Cocktails of NYC, Queens cocktail

Posted on December 25, 2012

I recently learned that four boroughs of the city had classic drinks named after them. I mean not like stuff the bartender throws together and calls a “Staten Island Ferry.” But in the classic cocktail era of the Manhattan. The least well known of these that i had to google around for is the Queens. And it’s a derivative of the Bronx cocktail which once enjoyed popularity but fell out of fashion to the extent that I hadn’t heard of it either. But it seems like the Queens was never a big thing.

I’ve now made this drink three times, with slight variations, and I really enjoy it but am a bit surprised at how it tastes. Basically the Queens and the Bronx, are like martinis with fruit, Or more properly they are like the martinez, which is the ancestor of the martini. The Bronx calls for fresh squeezed orange and the Queens calls for muddled fresh pineapple.

So, leaving the Bronx for another day, I’m using Breuckelen Glorious Gin, which is made in Brooklyn, and I’ve enjoyed before, it’s a citrusy gin and I thought that would go, also works with the NYC theme. First I used this recipe from Gourmet which is:

1.5 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
pineapple slice (recipe does not state the amount of pineapple, I settled on half of a round horizontal slice)

muddle the pineapple with gin in shaker or mixing glass, add vermouth and ice, shake (or stir) strain and serve in a chilled glass. It gets a bit frothy with shaking, which you may like but I wanted to see the color more so the next two attempts I stirred.

This is quite good, but surprisingly the pineapple is not super noticeable, it’s a balanced drink of flavors that is very yummy but you taste the vermouth for sure and the drink is not that sweet, obviously not dry at all but nor is it sweet in a pronounced way. It’s refreshing yet traditional tasting too.

I wanted to see if I could make it slightly more tangy, and more pinapplely while realizing this isn’t a tropical drink at all. So on my next try I substituted half the sweet vermouth for my home made lemon syrup. (Forgot to include the sweet vermouth in the photo)

Which was:
1/5 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz home made lemon syrup

All in all it was a fun substitution, but not super tangy and I wonder if I’m just over thinking it and should add a squirt of lemon juice. Anyway, all the ways I’ve had it were quite refreshing, and fun. There are no garnish instructions for this drink but I wanted to amuse myself so I made a sort of a crown of pineapple. I would love to get a crown cocktail pick and use that with a regular wedge of pineapple.

So I don’t know why you have pineapple Queens cocktail, because I don’t think Queens is known for it’s tropical climes. But I’m having fun visiting with you. Also Merry Christmas, remember it was not that long ago that people enjoyed getting fruit as a Christmas gift, a pineapple isn’t an X-Box or anything, but Merry Christmas.