gunshop fizz

2 oz Peychaud's Bitters
3 swath Grapefruit Peel
3 swath Orange Peel
2 Strawberries, Hulled
3 slice Cucumber
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup

Muddle the cucumber slices, citrus peels, and strawberries in the Peychaud's Bitters. Let steep for 2 minutes before adding in the lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice, top with Sanbitter soda, and garnish with a fresh cucumber slice.

Two Mondays ago, I attended the book launch party for Neal Bodenheimer's Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em at Chickadee. After checking in, I was greeted with a welcome punch of the Gunshop Fizz. It is a recipe that I have had in my possession since July 2009 when I bought the Rogue Cocktails book, but I never made it for Sanbitter became rather hard to find in Boston and the hefty slug of Peychaud's threatened to kick the 4 ounce bottle of bitters rather quickly. The new book attributed the recipe to Kirl Estopinal and Maks Pazunkiak, and it described how it was the impetus for the Rogue Cocktails concept. It came about when the duo uncovered the Angostura Fizz in Charles H. Baker Jr.'s 1939 Gentleman's Companion, and it led them to riff on the Pimm's Cup with Peychaud's. The 2009 recipe source attributed the name to the current store occupying Antoine Amadee Peychaud's apothecary location in New Orleans, and it declared that this cocktail is "an example of what is possible when you throw out the rule book."This Gunshop Fizz met the nose with cucumber and anise aromas. Next, a carbonated cherry sip flowed into cherry, cucumber, and anise flavors on the swallow. Overall, it was one of the most surreal Pimm's Cup riffs I have ever tried. A close second is No. 9 Park's Park Street Cup that took a similar bitters-heavy approach.