The Strawberry Proxy

With the recent heavy rains in California and Mexico, as well as the January freeze in Florida, the strawberry crop has taken a hefty blow this year. Of course we'll still find strawberries in stores for Valentine's Day, but the quantity and quality that we'll see seems to be uncertain ("The Packer" Strawberry availability in question for Valentine's Day). This little predicament got me thinking... can you really enjoy that bubbly champagne on the big night without some juicy, delicious strawberries to back it up? Can you even make a special drink for this holiday without incorporating them? And so began the quest to devise a sweet cocktail with all the romance of a flawless ripe strawberry, yet made with more dependable ingredients. Well, two bottles of champagne and a bottle of rum later, I came up with the perfect proxy: my Vanilla-Ginger Royale. Both ginger and vanilla bean are available year round and rarely have the quality or consistency issues of fruits. Additionally both of these ingredients are aphrodisiacs, as is the alcohol, making for a very efficient libation.

Vanilla-Ginger Royale

• 1/2 oz Vanilla-Ginger Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
• 1 oz rum
• Rose Sparkling Wine

Combine rum and syrup in a tumbler and top with ice. Stir briskly, strain into a champagne flute and top with rose sparkling wine. 

For the rum I've used 10 Cane brand here, but I would also recommend Cruzan white rum; really anything thats light in color and doesn't say "Bacardi" on the front. As for the wine, Barefoot Cellars makes a sparkling rose cuvee with a slightly sweeter flavor that works perfectly. The drier brut champagnes I tried didn't fair as well with this cocktail. You may find it necessary to adjust the quantity of simple syrup base on the type of wine.

Vanilla-Ginger Simple Syrup

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water

Combine sugar, water and ginger in a saucepan over medium high heat, whisking occasionally. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise, scraping the seeds from inside, and add both the seeds and pod to the saucepan. Once the mixture has come to a boil and the sugar has completely dissolved remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

The end result will still have a few specks of black from the vanilla, which I personally don't mind and actually find quite attractive dancing in my sparkling wine. If, however, you would prefer a cleaner appearance then use several layers of cheese cloth in addition to your strainer. This syrup should keep in a refigerator for up to a month.