Breakfast in Paris Cocktail

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I have such fond memories of Paris in the springtime. Having a leisurely brunch at a cafe with a beautiful cocktail sounds like heaven to me.

You’ll need the following equipment:

Ingredients:

Harney and Sons Paris Tea
Chardonnay
Cognac
Creme de Cassis
Milk
Butter

While I can’t just hop on a plane anytime soon, I can recreate that feeling at home with this cocktail that I’m calling Breakfast in Paris. It is a Kir riff that is reminiscent of a French baguette smothered with butter and jam- a classic Parisian breakfast that I enjoy frequently when I am in France. The fat washing of the cognac takes this simple Kir to the next level.

In the beginning stages of developing this recipe, my mind immediately went to a Kir: which is simply composed of white wine and creme de cassis- sometimes with a lemon twist. A simple cocktail for a simple breakfast.

To achieve the buttery flavor, I’ll be using a French chardonnay, of course.

I will be sticking to the classic Kir recipe by using creme de cassis- which is made from black currants- this will add that sweet and fruity element.

I also have this really beautifully aromatic Paris tea by Harney and Sons that i wanted to incorporate. It is a black tea that has been spiced with vanilla, currants and bergamot. The tea will add some extra body as well as accentuate the cassis flavors.

I didn’t want to brew tea and add it to the wine, as this is already a pretty low abv cocktail, and I didn’t want to dilute the drink, so I am going to infuse some cognac with the Paris tea. The tea on its own is pretty mild, so I will be adding quite a bit to the cognac- 2 teaspoons of tea to 4 ounces of cognac.

Then I will just let this infuse for about 10 - 12 hours. I want the flavor to be really strong on this, so its ok to let it sit for even longer.

After the cognac has been infused, I will strain out the tea leaves. The color has really darkened from the tea, but that’s ok, it won’t affect the final product.

Once the tea has been strained off, I will be fat washing the tea infused cognac with unsalted European style butter.

Fat washing with butter can be tricky- especially since I am not clarifying the butter. If you do not render the butter long enough, the fat won’t freeze, and you will be left, and it will be nearly impossible to remove the residual fat.

If you heat the butter for too long, or too hot, the milk solids will brown, or worse yet, it could burn, Brown butter is delicious, but it just doesn’t fit the flavor profile I’m after.

I’ll heat one tablespoon of butter until it starts to sizzle, and let it foam for 30 seconds to a minute, then remove from the heat.

Once cooled, I’ll add the melted butter straight into the tea infused cognac. Then whisk to incorporate. Once everything has been mixed, I’ll put on the top to the container and going to pop it in the freezer until the butter solidifies. You can let this sit for a few hours or overnight if you like.

After the butter has solidified, I will strain it off. Feel free to reuse this butter for Coq au vin, or any other braised chicken dish. It’s packed with flavor!

The cognac has much a much thicker texture due to the milk solids from the butter, as well as some of the fat. I definitely want that rich buttery texture in the drink, but I also want the final product to be clear, so now I will do a quick clarification, and since the cognac has already been treated with dairy, I will be using whole milk to clarify. I have a video on how I make milk punch that goes into more depth on the subject.

To my four ounces of brandy, I will add one ounce of milk and let it sit for a moment while the curds break from the whey. Since the fat content is higher due to the butter, I needed a bit more acid to break the milk, so I added a splash of wine. After the curds have formed, all that’s left to do is run it through a filter to clarify. For this I am using a nut milk bag. The Cognac is going to take two or 3 passes until it is completely clear, and most of the pigment has been absorbed by the milk curds.

This was the first time I ever clarified a fat washed spirit, and the result was really interesting- the richness still remained, but the cognac really softened, and while the flavors of the Paris tea remained, they were also softer without the tannins from the black tea.

Once the clarification is complete. We can build our cocktail. To begin, I’m going to add 4 ounces of chardonnay to my wine glass
After the wine, I will add 3/4 oz of the butter and tea Cognac.
Lastly, I will be adding a half ounce of creme de cassis.

Typically, I’d stir the cassis in there until it was incorporated with the wine, but I liked how it looked settled at the bottom of the glass. I would recommend mixing before enjoying though!

I would definitely order this for a brunch cocktail. It looks like a simple Kir, but once you drink it, the weight of the drink is really kind of mind blowing. It’s so rich from the butter, but also has nice acidity from the wine and just the right amount of sweetness from the creme de cassis.

Tea & Butter Cognac:

4 oz Cognac
2 tsp Paris Tea (Harney & Sons)
1 tbs butter
1 oz whole milk
~.5 oz white wine

Method:

Infuse 2 tsp of Paris tea into 4oz of cognac for 10+ hours.
Strain off tea.
Heat 1 tbs of butter into a skillet till it begins to foam, let sizzle for 30-60 seconds before removing from heat.
Let cool.
Pour warm butter into the tea infused cognac and whisk to combine.
Cover and store in the freezer till the fat freezes and rises to the top.
Strain off butter fat.
Add 1oz whole milk to the cognac and a splash of wine to separate the curds from the whey.
After milk has curdled, strain it through a nut milk bag or coffee filter continuing to pass it through the filter until clear.