gin-esaisquoi

1 1/2 oz Gin (Berkshire Mountain Distillers' Ethereal)
1 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
3/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)
1 Egg

Shake one round without ice and one round with. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a pinch of ground cardamom.

Earlier in the week, I had come home from a long day at work and needed a cocktail to tide me over until the dinner I was making was done. Therefore, I flipped through Food & Wine: Cocktails 2008 and found the Gin-Esaisquoi, and as soon as I saw that name, I figured it could have only come from Jeff Grdinich from New Hampshire's White Mountain Cider Co. My assessment was not wrong.
The Gin-Esaisquoi was very different from the egg and cardamom-containing Punky Monkey that we made last month from the 2009 volume of the series. While the Punky Monkey was very Tiki-esque, Grdinich's drink despite the falernum -- a standard Tiki ingredient -- fell into a separate camp. To me, the drink was a spiced Orange Julius of sorts. The cardamom sprinkled on top of the egg foam was quite a pleasant and its aroma was joined by orange notes from the bitters, gin, and Lillet Blanc. The egg functioned to give the sip a thick mouthfeel and smooth out a lot of the flavors in the mix. What was left was a light citrus, clove, and allspice taste that was quite delightful.