Popping the Question... Say Yes. (Or At Least Maybe.)
And a Recipe for THE Drink of the Summer: Celery-Citrus Spritz
My Noodlers!
For your next aperitivo, I’m urging you to gather 5 simple ingredients to make the drink my girlfriend has dubbed The It Girl. (I’m trying not to take offense.) Cocktail hour 30 minutes away? There’s a good chance you already have everything you need.
But first, there’s been a development over here at headquarters. Until now, NOODLE has been totally self-funded. But noodling ain’t cheap! I’ll make 14 different iterations of the same recipe if that’s what it takes to get it right. And that determination requires some coin.
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Now, back to the bubbles.
Celery is in full bloom right now. The farmers market had the bushiest of bunches this week, with vendors even selling bundles of celery leaves sans stalks. Now is the time to make use of the part that so often gets discarded: THE LEAVES.
I developed this cocktail years ago after a night out drinking back-to-back-to-back-to-back Lovage French 75’s. But lovage– an herb that tastes basically like celery leaves, only sharper— is hard to find. (You may see the plants around this time of the year. If you do, snag ‘em.)
The cocktail recipe that follows is composed of a homemade celery syrup (active time: 45 seconds), fresh lemon juice, vodka, and dry sparkling wine. Prefer a mocktail? Yestail! Increase the syrup and lemon juice a bit, omit the vodka, and top with sparkling water.
Both versions are bright and herbaceous and celeracious. To call this drink quaffable would fall short: the instinctual way to imbibe it is by gulping.
Highly recommended:
Make a big batch of the syrup and have it all summer long for drink after drink after back-to-back drink.
CELERY-CITRUS SPRITZ
Makes 6-8 cocktails; scales up or down easily
REMEMBER, BEST PRACTICE: READ THE RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE YOU START!
The celery simple syrup has a long shelf life. Use any leftovers all summer (or winter) long.
Feel free to play with the ratios. Prefer more sour and less sweet, or the other way around? Do your thing. A salted rim is fun here, too.
Mocktail? Yestail! Increase the syrup and lemon juice a bit, omit the vodka, and top with sparkling water.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 (firmly packed) cup of celery leaves (in a pinch, or if your bunch doesn’t have many leaves, chop the innermost stalks and leaves to measure 2 cups), plus extra leaves or small stalks for garnishing
12 ounces (¾ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus additional lemon wedges for garnishing
16 ounces (1 cup) vodka, preferably chilled straight from the freezer
Kosher salt
1 bottle dry sparkling wine, chilled
1. Make the celery simple syrup: In a medium pot, combine the sugar and the water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the celery leaves and reduce heat to maintain a brisk simmer. Let cook, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a jar, and chill in the refrigerator. Strain and discard the leaves before using.
To make the syrup for more immediate consumption, use only ½ cup of water and simmer the leaves for a few minutes longer to simulate the steeping. Remove from the heat and transfer to a jar. Add the remaining ½ cup water in the form of ice cubes (don’t stress— you can approximate) to chill the syrup quickly.
2. If batching out the cocktail for a bigger crowd, combine 1 cup of chilled simple syrup, the 12 ounces of lemon juice, the 16 ounces of vodka, and a big pinch of salt in a pitcher. Stir. Divide among 8 lowball glasses filled with ice, being sure to leave room for the bubbles!
If making drinks in smaller batches, distribute the following proportions among individual lowball glasses filled with ice: 1 ounce celery syrup to 1 ½ ounces lemon juice to 1 ounce vodka. Tip: 1 ounce equals 2 tablespoons. Again, leave room for bubbles.
3. Give a quick stir to each glass with a cocktail spoon or chopstick, top with sparkling wine, celery leaves, and a lemon wedge. Gulp away.
Gulping with joy, the mocktail❗️❤️
You're doing great! I love lovage!