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KICKED UP CHAMPAGNE
Sweet Afton mixologist Mike Krawiec stirs our soul with two better-than-just-bubbly refreshments
Written by Jesse Hirsch
ASTORIA - Sweet Afton generated quite the enviable buzz when it opened in Astoria this summer. With its Old World rustic décor, its simple but effective bar menu and its clever arsenal of offbeat mixed drinks, it quickly became the darling of food bloggers and mainstream media alike. Several months later, the gleam of newness may be gone, but in its wake is a large stable of Astoria regulars, hungry for Sweet Afton's blend of atmosphere and artfully crafted food and drink.
Speaking of craft, co-owner and bartender Mike Krawiec put together all of the drinks on the bar's extensive cocktail menu, including the much-hyped dirty pickle martini and the surprisingly spicy cherry margarita. It makes sense that with dozens of options at people's disposal, Krawiec wouldn't have much call for champagne cocktails. Yet.
As New Year's Eve approaches, he says bartenders have to start ratcheting up their champagne cocktail game. Sweet Afton offers their own version of the standard French 75 (champagne, gin, lemon juice and simple syrup, garnished with strawberry and mint), yet Krawiec prefers straying farther from the path. He intends on making a large batch of "special" champagne cocktails this New Year's, possibly with one of these two variants.
Applejack 75
Laird's Applejack may date back to George Washington, but it's only in the last couple of years this deliciously tart apple brandy started popping up in haute drink recipes nationwide. Krawiec chose it as the base of his newest champagne cocktail, invented exclusively for Edible Queens readers. Tempering the boozy sharpness of applejack with the sweetness of simple syrup and the pleasant fizz of good champagne, it's surprising no one thought of this drink already.
2 ounces Laird's Applejack
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
Champagne
Shake applejack, lemon juice and simple syrup over ice. Pour mixture into standard champagne glass. Top off with your champagne of choice.
Elderflower Champagne Cocktail (pictured above)
Krawiec titled this drink for the elderflower found in St. Germain liqueur, but he's not really committed to the name. Think of it as a placeholder until some clever customer (or Edible Queens reader) gives it a suitable name upgrade. Less sweet than a standard champagne cocktail, this drink blends the earthiness of cucumber, mint and gin with airy undertones of elderflower and champagne. You may have to try it to get a true sense of this cocktail's seductive power. Or to give it a name
3 mint leaves
2 cucumber slices
2 ounces Hendricks gin
½ ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Champagne
2 strawberry slices
Muddle cucumber and mint. Mix cucumber/mint mixture with gin, St. Germain and lemon juice. Shake over ice. Pour mixture into standard champagne glass. Top off with your champagne of choice. Garnish with strawberry slices.
Sweet Afton, 30-09 34th St., Astoria, 718-777-2570
Photo: Reni Papananias
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....it had GINger in it too though....
...and no alchohol....
Huh.
Well, howsabout "elderly cumber slurprize"?