Farmers Market Fare: Peach… Cocktails?

Local chefs whipped up these peach cocktails on the fly using ingredients from the farmers market across the street!

Not too long ago, I talked about my trip to the East Atlanta Farmer’s Market to check out the Slow Food salute to the peach, which they were calling the Peach Jam. Everyone at the market got into the peachy action! Vendors were offering peach breads, peach salsas, and peach popsicles; the market chef did some peach cooking demonstrations; and the whole thing culminated in a peach cocktail mix-off at the bar across the street: The Midway Pub.

The mix-off was a cooking challenge! Local bartenders and chefs arrived at the market not knowing what sort of booze they were going to be using. When they go there, they got 30 minutes to shop at the farmer’s market for cocktail ingredients, and then the mixing began! The judges chose three winning drinks, and the following week The Midway Pub served up the three winners in a flight.

If you’re not familiar with a “flight,” it’s a pretty fun way to sample a variety of libations. Instead of just ordering a drink, the flight includes a sampling of miniature drinks. The flight at The Midway consisted of four-ounce glasses of each of the three winners (pictured above).

So what were the winning peach cocktails?

1. Pearson Pride

Pearson is a local farm that bring delicious yellow and white peaches to the market every week in the summer. I’m not mad about bourbon, so my dad and his girlfriend, Toni, helped me drink this. Dad said it was too sweet, but Toni thought it was great.

1 oz. Bulleit bourbon
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. peach puree
.75 oz. black pepper-infused wildflower honey
1/2 dropper Bittermens Tiki Bitters
orange mint to garnish

2. Heart on Fire

This tasted like a spicy margarita, and it was delicious! If I were going to make it at home, I’d probably opt for 1 oz. of tequila, because I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to booze. If you like the tequila to shine in your margaritas, though, go for 1.5 oz. instead.

1-1.5 oz. Czadores Blanco tequila
1 slice jalapeno (minced finely)
.25 oz peach puree
.25 oz. lime juice
.25 oz. thistle honey
2-3 lime basil leaves
lime basil to garnish

3. Sun Golden Peach

My favorite of the three peach cocktails, hands down, this one reminded me a bit of a bloody Mary, but that doesn’t really do it justice. It was a little bit savory, a little bit sweet, and the lime basil and oregano made it refreshing on a hot day. You want to drink this one pretty quickly, because it’s on the thick side and tastes better when it’s chilled. The peach ketchup was a special condiment that the market chef whipped up for the event. Delicious!