Friends of the Farm

Gingered Pear Codder

2 oz. Hangar One Spiced Pear Vodka
4 oz. Fentiman’s Ginger Beer
Cranberry juice
Thinly sliced pears

In a rocks glass with ice, combine the vodka and ginger beer. Top with cranberry juice.

Growing up in central Pennsylvania, there really was not much to do during the Summer other than to work on my grandfather’s farm. I spent the days stacking hay in the barn, feeding the animals and weeding the garden. When there were no weeds to pull and no hay to stack, I helped my grandmother pick all the fruits and vegetables from the garden. We used what we could and preserved the rest. I remember canning beans and beets, making strawberry jam and freezing sweet corn. One of my favorite things to pick was pears.

There was an old, twisted pear tree that had to be a hundred years old just outside of the house. It was so much fun to climb; it just made the chore of picking all those pears a good time, even though most of the pears were already on the ground. The down side was yellow jackets. I can’t tell you how many times I went to take a bite of a perfectly ripe pear and found myself with a mouthful of buzzing fury.

To this day, a beautifully ripe pear is my favorite thing to snack on. It is also one of my favorite things to drink. There is nothing like a cold shot of Poire William to cap off a great meal, especially if you are having rice pudding with crème anglaise and poached pears for dessert.

While the drink above is not made with Poire William, it is made with the finest pear vodka I have ever come across, Hangar One Spiced Pear. This distillery is the finest producer of flavored vodkas on the face of the planet. I had the pleasure of visiting this distillery almost ten years ago before they had begun producing their vodkas. Back then they were making Poire William and other fine eau de vie. In fact, Lance Winters, their Master Distiller, was just tinkering with the idea of making vodka and I got a chance to taste some out of his private stash.

In a lot of ways, a cocktail like this brings back so many memories dear to me. I hope, in turn, it creates many for you. Wayne and Fern, I will never forget all of life’s lessons you taught me back on the farm.

I look forward to the late Summer.

Cheers,
Andrew Noye, Beverage Manager
March 1, 2010

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