Freyja
FEATURING SPIRITS LAB VODKA, MAMA ROUX | NEWBURGH, NY
Shantay, you stay! On today’s Friday Sip we head upstate to Mama Roux, where owner Sterling Knight and her team are serving up Cajun-Creole inspired food in a warm inviting setting inspired by her hometown New Orleans. Freyja, the cocktail du jour, is Sterling’s take on a martini, featuring vodka by fellow Newburgh-based Spirits Lab. (Fun fact: their vodka is 7x distilled and triple filtered with Local Herkimer Diamonds!) Crisp, complex and with a hint of celery and cucumber—Freyja is the perfect way to welcome the weekend. Happy Friday, fellow Sippers!
The Sip Story…
In the words of Mama Roux owner and restauranteur Sterling Knight, “Freyja is a play on a dirty martini inspired by the Nordic Countries. Marrying Spirits Lab ultra clean 7 times distilled Vodka and Brennivin Aquavit which is an Islandic ‘vodka’ made from caraway. The flavors remind me of my trip to Iceland where I had a very refreshing and traditional breakfast or aperitif of rye bread laden with caraway seeds topped with pickled herring and a cucumber. This was always a welcomed bite at any table that is inspired by the sea and surroundings.
The name comes from the Islandic name book for girls. I loved this one; I researched the name and it became even more interesting.”
The name Freyja transparently means 'lady, mistress’ in Old Norse. Stemming from a feminine form of Proto-Germanic *frawjōn ('lord'), it is cognate with Old Saxon frūa ('lady, mistress') or Old High German frouwa ('lady'; compare with modern German Frau). Freyja is also etymologically close the name of the god Freyr, meaning 'lord' in Old Norse.
Skál!
Serves 1
INGREDIENTS
1.5 oz Spirits Lab Vodka
1 oz Brennivin Aquavit
.74 oz Routin Dry Vermouth
.5 oz Caper Berry (or Caper) Juice
1 dash Bitter Truth Cucumber Bitters
2 dash Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
METHOD
Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Stir until chilled, 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe. Garnish with cucumber wheel and celery ribbon.
Garnish Notes
Use a citrus peeler to create "ribbon" for celery, slicing vertically to create a long ribbon. Cut cucumber into a wheel. Make an x in the center of cucumber wheel. Curl celery ribbon around your finger creating a spiral. Feed celery ribbon ends into the x of the cucumber wheel. Make a slit in wheel about a 1/4 inch. Perch completed wheel on the edge of the coupe.
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Brennivin Aquavit
The Bitter Truth Cucumber Bitters
The Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
Sanniti Caperberries