We’ve tried a ton of pear brandy cocktails, and most don’t make it into Cocktail Party – they’re often too flat, too sweet, too boring to make the cut.
We were rifling through ancient archive of the Spirits column from The Washington Post and happened upon this recipe for the Harvest pear from Trudy Thomas, mixologist at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. We tried it, with the low expectations set by dozens of pear cocktails that came before it.
So it was a welcome surprise to us to discover that the Harvest Pear is truly a gorgeous, delicious drink, with plenty of complexity and backbone. Score one for the pears!
Thomas calls for Yellow Tail Riesling, and we happened to have it on hand for testing. We’ve since tried it with other sweet whites, and it’s just as delicious every time, provided you start with a wine you love to drink on its own.
Make sure you’re using a pear brandy or eau de vie – not a pear liqueur, which will be much too sweet.
