Strawberry Calpico
Strawberry Calpico
Gin, Strawberry, Yuzu Sake, Yuzu Bitters, Calpico Foam
I think this qualifies as a very extra episode. A sorta spiritual successor to the Strawberry Calpico ramos gin fizz, but this time, we’re actually using Calpico and separating the two flavors. Heavily inspired by @hwoo.lee ‘s Calpico Ice Cream with Strawberry Bingsu, this cocktail features a calpico foam and clarified strawberry cordial, and is loosely built around the Clover Club.
Part of the challenge here was to balance the sweetness between the calpico and strawberry and making sure the strawberry wasnt lost. To do this, I clarified strawberry juice and slightly sweetened it in order to use more of it in the cocktail. I used the sweetness of pineapple juice as a point of reference. Yuzu sake and bitters were added to give that citrus note, but at the same time adding a bit of dryness to help with the perceived sweetness.
Calpico is fairly sweet, so diluting the concentrate and adding a bit of yuzu helped manage the sweetness. Typically, egg white is used for foams, but I found methocelluose and xanthan gum to be a very good foam stabilizer. Inevitably, as the foam settles, the calpico dissolves into the drink, which creates a richer cocktail without oversweetening.
I saw that Hwoo recently added a matcha component to his calpico ice cream- while this drink was refreshing I think maybe a dusting of matcha on top of the foam might be a good way to introduce more complexity.
1.5 oz gin
0.5 oz yuzu sake
1.5 oz strawberry cordial
5 drops yuzu bitters
top with Calpico foam
Add ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir down. Pour into a rocks glass over a large block of ice. Garnish with Calpico Foam
Strawberry Cordial
450 g Strawberries
2 g Pectinex SP-L
80 g sugar
4 g citric acid
Add strawberries and Pectinex Sp-L into a blender and blend until the vessel is body temperature. Let sit for 15 minutes, then use a centrifuge to spin the solids out, about 10 minutes. Decant the clarified strawberry juice through a coffee filter. Add enough sugar to hit 20 Brix ( For example, if you have 400 g strawberry juice at 5 Brix, you’ll have to add 80 g sugar). Add 1% of original strawberry juice weight in citric acid. Stir to combine, then reserve.
Calpico Foam
30 ml Calpico Concentrate
120 ml water
3.75 ml yuzu juice
.8 g methocel 50
0.25 g xanthan gum.
Add all ingredients to a blender and briefly blend to disperse methocel and xanthan gum. Add to a cream whipper and charge with 1 n20 charge. Shake briefly and leave in fridge for at least an hour before using.