food and wine	« mixology
Updated: August 20, 2009, 2:20 pm	Share    Print    Email

Phao bartender Derrick Nielsen creating Cointreau Pearls. Photos by Douglas Harrington

Sag Harbor - So how does a rough around the edges, straight gin drinker like this reporter get assigned to cover a new cocktail sensation called Cointreau Pearls? The old expression, "Like pearls to swine" had to be rattling around my editor's mind at the time. Either that or if there were actual pearls in the drinks, she might have thought I had the cocktail capacity to gather enough of them to string a necklace together for her. Well it turns out these are pearls you eat that are filled with that classic French cordial, Cointreau. I gathered with other reporters at highly touted Phao Restaurant in Sag Harbor for a recent demonstration and tasting.

For those of you unfamiliar with this liquor, it is orange based and made in a family founded distillery in Angers, France since 1875. It is, essentially, a rich man's triple sec. However, whereas few us would ever consider drinking rack triple sec on the rocks or warm in a snifter, this French beauty stands alone as a popular aperitif the world over and is also included as an ingredient in some of the world's most famous food dishes. In fact, the recipe is still a closely guarded secret to this day and photography is prohibited during tours of the distillery. It is a fantastic liquor, I highly recommend it, particularly with a finishing cheese platter.

The Shinju: Cointreau Pearls in champagne.

Cointreau Pearls are essentially vegan based gel spheres that encapsulate the liquor Cointreau. To try and explain the essentially scientific process involved in encapsulating the Cointreau into the completely organic and safe gelled spheres that form the pearls would probably take Einstein himself and, frankly, would be a very boring read and one I have no intention of making you suffer through. So in layman's terms, let me tell you it felt like eating caviar that tasted liked Cointreau and, yes, at that moment it was magnificent. However, these exotic pearls do not in any way change the actual taste or recipe of the drink. Once again, the Cointreau is encapsulated

This is a process that was created by Chef Ferran Adria of El Bulli Restaurant in Catalonia, Spain. Once the bartender, in this case the mixologist Derrick Neilsen at Phao, has created the pearls, he drops them into the cocktails of choice. Phao is presently featuring two "Pearl Cocktails," one a glass of Piper Heidsieck Brut champagne with pearls dropped in it called the Shinju, the other a pearl version of a pomegranate martini.

For a restaurant or bar to create these drinks, they must purchase from Cointreau a very elaborate set of tools in a silver suitcase called the Cointreau Spherification Kit that can cost a $1,000, depending on the EU exchange rate. The pearls can only be made with this special kit and formula created by Fernando Castellion. It has science class beakers and tools for the formulation of the emulsification process. It includes edible gold leaf to be included in the formulation of the upscale recipes. Different food coloring can also be added to the formulation to change the color of the pearls as can ingredients like strawberry or other fruit extracts to change the taste. There is a magnetized base device that mixes the concoction that creates the thick pearl mixture. And after all this preparation is done, they pour it through what is essentially a cheese shaker to create the pearls. Depending on how slow or fast the bartender pours will determine the actually size of the pearls. The pearls can be as large as olives with a slow steady pour.

The Phao Pearl Pomegranate Martini.

The only problem is that during the creation of the cocktail the pearls look lovely floating through the drink, but unfortunately by the time they get to the customer most of them are sitting at the bottom of the glass. Understandably, they do stay suspended longer in the carbonation of the champagne and one could keep stirring them up with a swizzle stick before each sip of a still cocktail.

To date, Phao is the only restaurant in the Hamptons offering Cointreau Pearls in their cocktails. Visually beautiful? Yes. Cocktail taste altering? Not really. Pricey? Indeed - $25 a drink - however, at the end of your cocktail you do get to chew Cointreau caviar, but remember if you don't actually bite into them you will not taste the Cointreau. So don't just swallow, if you do you will never get to taste this fabulous French liquor.