Drink of the Week: Ginger-Nashi Cocktail

,A few weeks ago I had the great fortune to attend Cochon 555, an heirloom pig-feast and awareness event. One of the many other products available for tasting at the event was Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. I had seen Domaine de Canton at bars and liquor stores and avoided it because I assumed it was a sweet, artificially flavored alcohol. Boy was I wrong.

Domaine de Canton is a liqueur made from Cognac and baby ginger. The flavor is floral, gingery, with hints of vanilla and spice from the cognac. It's much lighter than you might imagine and would be a great addition to your summer drinks lineup. My first introduction to it was at Cochon 555, in a watermelon mojito. 'Twas delicious and refreshing.

It's going to be fun to experiment with Domaine de Canton in summery, fizzy drinks, but for my first take on it I thought I would add it to Asian pear, or nashi, juice.

Making the juice was easy: puree one seeded and sliced Asian pear in the blender. Pour the pulp into a strainer and press gently to release juice. I got nearly 3 ounces of juice from one Asian pear. (Since the pulp was still pretty juicy, I saved it to use in pancakes.)

Ginger-Nashi Cocktail
In an iced cocktail strainer, combine:

• 1 oz. gin (a lighter, not-so-ginny gin like Plymouth is best and yes, vodka would be fine)
• 1 oz. Asian pear juice
• 1 oz. Domaine de Canton liqueur
  

Shake until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of Asian pear.

The even proportions worked well for us because the Asian pear was so sweet. You may want to add more juice if it's not so sweet.