Billings Petroleum Club: A fresh take on cocktails
The 22nd floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is the best kept secret in Billings.
Wildflower
Trimmed with edible flowers like bee balm, calendula or viola and a wedge of orange, this seasonal cocktail is suitable for drinking as the sun goes down.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Hendrick’s gin
1 oz. elderflower liqueur
¾ oz. grapefruit juice
2-3 dashes of bitters
1 oz. egg whites
½ oz. elderflower liqueur
½ oz. grapefruit juice
Directions:
Shake first four ingredients in martini shaker with ice and strain into martini glass. Dry shake last three ingredients in martini shaker until it gets frothy and thick, approximately one minute. Spoon foam on top of drink. Garnish with grapefruit wedge.
Variation
1 oz. Hendrick’s gin
1 oz. elderflower liqueur
¾ oz. grapefruit juice
2-3 dashes of bitters
Directions:
Shake all ingredients in martini shaker with ice. Strain into glass over ice and top with lemonade.
Strawberry Mint Moscow Mule
Fresh berries and herbs from your garden give a sweet, summery twist on this classic 1940s cocktail. Blazer keeps cocktails fresh by using seasonal herbs and fresh fruits.
Ingredients:
1½ oz. Headframe Spirits High Ore vodka
½ oz. Cointreau
4 oz. Cock’n Bull ginger beer
1 oz. strawberry syrup
3 fresh mint leaves
1 pint strawberries
2 T. sugar
Directions:
To make syrup, simmer strawberries and sugar in a pan 3-5 minutes on the stove. Puree and strain out seeds. Cool and store; will keep for one week. Slap mint between palms and tear in half. Shake vodka, Cointreau, mint and strawberry syrup in martini shaker with ice. Strain into Moscow mule mug over ice and top with ginger beer. Garnish with a strawberry.
Variation
Skip the mint, use less vodka and add coconut rum.
1 oz. Headframe Spirits High Ore vodka
½ oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Malibu
1 oz. strawberry syrup
4 oz. Cock’n Bull ginger beer
Directions:
Shake ingredients in martini shaker with ice. Strain into Moscow mule mug over ice and top with Cock’n Bull ginger beer. Garnish with a strawberry.
Montana Sunrise
Almost too beautiful to drink, earth meets sky in this refreshing cocktail that encourages slow sipping as you view its layers of warm and cool colors. Billings Petroleum Club’s cocktails reflect chef Jeremy Engebretson’s focus on using fresh local ingredients, Blazer said.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1 oz. peach schnapps
1 oz. huckleberry vodka
1 oz. coconut rum
Directions:
Layer liquors in order listed, beginning with the Midori, in a hurricane glass.
Variation:
Add 1 ounce each orange, pineapple and cranberry juice for a fruitier flavor.
Summertime
Enjoy your salad days with a refreshing drink that plays on the crisp flavors from the vegetable and herb garden.
Ingredients:
1½ oz. Healy’s gin
1 oz. Lillet
½ oz. simple syrup
3 slices peeled cucumber
4 basil leaves
2 lime wedges
soda water
Directions:
Muddle cucumber, basil and limes. Shake all ingredients in martini shaker with ice; strain into glass over ice and top with soda water.
Variation
Don’t be afraid to experiment with ingredients, said Blazer, a self-described foodie. Substitute basil with your favorite herb such as thyme or rosemary.
Picture Perfect Martini
Named after Souad Jarecke, wife of photojournalist and Billings Petroleum Club board member Kenneth Jarecke, this drink is a different take on the blueberry lemon drop martini.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Tito’s vodka
1 oz. blueberry vodka
1 oz. limoncello
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. triple sec
½ oz. simple syrup
lemon wedges
blueberries
Directions:
To make syrup, mix equal parts sugar and water in a pan and simmer 3-5 minutes on the stove then cool. Muddle eight blueberries and two lemon wedges. Run a lemon wedge around rim of martini glass then coat with sugar. Shake remaining ingredients in martini shaker with ice. Strain into martini glass, and garnish with a blueberry and lemon skewer.
Sarah Blazer of the Petroleum Club in Billings makes a Picture Perfect martini.