Celebrate Spring with The Paramour
Our featured cocktail for Easter this year is a delicious new drink we are calling The Paramour. It’s a bright and season-spanning housemade Orange Blossom Honey Cordial with muddled mandarin, topped with bubbly Crémant De Jura.
To make the cordial, I infused fresh orange blossoms from Bernard Ranch in California in Technical Reserve for 2 days. After it was strained, I added orange blossom honey from Cee Bee’s Heirloom Citrus in Florida to the infusion to sweeten it.
We added muddled mandarins to the cocktail to further emphasize the light, bright floral and citrus flavors. We are topping it with a sparkling Crémant De Jura from Benoît Mulin. We love the creamy richness of the wine and how the softness of the texture pairs with the softness of the floral flavors in the cordial. The story and process behind the wine is also compelling — it is a project from biodynamic Jura rockstar Stéphane Tissot and historian/winemaker Benoît Mulin. The Chardonnay grapes are sourced from the vineyards of a dozen conscientious grower friends and the wine is vinified in the oldest cellar of Arbois, built in 1326 by Queen of France.
It makes for a great cocktail. We garnish it with an edible flower, a viola from Barefoot Gardens in NJ. It’s a lovely seasonal sipper, and a special way to toast to any Spring celebration!
