The dirty little secret most truly committed Pressed Juicery lovers know is that, while there’s no replacing a good bottle of Greens 1 first thing in the morning, a little Citrus 3 knocked into a glass of champagne or a shot of brandy in a punch bowl full of Apple Cinnamon Persimmon can really take your love of juice to the next level. With holiday party season in full swing, we’ve asked one of LA’s top bartenders to help us mix a few custom cocktails that can be made at home and will take your holiday party skills to the next level.
We met bartender Jeremy Lake behind the bar at Crossroads Kitchen, one of the most glamorously old-fashioned dining rooms for healthy food-lovers in the city. With a space designed by top LA design troupe, Studio Collective, and talent like vegan Chef Tal Ronnen (who famously catered Ellen & Portia’s wedding) in the kitchen, Crossroads feels more cosmopolitan nightspot than vegan eatery – the perfect spot for some fresh juice mixology.
Jeremy designed three cocktails, a creamy Spiced Almond dream, a gorgeous over-the-top citrus cocktail and a glowing pink pick-me-up with grapefruit and beets. Each cocktails is named after the street of a Pressed Juicery location and is garnished to the hilt. Take Jeremy’s cues and go all out – after all, that’s what this season is all about! Gather materials for all three, or pick just one to play star of the show on your Christmas or New Year’s party bar cart.
The Bedford: Spiced Beet Press
Ingredients
3/4 oz Pressed Juicery Roots 3 (beets apple lemon ginger)
1/4 oz Pressed Juicery Citrus 3 (grapefruit mint)
2 oz Breaker Bourbon
3/8 oz Lazzaroni Maraschino liqueur
3/8 oz Combier liqueur (orange liqueur)
dash Peychaud’s bitters
peel from one medium-sized orange, for garnish
dehydrated apple slice, for garnish
Directions
Sugar the rim of a stemmed glass (see below for instructions), and set aside.
Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously with lots of ice. Then strain the cocktail into the glass with a sugared rim.
Twist orange peel to express all of its oil over the cocktail. Roll the orange peel up and drape it into the cocktail, allowing it to coil in the glass (leave some of the peel ornately draping out over the side of the glass). Place a dehydrated apple slice on the rim of the glass.
To sugar the rim:
Pour granulated sugar (organic evaporated cane sugar or vegan sugar recommended) onto a small plate. Pour a small amount of the Roots 3 beet juice onto another small plate.
Dip the rim of a stemmed cocktail glass into the beet juice, then dip the rim into the sugar, coating the rim with sugar and juice.
Use a cloth or napkin to wipe the sugar out of the inside of the glass and discard excess sugar.
The Larkspur: Winter Rum-Chata
Ingredients
3 oz Pressed Juicery Spiced Almond
1 1/2 oz Roaring Dan’s Maple Rum
1/4 oz Smith & Cross
dash cinnamon, grated
1/4 oz maple syrup
dash of Angostura bitters
dash of Peychaud’s bitters
cracked cinnamon, for garnish
mint sprig, for garnish
powdered sugar, for garnish
Ingredients
Add all ingredients, except for garnishes, to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously with lots of ice.
Strain the cocktail into a double old-fashioned rocks glass filled with ice.
Garnish with cracked cinnamon, mint sprig and powdered sugar.
The Cooper: Ginger Mint Press Core
Ingredients
3 oz Pressed Juicery Pineapple Pear Ginger Mint
2oz Pisco brandy
1/2 oz orgeat (almond syrup)
3/4 oz lemon juice
2 blackberries
pinch of mint
soda water
blackberry, for garnish
pineapple leaf, for garnish
mint sprig, for garnish
Directions
Prepare blackberry mint sprig (instructions below), and set aside.
Add all ingredients, except soda water and garnishes, to a cocktail shaker. Lightly muddle the mint and blackberries.
Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously.
Add 1/2 to 1 ounce of soda water to the shaker.
Strain the cocktail into a tall glass filled with ice.
Garnish with a long pineapple leaf and a blackberry mint sprig.
Blackberry Mint Sprig:
Hollow out a blackberry using a toothpick. Skewer the blackberry with a sprig of mint. Lightly pull on the mint sprig stem to cause the mint leaves to pop up.
