cheers
ICE QUEEN
Virtù’s unexpected spin on a valentine-themed drink BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
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PHOTO BY DEBBY WOLVOS
trawberries and Champagne, anyone? “Well, sort of,” laughs Jeremy Key, bar manager of Virtù Honest Craft, when talking about the award-winning bar and restaurant’s cheeky play on this Valentine’s Day menu mainstay. “We call our take the Ice Queen, and she most certainly rules.” As Virtù’s only vodka-based cocktail, the Ice Queen ($13) is also the prettiest. “We joke that the Ice Queen likes to cause a scene,” Key says. “The contrast of the bright red in the cocktail and cloudlike foam on top is eye-catching.” The cocktail begins with Tito’s Handmade Vodka as the base. Key then makes a shrub – much like a preserve, but in more of a syrup form – using strawberry puree, white balsamic vinegar and sugar. The result is a sweet, yet tangy and tart, complement to the vodka. “We also add Art in the Age Rhubarb Tea Liqueur and fresh lemon juice, which further cuts the sweetness of the strawberry and kicks up the tartness,” Key says. All of the ingredients are shaken with ice and strained twice into a coup glass. “Then there is the Champagne foam,” says Key, who uses an iSi whip canister to beat together equal parts Champagne and egg whites. “The canister adds carbon dioxide to the mixture while pulling the egg whites, resulting in a stark white foam exploding with Champagne flavor.” After Key tops the concoction with the foam, he finishes the cocktail with cracked pepper for added spice and crowns the Ice Queen with a strawberry garnishing. Virtù Honest Craft, 3701 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale; 480.946.3477; www.virtuscottsdale.com.
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| FEBRUARY 2017
1/24/17 4:03 PM