How to make Patois bartender Blaise Couturier’s twist on an Aperol Spritz
Five O’Clock Somewhere
A gin twist on a classic Aperol Spritz, made with pantry supplies
To get through the pandemic, Patois bartender Blaise Couturier spent a lot of time cooking. “A lot of cooking,” he says. “Everything from Hokkaido milk bread rolls for burgers to almond meringues and an incredible fermented fennel and scotch bonnet hot sauce.” And his savoury recipes are even better when there’s something strong to sip on.” We’re all kind of losing our sense of time, so we need cocktails that can work at any time of the day,” he says. “It’s always five o’clock somewhere, right?”
For this drink, Couturier wanted to use readily available ingredients, including some things you wouldn’t necessarily think of including—like yogurt water! He combined the yogurt water (otherwise known as whey) with dry gin, Aperol, Prosecco and marmalade for a bright and complex drink. “It’s guaranteed to get your day off to a good start,” he says.
What’s in it
1 oz London Dry Gin (Steinhart Dry preferred) 1/2 oz oz Aperol 1 1/2 tsp orange marmalade (If you don’t have orange marmalade, any light stone fruit jelly or jam, like apricot or peach, can work.) 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/4 oz Greek yogurt whey (The water that settles on top of the yogurt is whey. If you need more, you can place yogurt in a strainer on top of cheesecloth or a fine cotton sheet and wait for it to drain.) 2 oz Prosecco 3 mL absinthe or arak (optional) Glass: Copa de balon or Burgundy wine glass Garnish: Orange peel
How to make it
1. Chill your glass in the fridge prior to mixing.
2. If you’re using absinthe or arak, pour it into your glass and swirl it around until the inside of the glass is covered. This is called a rinse.
3. Fill the glass halfway with ice.
4. Combine the gin, Aperol, marmalade, lemon juice and Greek yogurt whey into a cocktail shaker, then fill it up with ice cubes.
5. Shake hard for 20 seconds...
6. ... then fine strain the cocktail into your glass.
7. Top with Prosecco.
8. Express an orange peel over the glass, then slide the peel down the side of the glass as garnish.
9. Enjoy!
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Kate Dingwall is a writer, author and photographer covering spirits, business, culture, fashion and travel. By night, she’s a working sommelier. She has worked with Flare, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Maxim, People, Southern Living, Rolling Stone, Eater, Elle, Toronto Life and the Toronto Star, among other publications. She frequently appears on both CTV and NPR, has co-authored a book on gin, judges Food & Wine’s Tastemakers and has strong opinions on the city’s best martini.
