Mixing It Up

A flavor rush of bitter citrus skin and sweet-and-sour kumquat juice explodes in my mouth when I bite down on the alcohol-drenched little sphere. It's the perfect end to the sake-and-vodka cocktail, and a perfect palate cleanser after the yellowfin tuna sashimi dressed with olive oil and herbs that was our first course.

Dining anonymously at new Houston restaurant Noe, we have ordered one of Gadsby's "spontanée tasting menus." But instead of having him match each course with a wine, we've asked him to match his culinary creations with some of his signature cocktails.

"Cocktails are a big part of what I do. I started matching cocktails with specific dishes back in Los Angeles," Robert Gadsby told me over the phone. "I hope to do more of it here in Houston."

With the scallops, he serves us a drink he calls an Iceberg, made with white grapefruit juice, white peach juice and the Japanese spirit called soju. With the lobster and shrimp in red chile comes Snap Crackle and Pop, a creamy drink with currants and bits of the crisped rice called bobo in it. The only thing you can be sure of when Robert Gadsby serves you a drink is that you've never heard of it before.

We finished our dinner at Noe with a dessert of goat cheese cheesecake accompanied by a drink called a Crème Brûlée. It contained Stoli Vanil vodka, De Kuyper Butterscotch Caramel liqueur, heavy cream and egg yolk, and it tasted more like crème brûlée than the French custard itself. It was an eye-opening finale to our cocktail-tasting dinner.

The next time you're out for dinner, don't ignore the drink menu. In Space City, as in the rest of the world, some of the wildest new ideas in dining aren't dishes, they're drinks. And you won't want to miss the icy pyrotechnics.

Amazing Cocktail Recipes

Here are the recipes for some of the wildest new cocktails we've encountered lately, along with a couple of classics. Sorry, almost none of them is quick and easy. But all of them are impressive.

T'afia's Red Grapefruit Ratafia

You can adapt this recipe to any fruit or herb or combination you like. For red wine ratafia, figs and lavender are recommended.

1 Texas red grapefruit, cut into pieces, pulp and skin included
1/4 cup organic sugar
Organic whole vanilla bean (cut open)
1/4 cup Tito's vodka (made in Austin) or any clean-tasting vodka
1 bottle crisp white wine

Mix all ingredients together and mix to dissolve sugar. Put in a sealed container in the refrigerator for three to four weeks. Strain and discard solids. This will yield about four cups of ratafia.

Drink on the rocks, or use as a base for cocktails.

Robert Gadsby's Créme Brûlée

This drink tastes more like crème brûlée than crème brûlée.

2 shots Stoli Vanil vodka
1/2 shot De Kuyper Butterscotch Caramel liqueur
3/4 shot bay leaf syrup (simple syrup steeped with bay leaves)
1 shot heavy cream
1/2 fresh egg yolk
Dash of cinnamon

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Dust the top of the drink with a little cinnamon.

Robert Gadsby's Mother-in-Law's Tongue

There's nothing sharper!

3 cardamom pods
1 cup half & half
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1/2 orange
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, strained
1/4 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup ice
2 shots (4 ounces) Absolut Mandarin vodka

In a small skillet over high heat, toast cardamom pods until they begin to color and are fragrant, about five minutes. Using a mortar and pestle or the back of a knife, crack open the pods and roughly chop or bruise them. Place the cardamom, half & half, sugar and zest in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Strain the mixture into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Place the milk mixture, orange juice, crème fraîche and vodka, along with ice, into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes 2.

The Modern's Red Square

This borscht-and-vodka combination was inspired by the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich's painting Black Square and Red Square.

Beet-and-wine mixture:

6 red beets
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 cups red wine
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 sprig each of rosemary, thyme, sage and basil
1 quart water
Beet chips (for garnish)

For the beet-and-wine mixture: Scrub the beets and toss with enough salt, pepper and olive oil to season and coat. Place in a roasting pan with 1/4-inch water and cover. Roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Cool and peel the beets. Place them in saucepan with the remaining ingredients and boil over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by about half. Strain and chill.

For each drink:

2 ounces Stolichnaya vodka
3 ounces beet-and-wine mixture

Shake in a cocktail shaker and strain into a clear martini glass. This should be a spicy, borschtlike vodka drink with a deep ruby color. Garnish with a beet chip.