Summertime’s Calling Me

I love a refreshing summer cocktail with a citrus-forward flavor profile, and while I was tending bar a few years ago at The Dunhill Hotel in uptown Charlotte, I came up with this recipe that includes some of my favorite flavors: orange, lavender, and lemon.

I enjoyed working at The Dunhill, met the most amazing people from all walks of life and all over the world at that bar. I’ll always be thankful for the time I spent there. I especially enjoyed meeting and hanging out with Kiefer Sutherland, who tells incredible stories.

It’s not just an historic hotel, it’s a haunted hotel, and it was the tallest building in Charlotte in 1929. It’s one of many buildings in Charlotte designed by Louis Asbury, and the restaurant inside The Dunhill is named The Asbury. The Dunhill opened as a hotel and apartments prior to Black Tuesday, primarily to accommodate entertainers, including Frank Sinatra, who were performing at The Carolina Theatre, which is across the street and reopened last year. Artifacts from the early 1900s are on display in the lower mezzanine, and the art of Philip Moose decorates the hotel, as he paid his rent in paintings during the Great Depression. The hotel blueprints are also hanging near the elevators and in the rear entrance.

Back to the cocktail (this is a story about a cocktail, remember?), I never settled on a name for it until now, despite suggestions to name it after myself. Um, no. I’ve finally settled on Summertime’s Calling Me Martini, for several reasons, the first of which is that it’s a gin-based cocktail served straight up in a salud grande, so it’s fair to call it a martini, although olives and vermouth are not involved. Tanqueray Sevilla Orange is the only acceptable gin for this martini.

The next reason I chose this name ties into the first: it’s for my dad and one of his favorite songs, which was played at his wake, The Catalinas’ “Summertime’s Calling Me,” a beach music classic. This is a cocktail that tastes like summer in a glass, and the flavor profile can be balanced, tart, or sweet, depending on your preferences: alcohol and orange forward, lemon forward, or lavender forward. I would have enjoyed drinking one of these with my dad on the balcony at Hilton Head. My dad loved the beach, beach music, oranges, and gin. He would have loved this drink, heavy on the lemon juice. Cheers, Daddy!

The next ingredient is orange liqueur. I use Cointreau. If Cointreau is out of budget, use Gran Gala. Under no circumstances should Grand Marnier or triple sec be involved in this drink. Grand Marnier is cognac, and it’s too viscous, too syrupy for this cocktail. It’s fine in a margarita, which has a greater volume of acidic liquid to sufficiently cut through it. This cocktail does not, and you’re adding syrup to it, so do not substitute Grand Marnier for Cointreau. Gran Gala is the best substitute. Don’t even say DeKuyper in the same room with this recipe. Cheap triple sec is prohibited.

There are only two other ingredients, and one of them contains more prohibition: lemon juice. No, do not use concentrate: it will ruin it. Fresh lemon juice only. Cut the lemon and squeeze it into the cocktail shaker, as much or little as you like. Fresh only.

The final ingredient is lavender simple syrup. I make my own and infuse it with fresh local lavender. If that’s not an option, dried lavender also works, or you can buy a commercial lavender syrup. Simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar. Use hot water to dissolve the sugar, and simmer herbs to infuse flavors. If you don’t want to make your own, a variety of commercial syrups are available. A solid mid-range is DaVinci, but if you’re willing to spend a little more, there are many organic options as well, including Bacanha from World Market.

The ratios of the recipe are one and a half ounces of gin, three-quarters of an ounce of orange liqueur, and lemon and lavender to taste. You may add a splash of water to dilute it if you wish. Pour over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a twist of orange, lemon, or lime. Summer is ready to be sipped.

Find a porch or deck and a sunset and enjoy!