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Like most sand-and-surf destinations, the bars of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tend to offer, well, beachy drinks: daiquiris, margaritas, suspiciously pink "mai-tais" lacking in orgeat. People come to the boardwalk seeking salt water taffy and Thrasher's fries, and want to chase them with lagers and fruity concoctions whipped into brain-freeze in local bars' overburdened blenders, and of course, with Orange Crushes, the drink that's threatened to set off border hostilities between Delaware and neighboring Maryland.
In such a sun- and fun-centered town, the cocktail menu at Drift is an outlier, laden with thoughtfully crafted drinks. Take the Little Paolo, a drink that could serve as answer to the question, "What should you drink at the beach once summer breezes turn into crisp autumn winds?"
The answer: Mushrooms.
Hey. Wait. Where are you going?
A decade ago, I'm sure I would have hit the swinging saloon doors just as quickly, having issued a "pistols at dawn" challenge to the champignon mixologist who laced my coupé with fungi. But you don't write about cocktails for this long without tasting some drinks that you might consider "weird." Some of those weirdos - let's say two outta 10?- turn out to be delicious. And I've sampled a number of mushroom-enhanced drinks that qualify.
One of the most persuasive was the Porcini Negroni, originated by Camparino in Milan. The bar was founded by Davide Campari, the son of the inventor of the bitter red liqueur at the heart of the Negroni tradition, and celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting this historic institution, but as a Negroni obsessive, I have mixed my way through many, many variations on my beloved bittersweet concoction.
So when I ran across its recipe for a Negroni where the Campari was infused with rich, earthy porcini mushrooms and the usual gin base swapped out for Jamaica rum, I was all in. It did not disappoint - rich, silky, with a slight but noticeable savoriness. Porcini mushrooms "have a uniquely rich and aromatic profile which makes them ideal for adding depth without heaviness," Tommaso Cecca, head of Camparino mixology, told me via email. "The mushrooms soften and round out the bitterness, adding a savory, forest-like complexity without overwhelming the drink's structure." (The bar sous vides the mushrooms in Campari to add their flavor, but for those who believe "sous vide" is French for "ain't got time for that," I'll note that when I played with the drink, I skipped the warm bath and instead infused the mushrooms into the Campari in the fridge for a few days.)
The experience opened my eyes to mushroom drinks, so when Olga Massov, a colleague in The Post's Food section, returned from Rehoboth a while ago singing the praises of the mushroom-enhanced Little Paolo she tasted at Drift, I was excited to try it.
And maybe I don't have to persuade you. After all, the dirty martini has been experiencing a revival, with all sorts of creative riffs bringing out the savory funk people love about the original. Those notes are similar to what some mushrooms can impart to a drink - umami, known as the fifth taste among sour, sweet, salty and bitter, a flavor much more complex than salt alone. Think miso or steak or tomato paste - or mushrooms, especially when they've been dried out so their earthy, meaty flavors are concentrated.
You can of course obtain dried mushrooms in stores and online, but as the holidays roll around, the likelihood of having leftover fungi may grow (thank you, gravy and stuffing). It was managing those leftovers that brought the bar team at Drift to create the Little Paolo - the kitchen had trimmings from oyster mushrooms and bar manager Joe Slavinski had asked to play around with them.
Amber Carbino, bartender at Drift, recommended dehydrating them first. She spoke from experience: At one of her previous bars, they had tried to make a mushroom syrup, but when the mushrooms were fresh, what came out was, not to put too fine a point on it, slimy. Using the dehydrated mushrooms to infuse delicate blanc vermouth, "you get a more concentrated flavor that's not masked by texture," Carbino says. The effect was subtle, she says, "just a little earthy umami situation."
Carbino paired Slavinski's infused vermouth with Averna amaro to dial up the herbal, spicy and caramel notes, and added just a touch of mezcal for contrasting smoke. The result is a lovely lower-alcohol aperitivo, just the sort of thing you might think to serve guests before a holiday feast.
"Having a restaurant in a beach town, you're surrounded by drinks that kind of lean to the sweeter side," Carbino says. "So we like to challenge ourselves to just play with savory more - to push our creativity a bit, but also to challenge people in the area to try something that they would normally not get or just not get at other restaurants nearby."
If you're going to play with mushroom infusions, keep in mind that, generally, the higher proof the booze, the faster the extraction, so taste your concoctions regularly as the botanicals steep. And after the mushrooms have done their magic, don't just toss them out! Their encore awaits in the kitchen. These boozy little fungi will pick up the aromatics of the liquor they sit in, turning them into flavor repositories. Chop them up and throw them into a pasta sauce or a risotto! They've given some oomph to your booze, and now the booze gives back. Feel free to sing "Circle of Life" as you sauté them.
Most of the mushroom drinks I've had were concocted by bartenders, but some brands are putting them in bottles. If you're a truly fun guy (sorry, but you had to know that was coming), a few gins have added the forest-floor dwellers to their botanicals roster, including James California Dreamgin', which references the state's hippie past with mushroom and patchouli botanicals, and Amass (using reishi and lion's mane). One of my recent discoveries, Veda Mushroom out of New York, is a shiitake-infused liqueur that leans bittersweet and herbal - an umami-amaro? - and has a lovely savory edge. Sure, I can't imagine any of these niche spirits will be the next Fireball in terms of popularity, but for adventurous cocktailers wanting to complement harvest flavors - roasted squash, stuffing, caramelized onions, chestnuts roasting on an open fire - there are bottles worth exploring.
In October, in another beach town, Isla Mujeres off the coast of Cancún, I leveled-up on fungi: At Bahía del Rey, I ordered a margarita riff made with a syrup of huitlacoche, a fungus that grows on corn and often shows up on menus as "Mexican truffles." With mezcal, salted tortilla ash and bright notes of lime, the drink was delicious but suffered from an unfortunate deficit: Due to the ash and the huitlacoche, it was a queasy shade of gray, like E.T. after he got sick, and left me a little uneasy in my enjoyment.
It reminded me that the eyes drink first, something to keep in mind whenever you're making drinks. Call it the morel of the story? No. Don't. You're better than that.
Little Paolo Cocktail
Servings: 1 (makes 1 cocktail)
Total time: 10 minutes, plus 3 days to infuse the vermouth
Substitutions: Dried oyster mushrooms >> dried porcini or maitake. Averna >> Ramazzotti
Variations: Try substituting Cynar for Averna for a more vegetal edge, or swap the mezcal for an Islay scotch whisky.
Notes: To make a 20-percent salt solution, dissolve 20 grams fine salt in 80 grams hot water. Transfer to a clean bottle with a dropper and use as needed. Store at room temperature indefinitely.
Make ahead: Infuse the vermouth with the mushrooms in the refrigerator at least 3 days and up to 1 month in advance.
Storage: Refrigerate the infused vermouth for up to 1 month.
Where to buy: Dried oyster mushrooms are available at Asian markets, specialty markets or online.
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INGREDIENTS
For the infused vermouth:
• One (375-milliliter) bottle blanc vermouth, such as Dolin Blanc
• 25 grams dried oyster mushrooms
For the cocktail:
• Ice (standard cubes for stirring, 1 large cube for the drink)
•1 1/2 ounces mushroom-infused vermouth
•1 1/2 ounces Averna amaro
•1/4 ounce mezcal (see headnote)
•3 dashes orange bitters
•Pinch fine salt or 3 dashes 20-percent salt solution (see Notes)
DIRECTIONS
Make the infused vermouth: In a 2-cup (500-milliliter) jar, combine the vermouth with the mushrooms; reserve the vermouth bottle. Seal the jar and refrigerate for at least 3 days and up to 1 month. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth, pressing gently on the solids to extract the flavor. Return the infused vermouth to the original bottle and refrigerate until needed. (You should have enough infused vermouth for 8 drinks.)
Make the cocktail: In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the infused vermouth, Averna, mezcal, bitters and salt. Stir until well chilled, then strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Express a strip of lemon peel over the drink, then use it as a garnish. Serve right away.
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