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Friday Cocktail Hour: The Traverse City Zinger Returns

Published: Oct 18, 2013 · Modified: Feb 3, 2021 by Michael Ruhlman · 5 Comments

The TC Zinger. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman.

The TC Zinger. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman.

I'm presumably in Stonington, Maine, cutting pig and rejoicing in the glories of the hog with Charcuterie pal and co-author Brian Polcyn, to benefit the Island Culinary & Ecological Center. (Join us if you're anywhere near Stonington! Details here.) From Maine we return to wonderful Traverse City and Pigstock, so I'm reposting this splendid cocktail made from gin and preserved Michigan cherries (don't have any on hand? improvise!—a gin sour with preserved fruit). —MR

A PR firm sent me a bottle of Nolet’s gin, which I was happy to taste (and used in The Southside), but when I was researching the gin I came across a Cocktail Enthusiast review of the gin, and lo! What’s this? The author of the post, Kevin Gray, included a cocktail recipe pairing the gin with sour cherries. His post calls it a Nolet’s New Fashioned. (I don’t think any general drink name should be brand specific, unless it came from the company, which this one did—shame on you Kevin! Have a little imagination, or steal, like I do!)

Gray’s post accurately reviews the qualities of Nolet’s; it is indeed superlative gin. Slightly more floral than my beloved Beefeater, but still very dry. It’s so good, in fact, that arguably it should be saved exclusively for martinis. Honestly. If it sucked I wouldn’t drink it or write about it. But, hey, I’ll drink Barton‘s, so that’s who you’re dealing with here.

I recently returned from Traverse City, MI, tart cherry capital of the country (Michigan grows 70% of the total U.S. harvest, I was told), and in my Pigstock swag bag was a jar of local cherry preserves. As I’d bought some Michigan grappa and pear brandy (happily, Brian and I managed not to polish off the entire bottle that night), I was forced to check a bag ($25, thanks Delta, I’ll be flying United next time), so I returned with the preserves as well. And because I’m still so totally jazzed on the whole Pigstock and Northern Michigan experience, I offer this cocktail.

The first of the preserves went on Donna’s morning biscuits, but then they went into this heavenly cocktail: gin, pulverized preserved cherries, and a gingery bitters (Angostura or whatever’s available to you is fine). I do all of my pulverizing in a mortar and pestle; no wimpy “muddling” in this household. Love this cocktail. Thank you, Kevin and Nolet’s, but I’m renaming it.

 

Other links you may like:

  • Other recent cocktails are: the Derby, the Cobbler, and the Old Fashioned with Homemade Bitters.
  • Check out these Michigan Wineries: Left Foot Charley, Chateau Chantal, Chateau Grand Traverse, L. Mawby, and Old Mission Peninsula, to name a few.
  • Make your own sour cherry jam.

© 2013 Michael Ruhlman. Photo © 2013 Donna Turner Ruhlman. All rights reserved.

THE TRAVERSE CITY ZINGER

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Course Cocktail

Ingredients
  

  • 20 grams preserved tart cherries (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 60 grams gin (2 ounces)
  • 5 or 6 dashes bitters

Instructions
 

  • Pulverize the cherries using a mortar and pestle.
  • Add the gin and bitters to the mortar. Give the drink another stir with the pestle.
  • Pour into a lowball glass over ice.
  • Raise your glass to Mother Nature and ask for a good growing season in Northern Michigan next year.
« Friday Cocktail: The Old-Fashionedw/Homemade Bitters
Italian Canederli with Walnut Levain »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. allen

    October 18, 2013 at 12:53 pm

    Blend Noet's with Barton's @ 1/4 : 3/4 for a more economical cocktail, makes a great martini too.

    Reply
  2. Auntie Allyn

    October 18, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    I love everything about this recipe and I love Traverse City (I've gone up there in the fall for the last 20 years). I really must try this recipe this weekend . . . thanks for reprising it!

    Reply
  3. the last of us pc download

    November 18, 2013 at 8:14 pm

    Yes! Finally someone writes about the last of
    us free.

    Reply
  4. Mike D.

    August 09, 2022 at 10:31 pm

    5 stars
    Made one tonight with Leelanau County cherry preserves I made from last year's harvest. Wonderful.

    Reply
    • Michael Ruhlman

      August 27, 2022 at 3:50 pm

      nice!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Michael Ruhlman, an award-winning author and cook who writes about chefs, food and cooking, among other things.

More about me →

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

See my books!

Ratio App for iPhone

After I wrote my book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, a colleague and I built a ratio calculator for iPhones that allows you to cook without recipes. For doughs, batters, custards, sauces, stocks and more, simply plug in the amount of one ingredient and the amounts of the other ingredients are instantly calculated. It's also a handy reference for dozens of our most common preparations. ($4.99 in the app store.)

Collaborate

I’ve collaborated on a dozen books, including cookbooks and a memoir. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, please contact my agent, Gail Hochman, [email protected], at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

For speaking engagements contact, Kip Ludwig, [email protected].

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