Cobblers

Even as they dabbled in non-citrus acids this year, mixologists were also working in categories of (slightly) lower alcohol drinks—like the cobbler. Maybe a reaction to the strong-dark-and-handsome drinks explosion, or (more likely) just a further exploration of drinks styles, we tasted cobblers at the International Chefs Congress—where Neal Bodenheimer shared the genius behind their cobbler-inspired bar, Bellocq. Like drinking vinegars, cobblers have roots in Colonial drinking America. Unlike their boozier brethren, cobblers combine a variety of lower-proof bases—generally calling upon a different shelf of spirits—with fruit and/or sugar. They tend toward a fruitier, lighter kind of complexity (not unlike the Suppressor). At ICC, the Bellocq team showcased their Bellocq Cognac Cobbler and its modest pour of Cognac combined with fruity, lower ABV Pineau des Charentes, lemon, and sugar. Their Boothby Cobbler #1 saw Henry McKenna Bourbon softened with Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, flower water, sparkling wine, and orange peel. Audrey Saunders even served a cobbler in the star-studded “Reviving the Ghost of Jerry Thomas” panel—proving that mixology moves forward only as it acknowledges, and drinks in, its past.