Continuing on with our series of blogs highlighting our new Spring Cocktail Menu, we turn our attention to our Rachel and her creation, the Fruit Toast Sour. This cocktail is unique in our cocktail line up as it uses our New Make Whiskey. For those who are unfamiliar with New Make, It is essentially the raw, undiluted spirit that emerges from the distillation process before it is placed in oak barrels to mature and become what will be, Itinerant Spirits’ Wayfarer Whiskey. Rachel has then used Turret Bakehouses Fruit Loaf as an ingredient to infuse the New Make, resulting in a fruity, slightly spiced cocktail served with a portion of Fruit Loaf.
What's the story that inspired your cocktail’s concept?
When I worked at the Rum Diary in Fitzroy, we used to make a 'bread and butter daiquiri' and a daiquiri is one of my favourite cocktails to drink. At Itinerant Spirits, we make our whiskey using western victorian grain and I wanted to play with the tasting notes of the New Make which feature warm brown spices, rye bread and a moreish finish. I have a great relationship with Leroy & Belinda from the Turret Bakehouse, so I decided to use some of their breads and pastries as potential ingredients and see how they worked with each spirit.
What local ingredients inspired the creation of your cocktail?
The fruit loaf from the Turret Bakehouse stood out to me as it has amazing fruit and spice flavours and I thought it had enough of a kick to stand up to, and compliment, our new make whisky.
How did your partnership with local businesses influence the flavour profile?
The Turret Bakehouse supplied me with a few different baked goods to try and when I paired the fruit loaf with the new make, all the flavour profiles coming from the tasting notes the spirit just melded so well with the bread, it was sort of a no brainer at that point!
How do the unique qualities of Itinerant Spirits’ products pair with the local ingredients you chose?
Initially I made a syrup with toasted fruit loaf, but it was so thick it was hard to work with! So I decided to infuse the new make with the bread and this made the cocktail so much brighter and really allowed all the flavours of the fruit loaf to come forward unhindered by any extra sugar that would have been used in a syrup, and lengthened the flavours of the new make on the palate.
If you’re looking to try Rachels ‘Fruit Toast Sour’ or any other cocktails that showcase local producers and businesses, Itinerant Spirits is open 12pm - Late from Wednesday to Sunday.
