Meet the Tomatini --- This Summer's Surprisingly Refreshing Martini Twist

The text from Dad filled me with glee: "Tomato time," accompanied by a picture of an intimidating pile of red fruits. Less than a week before, when we'd gone out to the garden for a vine check, most of the fruit was still green, but three days later, the tomatopocalypse had officially arrived. I salivated, thinking of coming tomato sandwiches, panzanella and gazpacho tanged with sherry vinegar.

What I didn't drool for? Bloody Marys, that staple of brunches - tomato juice (usually canned), vodka and spicy drop-ins like Worcestershire, horseradish and hot sauce. Around since the 1930s, they're still offered as a putative hangover cure. I'm not a believer - drink water, people! - but tomato juice does have some of the same nutrients replenished by every morning groaner's favorite, Pedialyte.

According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, writing in the "Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails," American entertainer George Jessel (apparently once known as "The Toastmaster General of the United States") and French bartender Fernand Petiot (known as "The Frog" - a less woke era, one surmises) both claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary.

"Unfortunately, there is no contemporary evidence for either claim," Wondrich writes, "although Jessel was strongly associated with the vodka-tomato juice combination by 1939, and possibly as early as 1934, while the St. Regis had a vodka bar under Petiot's tutelage in 1936, and the drink, spices and all, was a documented specialty of the hotel since at least 1941. In the absence of further evidence, the evaluation of their claims must rest there."

The Bloody Mary may be the original tomato cocktail, but I've never been a fan, even before social media turned the drink into a garnishmaxxing battle, decking them out with enough food stuffs - pizza slices, chicken wings, cheeseburgers - to stock the accompanying brunch. The Bloody Mary has always seemed like alcoholic soup to me. When I want a drink, I want a drink, not an Andy Warhol.

But tomato is a wonderful cocktail ingredient, one that can shape-shift depending on how you treat it, sweet and fruity in one sip, rich with savory umami notes in another, tart and bright in yet another. It deserves a better drink as its envoy.

There are bottled options that make use of the fruit's appeal - Moletto Tomato Gin from Italy, a Japanese tomato liqueur called La Tomate, and G. E. Massenez makes a sun-dried-tomato liqueur. One real standout is a tomato vermouth from Veso, its rich umami notes making for a great dirty martini.

And bartenders are deploying all the tricks of the trade - clarification, infusion, fine straining to get the clear ambrosia of tomato water - so the fruit can have the platform it deserves. In D.C. alone recently, I've had a Tomato Negroni at Your Only Friend (a less bittersweet but recognizable Negroni with a deep tomato note); a Margherita Margarita at No Goodbyes (playing off the Neapolitan pie); and a Cosmic Dance Break at Death & Co (tomato gin with strawberry, a strong marriage, indeed).

I also recently returned from Tales of the Cocktail, the annual festival in New Orleans where bartenders, booze brands and cocktail enthusiasts gather for the latest in drinks. One of the seminars was Killer Tomato Cocktails, where Charlotte Voisey, the foundation's executive director, and a panel of experts, including D.C.'s Gina Chersevani of Buffalo & Bergen, presented a smorgasbord of elegant tomato cocktails. They included Chersevani's green tomato version of the Ramos Gin Fizz and the Tomatini, a not-actually-a-martini drink that's become the signature at La Petite Maison (LPM) since it was invented by Jimmy Barrat at the Dubai location in 2010.

Barna Jeremias, bar manager at LPM's Miami location, demonstrated how to make it, muddling fresh tomato with vodka, simple syrup, white balsamic vinegar and seasoning, including the bit of theater the restaurant uses to finish it off: a grind of fresh pepper from a four-foot-tall pepper mill. Jeremias said the restaurant in Miami serves about 600 a week - four times what the restaurant sells of its second most popular drink.

In an Instagram video posted by LPM, the group's beverage director, Tibor Krascsenics, says the drink took a while to catch on. "Many of the guests were unsure about a savory tomato-based cocktail. Many of them would compare it to a Bloody Mary, which is the complete opposite of the Tomatini."

"Creating a cocktail can happen in an afternoon; proving it deserves to become a modern classic can take decades," Barrat, the drink's creator, told me in an email. In the French Mediterranean, where he grew up, the tomato "isn't simply an ingredient - it's part of the culture. From the very beginning, I wanted to treat the tomato for what it truly is: a fruit."

Barrat started out making the drink with Bull's Heart tomatoes, an heirloom variety known for its sweet, rich flavor. Over time, the restaurant has shifted to using widely available Camparis. If you can't lay your hands on either, look for a tomato with a high sweetness and relatively low acidity but, Barrat says, the ripeness is most important. "A perfectly ripe tomato will always outperform an exceptional variety picked too early." The success of the Tomatini, Voisey says, speaks to multiple trends across the industry: a shift in how tomatoes are used toward a lighter, aperitif format; the way cocktails from restaurant bars differ from those of traditional cocktail bars; the power of a signature drink; and how a drink from one place in the world can have a global influence.

"It's a bright, bold color. … It's clean, refreshing and crisp. It's not super spirit-forward, so it doesn't knock your palate to pieces before you're having a meal. It's just a nice approachable crowd-pleaser," she says. "Is the Tomatini closer to a Clover Club than to a Bloody Mary? I would argue maybe it is."

I appreciate the global trends, the modern techniques and all the cool cocktail glamour, but I love more how Barrat's connection to the drink is sweetly personal. Still based in Dubai, even now when he thinks about the drink: "I'm back in my grandfather's garden, walking between the tomato plants, carefully choosing the ripest ones. That's what the Tomatini represents to me: home away from home."

Now that's a drink worthy of the tomato. See you for next summer's garden glut, which I hope to harvest with my dad next year. Maybe the zucchini-tini will finally have its day.

Tomatini Cocktail

Servings: 1 (makes 1 cocktail)

Total time: 45 minutes, including cooling the syrup

There are many variations of the Tomatini cocktail - technically not a martini despite what its name suggests - but this one has become the signature drink at La Petite Maison (LPM) restaurants since it was created by Jimmy Barrat at the Dubai location. The recipe uses aged white balsamic vinegar to amplify the sweetness and acidity of ripe tomatoes while adding subtle complexity. LPM prefers Campari tomatoes, but any ripe, flavorful variety with a similar balance of sweetness and acidity will produce an excellent cocktail.

Make ahead: The rich simple syrup needs to be prepared at least 30 minutes in advance of making the drink.

Storage: Refrigerate the rich simple syrup for up to 1 month.

Where to buy: Aged white balsamic vinegar can be found at specialty food stores, gourmet grocers, Italian markets and online. Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, can be found at well-stocked supermarkets, specialty stores and online.

JewishWorldReview.com publishes delicious -- mostly nutritious -- recipes. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

INGREDIENTS

For the rich simple syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water

For the drink
• 1 teaspoon plus a pinch flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, divided
• 1 teaspoon plus a pinch freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
• 3 teaspoons rich simple syrup, divided
• 1 cherry tomato, for garnish
• 3 1/2 ounces ripe tomato, preferably Campari, cut into chunks
• 2 teaspoons aged white balsamic vinegar (see Where to buy)
• 1 2/3 ounces vodka
• Ice

Directions

Make the rich simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water, then set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the sugar fully dissolves, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool, about 30 minutes. You should have about 1 cup. Use right away or refrigerate until needed.

Make the drink: In a small bowl, stir together the 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper until well combined. Into another small bowl, pour 2 teaspoons of the syrup. Make an incision about halfway through the cherry tomato, then dip it into the syrup in the bowl. Drag the syrupy part through the salt-and-pepper mixture, then prop it on the edge of a cocktail glass using the slit in the tomato. Transfer the garnished glass to the freezer to chill.

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the Campari tomato until thoroughly broken down and juicy.

Add the vodka, balsamic vinegar, the remaining 1 teaspoon of rich simple syrup, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled, about 15 seconds.

Double-strain into the chilled martini glass, then grind a dusting of pepper over the surface of the drink and serve immediately.

Variations

Barrat's original recipe calls for an equal amount of lemon juice in addition to white balsamic, making for a tarter drink. You can also cut the vodka to 1 1/2 ounces and add 1/2 ounce of dry, white or Veso's tomato vermouth, or substitute Seedlip Garden 108 or a spirit-free gin for a nonalcoholic version of the drink.

(COMMENT, BELOW)