On Friday, March 19, Evoe made its debut at one of the most influential — and simply wonderful — supper clubs of our time, Whisk & Ladle. The ambitious menu, which paired cocktails with a five-course meal, took inspiration from five centuries of European food and drink. Cocktails were designed by Mayur Subbarao and executed with the help of Nick Bennett, resident bartender of Whisk & Ladle. Edibles were dreamed up and created by Mark Low of Whisk & Ladle and Demian Respucci, formerly of St. John in London, with Nora Sherman.
The menu:
Welcoming cocktail: the Pearly Gates
Followed by…
Cannellini Bisque, Grilled Tuscan Bread with New York Cheddar
Paired with a classic Martini
Salad of Pea Shoots, Shaved Asparagus, and Broccolini with Pig’s Ear
Paired with a Pimm’s Rangoon
Port-glazed Pork Shoulder, Braised Escarole in Pig Trotter drippings, Barley Polenta
Paired with a Brandy Sangaree
Cardamom Bread Pudding with Wine-poached Pears
Paired with Regents Punch
Followed by…
Milk Punch and Cookies by the bar
… and a demonstration of cocktail technique by Mayur.
Below find photos and notes on the cocktails.
The 21st Century Cocktail: The Pearly Gates.
A riff on the French Pearl developed by Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club, this cocktail combines silver tequila and clarified lime juice with pastis to generate an opaque white “cloud,” and then adds a fluffy, delicate espuma of lime and sugar to simulate the firmament.
The 20th Century Cocktail: The Martini
The quintessential tipple of flappers, ad men, the Lost Generation… Made the proper way with gin, a proper dose of vermouth, and a lemon twist, with a dash of orange bitters to spice up.
The 19th Century Cocktail: The Pimm’s Rangoon
A variant on the Pimm’s Cup developed in 1840 and originally served as a digestive(!) in beer tankards. This version is more elegant and evokes the colonial era with ginger, quinine, and cucumber.
The 18th Century Cocktail: The Brandy Sangaree
An ancestor of modern-day sangria made with apple brandy from Laird’s, America’s oldest distillery (the recipe for their brandy appears in a 1760 diary of George Washington and the distillery has been operating since 1780).
The 17th Century Cocktail: Regent’s Punch (not pictured)
Punches (derived from the Hindi “panch,” for five basic ingredients) were at their prime between 1670 and 1740. This popular punch used arrack, brandy, rum, tea, and capillaire (a syrup made with maidenhair fern).
The After-Dinner Cocktail: Milk Punch
A Colonial tavern standard, this drink originated as a means of preserving milk by straining out the solids and preserving the remainder with alcohol. This version is made with lemon- and orange-infused rum and hibiscus leaves. (Adapted from John Gertsen of Drink and No. 9 Park, Boston MA.)
We ended the evening with a demonstration of technique and several cocktails, including one of our favorites, the Ramos Gin Fizz. Mark writes that the demonstration
“had the bartending men and all the ladies at full attention. There may have been a few scotch drinkers in the room who were wondering what all the fuss was about, but that made it no less than a splendid display. Hand-cracking his ice, making meringue in a shaker: that’s the Mayur I know.”
An exuberant thank you to Mark, Nick, and Demian, and cheers to all who came out.
To many happy returns!
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