Sweet Corn Cocktail

The Sweet Corn Cocktail and White Owl Barn - original watercolor painting by The Cocktail Artist
We just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Minnesota where we ate and drank our way through the Minnesota State Fair. If you've never been to a "real" state fair we highly recommend that you add it to your bucket list. Minnesota's state fair is a celebration of the state and it's agricultural heritage. Beer is the drink of choice at the fair (and there are plenty of excellent beer options), but we decided to memorialize our trip to the fair with a cocktail that features one of our favorite fair foods - fresh sweet corn. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune Minnesota is the number one producer of sweet corn in the country. We always stop to admire the award winning corn in the Agricultural Building at the fair and grab a few ears of fresh roasted sweet corn from the Corn Roast booth - where 25 acres worth of corn is sold during the 12 days of the fair.

In late summer, it's hard to beat the taste of fresh sweet corn. Fresh is the key word here - meaning it was picked less than 24 hours ago. If you have access to a farm or farm market, now is the time to pick up some corn. You just cannot get the same flavor with corn that is trucked in from afar and sits in the grocery store for days. To create our sweet corn cocktail we mashed raw corn kernels with bourbon, vermouth, lemon juice and a bit of simple syrup. The end result has a slightly sweet and buttery taste and a beautiful golden color.

We've included artwork from rural and Minnesota and the iconic Gold Medal Flour Mill in Minneapolis to set the scene for our Sweet Corn Cocktail. So we suggest you grab a few extra ears of corn at the farm market, and enjoy the taste of late summer.

Cheers!


Sweet Corn Cocktail

2 ounces bourbon (Bowman Brothers or another nice corn based bourbon)
1/2 ounce blanc vermouth (Dolin)
3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 cup corn kernels cut from a fresh cob

Cut corn from a fresh cob onto a plate, scraping the cob to get the corn milk. Measure 1/2 cup of kernels into an empty cocktail shaker and muddle well. Add ice cubes and remaining ingredients and shake for 30 seconds. Double strain (through a mesh sieve) into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cilantro or parsley flower.
Sweet Corn on the Grill - original watercolor by the Cocktail Artist





Three years of the Cocktail Artist posing with corn at the Minnesota State Fair   



Gold Medal Flour Mill, Minneapolis - original watercolor by the Cocktail Artist




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