Celebrating Badass Women
March is Women's History month is the US. I would argue that we should be celebrating the accomplishments of women (and men) year round. That said, it is nice to have a time where we focus our energy on recognizing women who have made significant contributions to society. Those of you that know me, know that despite my best attempts to hide it, I am a nerd through and through. It doesn't really seem to matter the topic, if I am passionate about it I dive in and learn everything I can. That constant need to learn is partly to blame for my cocktail love turning into this wild obsession.
I am particularly passionate about the contributions of women in the fields of science, engineering and mathematics. Women like Margaret Hamilton who led the MIT team tasked with developing code for the Apollo 11 spacecraft’s on-board flight software.
Women like the stunningly beautiful 1930's movie star Hedy Lamarr who partnered with a piano composer friend to create the frequency hopping technology that protected torpedoes from radio jamming which serves as the forerunner to modern day bluetooth and wifi.
Last year the movie Hidden Figures brought to light the contributions of mathematician Katherine Johnson at NASA during a time neither women nor African-Americans had equal footing in the science realm. I had the opportunity to create a cocktail for Don Ciccio & Figli in Washington, DC and chose to honor her with that cocktail.
It features a beautiful fennel liqueur called Finocchietto. In ancient times fennel was believed to give courage and strength. It was often given to warriors before they headed into battle. Fennel seemed a fitting tribute to Katherine Johnson, who lived her life courageously.
the Katherine
- .75oz Finocchietto
- 1.5oz Botanist Gin
- .75oz homemade grenadine syrup (recipe below)
- 3 drops Scrappy's lavender bitters
Mix over ice until chilled, serve over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
Homemade Grenadine
Commonly believed to be cherry it is actually Pomegranate. My favorite recipe comes from that cocktail God Jeffrey Morganthaler. Here is the link to his article on the topic. Although I will admit I use Pom Wonderful versus squeezing my own juice. For simplicity I included the recipe below:
- 2 cups 100% pomegranate juice like POM Wonderful
- 2 cups unbleached sugar
- 2 fluid ounces (1/4 cup) pomegranate molasses
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
Heat the pomegranate juice over low heat, just enough to melt the sugar (well below the level of a boil). Stir in the sugar until the mixture is clear and the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water and stir until dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool and transfer to a bottle for storing in the refrigerator for up to a month.
