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Cocktail History
The Kelly Kapowski is a modern cocktail that was created at LoLo American Kitchen & Craft Bar in Stillwater, Minnesota. It pairs cucumber, arugula, ginger, celery, lemon, and paprika with vodka and sparkling water to create a refreshing yet unique drink that’s great for a hot day.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Soda Water: This is a carbonated beverage made with water and dissolved carbon dioxide gas, which gives it a fizzy, neutral flavor.
Vodka: This is a spirit made with fermented grains or potatoes and water, which are distilled and then filtered to develop a clean, neutral flavor.
Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger root, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a spicy, aromatic flavor.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.
Celery Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with celery, herbs, spices, botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop an earthy, slightly bitter flavor.
Cucumber Slices: This is a piece of cucumber that has been cut into a thin circular shape.
Arugula: This is a type of leafy green made from the leaves of the arugula plant that has a tender texture and a peppery, slightly bitter flavor.
Paprika: This is a spice. I used Simply Organic Ground Paprika.
Cucumber Ribbon: This is a strip of cucumber that has been thinly sliced lengthwise.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. I used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. I used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
This cocktail has the following flavor profile:
• Appearance: Pale green color
• Aroma: Cucumber and citrus
• Taste: Tingly cucumber flavor mixed with hints of paprika, bitter arugula, celery, and ginger spice
• Finish: Slight alcohol burn and lemon
Kendall’s Take: “I first tried a mocktail version of this drink on a visit to Stillwater back in 2017 and had to recreate it at home. Even with the addition of vodka to make it a little boozy, it’s exactly as refreshing and delicious as I remember. The cooling cucumber mixes nicely with the spicy ginger, and the effervescent soda water makes it all so easy to sip.”
Recipe
Kelly Kapowski
Description
The Kelly Kapowski is a modern cocktail that was created at LoLo American Kitchen & Craft Bar in Stillwater, Minnesota. It pairs cucumber, arugula, ginger, celery, lemon, and paprika with vodka and sparkling water to create a refreshing yet unique drink that's great for a hot day.
Ingredients
Method
Pour paprika onto a plate, rub outer rim of a lowball glass with lemon juice, and roll rim of glass in paprika until coated.
Add cucumber slices and arugula to a shaker.
Using a muddler, gently muddle cucumber slices and arugula for 5-7 seconds.
Add vodka, ginger syrup, and celery bitters to shaker.
Fill shaker with cubed ice.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Fill rimmed lowball glass with fresh cubed ice.
Using a Hawthorne strainer, strain into rimmed glass.
Top with soda water.
Garnish with cucumber ribbon.
