The Gunshop Fizz

While shopping at the Boston Shaker the other day, I was asked a very innocent question: "what are you drinking these days?"

The guys at this shop seem to know more about drinks than most bartenders I run across, so for me this was actually a pretty intimidating question. While I didn't have a very good answer ready to shoot off, I somehow managed to mutter off an "uhh penicillin". I was shopping with a friend of mine and told him he'd only need a little bottle of peychaud’s because one is basically a lifetime supply. At this point, the guy behind the counter says that he’s been buying the big bottle because he's been making this drink called a gun shop fizz which - as opposed to using a dash or two of the anisey bitters - uses 2 ounces. And as he described it, also includes some weird ass bitter Italian soda called sanbitter.

After he finished describing it I wondered who would even order this drink if they saw it somewhere? Its heavy on fruit like strawberries, pinkish red, and garnished with a wheel of cucumber along the outside of the glass so I felt like a lot of guys might shy away from it. At the same time, its fairly bitter so not too many of the girls I know would jump at it if they saw it on a menu either. I had to try it.

A "rogue cocktail" by beta cocktails, the drink is named after peychaud's apothecary - which is now a gun shop.

The Gunshop Fizz
2 oz peychaud's aromatic bitters
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz lemon juice
2 strawberries
3 slices of cucumber (not too thin)
3 peels of grapefruit
3 peels of orange
sanbitter (or stappj)

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker except for the sanbitter, muddle, and let the mixture sit for two minutes to infuse. Add ice, shake vigorously, and finely strain into a collins glass with ice. Top with Sanbitter and skip the garnish.

As a heads-up, sanbitter can be pretty difficult to find so don't expect to be able to pick it up at whole foods. An Italian grocery store is probably your best bet and it's readily available online. Also, stappj tastes exactly the same to me and is slightly easier to find. I skipped the garnish because I have very strong sentiments about useless garnishes - which is another topic for another day.

This drink is like a light, effervescent negroni but full of fruit and with structure. The citrus oils from the rinds and acidity from the lemon juice help to temper the bitterness in the drink. Spectacularly balanced, the cucumber is the surprising hero because it adds an amazing crispness to each sip and invites you to take another. Looks like I'll be buying the big bottle of peychaud’s from now on.