old tom's stone

1 oz Hayman's Old Tom Gin
1 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Stone Fruit Shrub

Stir with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Last Friday, Andrea and I paid a visit to Lineage in Brookline for dinner and drinks. For my first beverage, I chose the most aperitif-like cocktail of the three I was eying, namely Old Tom's Stone. Bartender Ryan Lotz described the key ingredient, the housemade stone fruit shrub, as being mostly red plum with some peaches thrown in. Ryan macerated the fruits with sugar for a week before adding vinegar and waiting another week before filtering and bottling. His technique was very similar to the one that Neyah White prefers, and similar to many of Neyah's aperitif recipes, Ryan paired up the shrub with a sherry (although at home, I tend to use dry vermouth more). While the sugar balances the vinegar in the shrub akin to a Sour cocktail, the presence of the vinegar alone is great for stimulating the appetite.

The Old Tom's Stone started with an aroma of lemon oil combined with a peach-like fruitiness and the vaguest hint of vinegar from the shrub. While the peaches were more aromatic in the mix, the plums dominated the flavor of the sip, and the sherry rang out strongly on the swallow. Andrea, on the other hand, tasted the drink a bit differently; she tasted the peach notes up front and the plum notes with the sherry on the swallow.