Frank Gabriel at Rockefeller Center Greenmarket

We are thrilled to have Frank Gabriel join the PRINT and Press Lounge teams as our new Director of Service. He has jumped right in to our locavore culture by creating stunning seasonal cocktails with regional ingredients. Because of this, when Grow NYC asked us to participate in their Rockefeller Center Green Market demo recently, we sent Frankie to show off his talents. His summer mocktails and stage presence made the perfect complement to Rockefeller Center’s bustling traffic. Additionally, it also didn’t hurt that Frankie was the lead singer of a rock band in his former career. Therefore he is far from shy on stage and in front of a mic.

Frank Gabriel outdoors under tent at Rockefeller Center.
Setting the stage at Rock Center

It was one the last hot and humid August afternoons when we headed to set up at Rock Center. This made it perfect for serving our refreshing Berry Basil Cooler. The drink features I am a Weed Sumac Tea, made by our forager friend Tama Matsuoka of Meadows and More. Frankie worked the crowd while simultaneously shaking drinks. Overall, we got a lot of delighted feedback and refreshed smiles.

Frankie making cocktails outdoors at Rockefeller Center.
Frankie shaking it up!

 

If you’d like to try your hand at these at home, below are the recipes for both the mocktail version of the drink and the cocktail rendition. Both of them are still available at the PRINT bar for a few more weeks until the autumn solstice. If you want to shake a few up at home you can source local berries while they last and purchase the sumac tea at Freshdirect.

Frank Gabriel’s So Berry Cool

  • 1.5 oz bourbon
  • 1 oz watermelon juice
  • .75 oz blackberry basil syrup (recipe below)
  • .25 oz lime
  • .5 oz I am a Weed Sumac Tea (available from Freshdirect) or substitute lemon juice
Shake and strain over fresh ice in collins glass.
Garnish with fresh raspberries and/or blackberries and watermelon balls

Berry Basil Cooler

  • 4.5 oz I am a Weed Sumac Tea or substitute lemonade
  • .75 oz Black Raspberry Basil Simple Syrup (recipe below)
  • 6 fresh red raspberries and/or blackberries
Shake all ingredients.
Strain into tall chilled glass with fresh ice.
Garnish with fresh sprig of basil.

Berry Basil Syrup

Yields appx 16-20 cocktails or mocktails
Keeps for a week in the fridge
*Also great to use on melon/fruit salads, sorbet, adding to ice tea or seltzer
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup black raspberries or blackberries
  • 1 large handful of basil
  • 1 large piece orange zest
Bring everything to a simmer, allow to steep 3-4 minutes. 
Strain and cool.
Raspberries in a bowl with butterfly on top, bowl of mint, bowl of citrus.
Butterfly that hung out with us and our ingredients all afternoon!
Come join us at PRINT and The Press Lounge to meet Frank Gabriel, and enjoy one of these refreshing beverages!