Wednesday, February 14, 2024

little gem diner

1 1/2 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/4 oz Unicum Plum Liqueur (*)
3 drop Saline (1:4)
1 Whole Egg

Shake one round without ice and one round with ice, and strain into a Fizz glass.
(*) Apparenlty, no longer imported here, so perhaps a combination of slivovitz and simple syrup if one does not already have a bottle or cannot source a dusty one on liquor store shelves. My sample came from Portland Cocktail Week 2012, and this is the first time that I have found an use for it.
Two Wednesdays ago, I ventured back to the online recipe flashcards from Pouring Ribbons in Manhattan, and I decided on the Little Gem Diner as a curious Flip from their Fall 2014 menu. Though the history was not provided, it was possibly named after a diner in Syracuse, New York, founded in 1950, and the only other reference was that it came highly recommended by an user on FourSquare – and after making it, I can see why. In the glass, the Little Gem Diner conjured up red fruit like plum or cherry to the nose. Next, a creamy and honey-driven sip opened up into rye, raisin, and plum flavors on the swallow. Overall, this one was so elegant, and I was saddened that my drink ended so soon.

3 comments:

Jil Wrinkle said...

How close is Unicum Plum Liqueur to Umeshu?

frederic said...

No clue. The only plum spirit that I've had is plum eau de vie (Eastern European Slivovitz and an American analog).

Jil Wrinkle said...

Umeshu is kind of like a mild, watered down version of sloe gin, but plum flavored, obviously.