It is still winter, but the temperature is rising constantly; even the sun is shining again. So instead of making another hot drink, I tried to make something refreshing, yet reminiscent of winter. Combining pears and chocolate seemed like a good idea.
Remodelling my kitchen has left it in a mess right now and there is still work to be done. Of course all the tools, pans and other stuff that are occupying my living room have to be put away again, too. Which means I had to come up with a cocktail that isn't too fancy and could be prepared with the ingredients I have on hand.
Fruit And Chocolate
My plan was to create some kind of winter-y treat. A cocktail that fits into this cold season and lifts up your spirit. While thinking about ingredients, I was reminded about the Christmas Markets all around the country, where you can find different fruit covered in chocolate. Really tasty as chocolate pairs well with all kinds of fruit.
Now that the general direction was clear, I had to decide what kind of fruit brandy would be the base for my cocktail. I chose pear brandy, as this is a favorite of mine and I had great success with it before. Because I had to keep the recipe simple, and I have lots of lemons left over from making punch over the holidays, the cocktail is based on a classic sour recipe.
Pour the brandy, vodka, lemon juice and syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds. Fine strain into a pre-chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a thin slice of pear if available.
The pear brandy gives this cocktail a refreshing and sweet note. The chocolate flavor is rather subtle and develops in the aftertaste. It is important not to use too much chocolate vodka, otherwise the fresh pear flavor diminishes. The tartness of lemon juice supports the fresh character of this cocktail.
I imagine this formula working well with any kind of fruit brandy. As long as the fruit it is based on has a bold flavor the combination should work. Something like apple or raspberry pairs well with chocolate. When using lighter flavors like raspberry I would probably use lime instead of lemon to keep the cocktail balanced.
Final Thoughts
In my opinion too few cocktails utilize fruit brandy and I'm always delighted when I can think of a new way to bring it into a cocktail. It delivers a great freshness and fruity flavors without making your cocktail too sweet, since you don't have to use liqueurs. I recommend experimenting with them for yourself as you can hardly go wrong and they usually taste great on their own.
Unfortunately I have to get back to my kitchen, otherwise I would try out some more recipes. I hope by next week everything in my house will be back to normal and I will surely revisit the combination of fruit and chocolate some time in the future. Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to find out when, or leave a comment if you feel like it.
Title image via pixabay.