Bartender:
Jasmine Beck, The Cocktail Club
Chef:
Jeremiah Bacon, The Macintosh
Drink & Dish:
Spring Phoenix & Grilled Local Triggerfish
“I love tequila and everything spicy,” says Jasmine Beck, the “head spiritist” at The Cocktail Club. “But I also wanted to incorporate something fresh from the spring garden—how Jeremiah cooks,” referring to The Macintosh chef Jeremiah Bacon’s seasonally
focused cuisine. Exploring her
fascination with beer cocktails, this finalist for the National Nightclub and Bar Awards’ 2012 Bartender of the Year combined Belgian white beer with habañero-infused Blue Head Silver Tequila and worked arugula into the simple syrup and salt rim as a vegetal element.
The result is a spicy and refreshing drink with multiple layers that Bacon complemented with his triggerfish dish. Using some of Beck’s peppery tequila to marinate the fish, he grilled it for a nice charred flavor and then added cooling elements with fingerling potatoes in a light aioli and red-wine vinegar dressing and slices of watermelon radish. “The meaty texture of grilled triggerfish goes great with Jasmine’s drink,” says Bacon, “however, flounder and vermilion snapper would work well, too.”
Inspiration:
Liquor: Blue Head Silver Tequila
Flavor profile: Pure blue agave that’s clean and crisp with a touch of spice and earth and a complex lengthy finish
