Recently I’ve begun what I’m calling “The Cocktail Project”. The idea is to make cocktails I love and use them as ingredients in dishes. Make a drink and add it to a dessert. Make a drink and deglaze with it. I’ve already done some work on this, starting with Manhattan Caramels. What about reducing a drink and using it as an ingredient in another?
Let’s start with the Rust Nail Ganache. Nothing here is groundbreaking work. Make a Rusty Nail and add it to melted chocolate and cream. At it’s core, a Rusty Nail is around 2 parts scotch to 1 part Drambuie (a scotch liqueur), garnished with a lemon twist. Here’s my recipe:
Rusty Nail Ganache
18 fl oz Heavy Cream
Zest from 1/2 lemon
2 oz Johnny Walker Red Scotch
1 oz Drambuie
9 oz Dark Chocolate, Chopped
9 oz Milk Chocolate, Chopped
Grate lemon zest on a microplane into the cream and slowly bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, mix the scotch and drambuie. When the cream has come to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and mix with a whisk or stick blender until all the chocolate is melted. Stir in the raw, undiluted cocktail. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to remove any remaining chocolate pieces, as well as the lemon zest. Eat by the spoonful.
I like to let this set up in the fridge. It is a slightly softer ganache than you might be used to. If you’d like it a bit more firm, back off on the cream, not the alcohol. I like to spread some of the cold stuff on the bottom layer of a cake and then pour some of the warm ganache over the top layer, then letting it set up.
So, where will The Cocktail Project lead you?
