“When I think Spring cocktails I always think of bright, fresh fruit flavors and drinks with a few bubbles and effervescence.  Being a bourbon fan I love the combination of high-proof bourbon, fresh fruit, and club soda for a simple, crushable cocktail on a warm day. There is no better template for this than the Smash. A Smash is exactly what it sounds like: spirit, smashed fruit, citrus juice, and bubbles. Here at The Hive, we like to layer the fruit flavors into our Smash by not just muddling fresh fruit, but we also like to add what we call a “Quick Preserve” to get as much of that fruit flavor into the drink as possible.  The sugar in the Quick Preserve acts as a vehicle to really amplify those fruit flavors that you wouldn’t be able to achieve by just muddling.” – John Robinson- Food & Beverage Director at The Hive.

Blackberry Sage Bourbon Smash

1.5 oz Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond Bourbon

.5 oz Lemon Juice

1 spoonful of Quick Blackberry Preserve

3 blackberries

2 sage leaves

Club Soda

In a shaker tin lightly muddle together the Quick Blackberry Preserve, 3 blackberries, 2 sage leaves, and .5 oz Lemon juice. Do your best to not tear the sage leaves but just gently press. Next add your bourbon. Add ice and shake the ingredients together. Without straining dump all the ingredients of the shaker tin (ice and all) into a rocks glass. Add a little more ice, and top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Quick Blackberry Preserve:

This isn’t a preserve necessarily as much as it is just sugar macerated blackberries. This is a delicious and easy way to get some sweetness and fresh fruit flavor into a drink without making it overly viscous and sweet.

In a container mix together:

1 cup sugar

2 cups blackberries

1 tsp lemon zest

Using your muddler smash everything together.

Let this mixture sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. You will start to see the sugar and blackberry juice will start to coalesce into a thick syrup. Do not strain out the syrup, you will want the bits of smashed blackberry for your cocktail.

Cheers!

 

Spring Pea and Ricotta Bites

 

For the peas:

1 cup English peas (Blanched and shocked, then rough chop

5 sprigs of fresh mint, chopped

1 sprig oregano

1 ea shallot, sliced thin and dressed with lemon juice

½ cup whipped ricotta

1 Tb Extra virgin olive oil

Lemon juice

1 pinch marash chili

Salt, to taste

-Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until evenly combined. Season with salt to taste.

For the Bacon:

1/4# slab bacon cut into ½” cubes

-In a saute pan, add bacon and ¼ cup of water.

-Turn heat to medium and let water come to boil, allow water to cook until it has evaporated and the bacon is rendering gently.

-Once the bacon is starting to crisp, remove from heat.

-Drain bacon fat for later use and reserve bacon.

 To Finish and assemble

Spring Pea spread

Bacon lardons

6 ea pieces good sliced bread

1 TB Marash

-Using a toaster, toast all of the bread slices.

-Cut each piece of toast in four triangles.

-Spread the pea business on the toast triangles.

-Place a piece of bacon on top of that and garnish with a little Marash.

-Enjoy!