The Harvest Moon

So, those of you who know me know that I have a real thing for Crème de Violette--it's so sweet and floral and reminiscent of violet pastilles. The only Crème de Violette currently on the market in the U.S. is by Rothman and Winter. They also make a wide variety of other "Orchard Liqueurs," although they're a challenge to find (at least in our parts). However, this weekend we found the Orchard Apricot Liqueur at Surdyk's in Minneapolis. 

Orchard Apricot Liqueur, according to the Haus Alpenz website, "combines juice from the seasonal harvest of Austria’s famed Klosterneuberger apricots (known locally as "Marillen") with an eau-de-vie produced from this same fruit." The flavor is sweetly apricot with a boozy punch. 

On our drive home from Minneapolis (two and a half hours in blinding snow) I came up with the idea to make a variation on the Blue Moon--I even came up with a name for this drink, "Harvest Moon," for what I imagined would be the glow of a combination of Plymouth Gin, Orchard Apricot Liqueur, and lemon juice. Tonight, the Harvest Moon was born!

Okay, so it wasn't as orange in color as I imagined it would be, but it was completely delicious. Peyton added a few dashes of Peychaud's, which was a smart decision since the apricot is very sweet and the bitters cut the sweetness and added a bit more depth to the cocktail. After the Harvest Moon, I'm going to try this liqueur in champagne for an Apricot Royal. 

Ingredients:
2 oz. Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz. Orchard Apricot Liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Add the first three ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass and add bitters.