The doldrums of late winter are often characterized as sluggish and lifeless. In the Pacific Northwest, the days are short and gray. Though an abundance of evergreens remain, the absence of deciduous leaves feels deeply austere in contrast with our blossoming springs and lush summers. The farmers market vegetable stands can seem equally bereft of a certain elegance. Not to disparage the demure ruffles of kale or the colorful splashes of gnarled carrots and beetroots-it’s just that after a few months of stews and roasts I long for less fibrous fare. Something tender and aromatic. Luckily spring is just around the corner with its snappy sweet young shoots and pods. This used to be an interim in which I would languish, that is until I realized the sheer glory of what defines these months on the West Coast – Peak Season Citrus!
I don’t understand just how I could grow up in California completely oblivious to the majesty of Peak Season Citrus. 18 years in the Bay Area and I barely knew what these beautiful winter fruits should taste like. Supermarket mandarins seemed inert and unchanging, oranges yielded pithy and monoaromatic. As a result, I rarely gravitated toward these orange and yellow spheres. Such is the tragedy of industrialized farming. Though I was lucky enough to reap the benefits of nearby meyer lemon, kumquat, and manderin trees during my time in LA. The Meyer lemon tree, positioned next to a neighbors bungalow in the same complex, became a target for late night raids when inspiration happened to strike outside respectable fruit picking hours. Tiptoeing into their yard I would attempt, oft unsuccessfully, to pull a few fruits without more raining down percussively onto their trash cans. It wasn’t until I was introduced to the myriad citric delicacies of late winter via New Seasons Market in Portland OR that I began to understand the sheer variety and quality available here in the West. From candy sweet Page Mandarins to Seville Sour Oranges, from illusive Yuzu to perfumed Bergamot, a world of bright tangy delights opened up to me.
With so many options to explore come endless applications for the fruits. Spicy Leche de Tigre and ceviche are obligatory. Making Kosho, though riffable with any good citrus zest, allows one to preserve Yuzu’s addictive profile and take advantage of the short season and Western availability. Seville sour orange makes a great acidifier and affords authenticity to cuban Mojos and British marmalades, yet makes an intriguing base for ponzu sauce. Meyer lemons claim superior status with their sweeter juice and light piths, they easily find their way into luscious curds and cakes. Edibles aside, these fruits beg to be squeezed and cozied up with booze. Dutifully mixed sours, fizzes and drops are basically a birthright for great citrus. As luck so has it, we recently teamed up with our favorite local infused spirit distillers Wild Roots just as the good stuff hit its ripened peak.
Normally we are not such big fans of liquor marketed as “flavored” vodkas as they often wind up tasting aggressively artificial, with sub-par distilling attempting to hide behind acrid perfumes. Wild Roots works completely outside this paradigm, redefining the platonic ideal of infused Vodka. In their words,
“In the crowded world of vodka, something was missing. There were no natural options. Artificial fruit extracts, flavors, and colors lined the shelves, and we knew something had to be done. So through our desire for naturally infused spirits, Wild Roots was born”
We were afforded three intoxicating tipples from our friends at Wild Roots. First up, a Huckleberry Infused Vodka. Infused with over a pound of fresh huckleberries, it is silky and smooth with a bright flavor and crimson color reminiscent of a big juicy pinot noir. Next we have their Pear Infused Vodka, with intense aromatics, subtle vanilla bean flavors and floral fruitiness add to the complexity. Lastly we take a detour with their Cucumber Grapefruit Gin, where the cucumber provides a crisp sip while the grapefruit adds a more complex citrus element.
Conceiving cocktails for these three beautiful spirits was a fun and exciting challenge for us, especially during Peak Citrus Season. We developed two cocktails for each product, then conducted an online poll to see what folks were most interested in making. The results were close, but we narrowed it down to three lovely libations:
Huckleberry Vodka + Meyer Lemon + Rosemary Syrup + Spruce Shoot Bitters
Pear Vodka + Seville Sour Orange + Elderflower Syrup
Cucumber Grapefruit Gin + Bergamot + Lillet Blanc + Hibiscus Lavender Syrup
