This delicious winter cocktail is bursting with seasonally ripe, fresh pear juice. The fresh pear and almond cocktail is shaken with egg white to give it a silky mouthfeel and delightful froth. A sprinkle of cloves ties in spice of the winter holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
I'm currently sitting at the lobby bar at The London Edition surrounded by cheery locals and travellers. This is our third December visiting London in a row - it really has become a tradition now. The Christmas decor in England is just breathtaking, and with so many charming markets, beautiful department stores, and festive afternoon teas, London is basically designed to get you into the holiday spirit.
We missed the mark slightly this year by not visiting until after Christmas. But if I see anyone trying to take their decorations down before we get to enjoy them, they will have another thought coming! ( 😉 jk) Just before we left Toronto, I had time to create this cocktail. I wanted to make something light and fresh - like freshly fallen snow.
how to make this pear almond cocktail
I used Bosc pears for this recipe. Despite their rough-looking exterior, their flesh has a delicate and spicy-sweet flavour. You can get enough juice from one pear for one cocktail.
Peel the pear, and chop it into small pieces (cutting out and disposing of the seed area). Put them into a small bowl and mix them together with a small splash of lemon juice to slow them from browning.
Then use a muddler to mash the pear into a thick purée.
Next you're going to pour the pear purée into a cheesecloth and wring the juice out into a small bowl. Make sure to get all of it. The cheesecloth will keep out all of the pulp.
mix it up
Because this cocktail contains egg white, we are going use a technique called dry shaking (without ice) followed by regular shaking (with ice). Make sure that you are using a pasteurized egg. For more information on how to handle eggs hygienically for cocktail use click here.
Add the pear juice, vodka, amaretto, orgeat syrup, and egg white into your cocktail shaker. Dry shake it now (without ice) for a good thirty seconds. This will activate the egg proteins to give it that beautiful smooth texture and froth.
Add a few ice cubes and shake the cocktail for another thirty seconds (a nice little arm workout) to chill and dilute the drink. Pour the cocktail through a small sieve into a glass. This is an important step because the sieve will catch any potential residual egg white strings that are trying to sneak into your drink.
Sprinkle with a little dusting of cloves (which conveniently masks any scent of egg) and voilà - your fresh pear and almond cocktail is ready to be served. Just be ready to mix up some more when this one doesn't last long.
Decorating this glass was so simple. I simply bundled baby's breath flowers around the stem of crystal glassware and tied it up with some twine. I think these would look beautiful at a wedding.
For another festive cocktail with a bit more depth and spice to it, you should try making my amazing honeycrisp apple sangria. It doesn't disappoint.
I used these:
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First Snow {Fresh Pear Almond Cocktail}
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: cocktails
- Cuisine: American
Description
This delicious winter cocktail is bursting with seasonally ripe, fresh pear juice. The fresh pear and almond cocktail is shaken with egg white to give it a silky mouthfeel and delightful froth. A sprinkle of cloves ties in spice of the winter holiday season.
Ingredients
1 ripe Bosc pear
splash of lemon juice
1 oz (30 ml) vodka
½ oz (15 ml) amaretto
¼ oz (7.5 ml) almond orgeat syrup *
½ oz (15 ml) pasteurized egg white **
pinch of ground cloves
special equipment
cheesecloth
Instructions
Peel pears and chop into small pieces, discarding the seeded area. Mix pieces in a small bowl with lemon juice, then mash them into a purée with a muddler.
Put the pear purée into a cheesecloth and wring all of the juice out into a small bowl. Discard the pulp that remains in the cheesecloth.
Add pear juice, vodka, amaretto, orgeat, and egg white into cocktail shaker and dry shake (shaking without ice) for 30 seconds to activate egg proteins, producing the smooth texture and foamy top. Next, add a few ice cubes into the cocktail shaker and shake again for another 30 seconds.
Pour the cocktail through a sieve into a glass to catch any egg white that didn't get completely blended in.
Sprinkle the frothy top with a little dusting of cloves.
Equipment
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Notes
* Orgeat is a cloudy, sweet syrup with a strong almond flavour. It is made with almonds, sugar, and either rose water or orange blossom water.
** For information on how to handle eggs hygienically for cocktail use click here.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 109
- Sugar: 20.3 g
- Sodium: 35.7 mg
- Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.5 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: fresh pear almond cocktail
Myriam says
Stop the press. Super delicious!!
Asha says
Thank you! <3
Monica says
Thanks for sharing.
Asha says
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Kari S says
Smooth and delicious.
Asha says
Thanks so much
Evette L says
Terrific drink
Asha says
Thank you! 🙂
Dawn says
This cocktail is so good. Love it!
Asha says
Thanks so much for the kind review 🙂
Paisley says
Where has this drink been all my life? Thanks for sharing. My new fav.
Asha says
Thank you!
Alicia says
Absolutely awesome. Was looking for something to delight guests. Our group of friends are having a 'guess who's coming for dinner' event. It's lots of fun to prepare for as well as participate in. This drink will be perfect.
Asha says
So glad you like it 🙂 Have a great time!
Nathan says
Great drink. Will definitely make again to share with friends.
Asha says
Thank you 🙂
Nancy says
Delightful drink.
Asha says
Thank you!
Halley says
I enjoyed this cocktail this afternoon with a friend. Love your presentation.
Asha says
Thanks so much! 🙂