I was looking through my liquor cabinet on Saturday and found a bottle of Square One Cucumber, left over from the last Nirvino Mixology Event. I decided to pull it off the shelf and play around with some different ingredients. After a bit of experimentation, I ended up making a variation on the August Sun, a cocktail created for the launch of Square One’s new Organic Cucumber Vodka. The variation is simply a 1/4 teaspoon of course ground black pepper added to the recipe. It gives the cocktail a bit of kick for fall weather and balances out the acid from the tomato and sweet from the agave nectar.

Last night at a dinner party, I concocted my variation on the drink for a group of friends. Seemed to go over well as an aperitif. The August Sun is a unique cocktail that surprises most people with its light and refreshing taste. It also brings out the best in the Cucumber Vodka. If you’d like to try a professional version out, go down to Elixir in San Francisco and ask H to whip one up for you.

August Sun Variation

• 6-7 Fresh Cherry Tomatoes (yellow in color)
• 4-5 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1 1/2 oz. Square One Organic Cucumber Vodka
• 1/2 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz. Organic Agave Nectar
• 1/4 tsp. Course Ground Black Pepper

Muddle tomatoes with basil in a mixing glass until completely crushed and juiced.  Add all other ingredients.  Shake briefly with ice and strain into a martini glass using either a julep strainer or a double strainer.  Float a tomato slice and a basil leaf on top as garnish.

Yesterday, we kicked off our Ten Best San Francisco cocktails list in typical Nirvino booze-soaked fashion. Bourbon & Branch, Absinthe, Beretta, Cantina, Elixir, Alembic, Zeitgeist, Jack Falstaff, Epic Roasthouse were all on the docket. The highlights of the afternoon were two off-the-cuff jams sessions from mixology savants Joel Baker @ Bourbon & Branch and Jeff Hollinger @ Absinthe. I’ll be posting details on each of our sessions in the next couple weeks. For results of the first Ten Best issue and all the cocktail photos from the afternoon, check these links out:

• http://www.nirvino.com/stories/top-ten-cocktails-in-san-francisco/Ty8AOZL/
• http://flickr.com/photos/nirvino/sets/72157607843655899/show/