We’re still in snow season, which means hitting the slopes, après-ski drinks, and sweaters. The days are getting longer, for certain, but there’s still a chill in the air. Which calls for a special adaptation of a classic cocktail.
Meet the Evertini, a flagship sipper at Lake Tahoe’s Everline Resort & Spa. The drink has been described as a love letter to the giant spruce trees of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Fittingly, it includes spruce, in the form of infused gin you can make at home.
The most fun way, of course, is to forage for those spruce tips yourself. The season generally runs from late winter through spring, and the act does not require a lot. Plus, you get to hike in the woods.
What’s great about this cocktail is how you get so much with so few ingredients. There’s the mountainous side from the spruce, the arousing aromatics of the gin, the punch of the citrus twist, the roundness offered by the vermouth, and the briny, salty goodness that only a good cheese-stuffed olive can provide.
If you can’t find your own spruce tips, you can do so online or likely seek them out at an area market. Various species of pine work too but spruce is the ideal way to go. The tips add both aroma and flavor to the spirit.
Sure, spring is coming. But we’re still in snow-covered mountain mode. Let’s raise a glass to a few more frolics in the powder before we get into shorts and tee shirts. And even when we do arrive there, you might want to do so with this drink by your side.
We’re not here to take away your espresso Martini. Nor do we want you to give up your apple Martini. But if you like the staple drink and want to try something interesting, read on.
The Evertini
Created by Carly Stone, the food and beverage manager at Six Peaks Grille (at the Everline Resort), the Evertini is relatively simple but offers a refreshing twist on a bonafide classic. Stone hails from Lake Tahoe and boasts decades of hospitality experience. Feel free to mess around with gins of your liking, but if you’re looking for a good starting point, try Bombay.
Ingredients:
- 2 3/4 ounces spruce gin*
- 1 splash of vermouth
- Blue cheese, oliv,e and lemon twist for garnish
*Spruce Gin: Pour 1 liter of dry gin into a container and add 1/2 cup of spruce tips. Infuse for 2-4 days, shaking and tasting daily until reaching desired flavor (Stone suggests 3 days). Strain the spruce tips using cheesecloth and rebottle the gin.
Method:
- Add gin and vermouth to cocktail shaker.
- Shake well to chill ingredients and strain into a Martini glass.
- Garnish with blue cheese olive and lemon twist.
Check out some related material at The Manual. We’ve got the bases covered, from how to infuse spirits to the best gins in the business. And if you’re lucky enough to get to the place that inspired the drink, read our Lake Tahoe hotels guide.
