lime juice
2 Thyme sprigs for garnish
Splash of sparkling water
Splash of St. Germain
Handful of ice for shaker
Combine nectarine slices, Thyme infused simple syrup, and lime juice into a shaker and muddle. Add gin & handful of ice cubes into shaker and shake vigorously. Strain and pour liquid into a martini glass. Add a splash of sparkling water and St. Germain. Garnish with a nectarine slice & a fresh thyme Sprig.
Thyme Infused Simple Syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
In a small sauce pan, dissolve sugar into water over low heat, stirring occasionally. Once sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and add handful of fresh thyme sprigs. Place liquid into a jar with a lid and cool in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, cooling overnight is best. Strain and toss the thyme. The thyme infused simple syrup can be stored in a jar with a lid for 1-2 months in the refrigerator.
Summeripe “Peach Prohibition"
From Alexandra Thurlow
2 very ripe peaches, pitted & sliced
4 ounces bourbon (We used Maker's Mark)
2 ounces lime juice
2 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
Handful of ice or shaking, few cubes for drinks
Splash of bitters
Combine peach slices, basil, lime juice, bourbon, sugar, and ice into a shaker, muddle, shake vigorously. Strain into a glass with one-two ice cubes. Option: We like to strain the liquid through a medium mesh strainer to capture any left over lime or peach pulp.
Garnish with a peach slice. You can make "Peach Prohibition" family friendly by removing the bourbon and adding sparkling water after shaking.
This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Valley fruit a favorite for summertime cocktails."