Pear Ginger Sparkle And Spice

It’s my birthday!  I don’t care how old I am, I still love it.  Usually I try and stretch it out as long as I can.  Birthday weekend.  Birthday week! 

It’s on a Friday this year which is extra nice because it makes going out easy.  I’m spending tonight with my friends at one of my favourite little places in Toronto, Archive.  I’m looking forward to delicious snacks (especially the pallotte caccio e pane), amazing wines, and great company. 

Tomorrow, my husband is taking me out to a special dinner at Chantecler as per our annual tradition.  The location is usually supposed to be a surprise, but this year it came out because we met the chef, Jonathan Poon, at the Fried Chicken Battle Royale hosted by the Drake Hotel last Monday.  Unfortunately, he ran out of fried chicken at the event before we got some, so we made our way to his new place, Bar Fancy, where we had a lovely chat and I tasted the best fried chicken of my life (and I’ve tried a lot of fried chicken…). 

It really has been a birthday week.

So let’s toast to another year of my life with this delicious fall cocktail.  Of course it’s sparkling!

Here’s to another year full of food, fun times, and (hopefully) a PhD.

This one doesn’t strike your fancy?  I make a lot of cocktails:
Sparkling lavender cocktail
Burnt orange cocktail
Cherry bourbon Manhattan
Etc.

Pear Ginger Sparkle and Spice Cocktail

For the pear ginger syrup:
1 ripe pear, cored and cubed
1 inch of ginger root, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

For the cocktail:
1 oz pear ginger syrup
1 oz bourbon
Sparkling wine
Freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, and/or pear slices to garnish

For the pear ginger syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 5 minutes or until pear is soft.  Mash pear a little to release more flavour.  Remove from heat, cover, and let cool.  Strain out pear and ginger.  Store syrup in the refrigerator for up to a month.  This recipe doesn’t make a lot so you probably won’t need to store it, but feel free to multiply the recipe as required.  

For the cocktail:

In a cold champagne flute or coupe glass, combine 1 oz pear ginger syrup and 1 oz bourbon.  Top with cold sparkling wine.  Garnish with a cinnamon stick, a slice of fresh pear, or a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.