Mass Appeal

Chelsea Gregoire

Mar 25

Mass Appeal cocktail — Mass Appeal by Chelsea Gregoire

I’m toasting the “Peanut”, a good old fashioned puzzle which is perpetually being remade, with a good old fashioned cocktail of similar circumstance. This particular Old Fashioned comes from Church, a “place to watch” in Baltimore, Maryland, that promises to redefine what a community gathering place can be. Proprietor, owner and consultant Chelsea Gregoire, who was Esquire’s Beverage Director of the Year in 2019, created the drink and gave it the clever name as a nod to the bar’s own. The label stuck, and the drink is indeed a local favorite. I’m sharing it now as another nod to an incredibly popular artist with a massive catalogue who also happens to hail from Massachusetts. I lost count of how many entendres that makes it.

The cocktail features rye, which has recently become my favorite whiskey. The apple tincture provides a sustainable use for leftover apple pulp which is derived initially from making a separate apple syrup. The remaining pulp is infused into neutral grain spirit or vodka to make a tincture. This is great if you happen to need an apple syrup, but I had no particular use for that, and already had a bottle of baked-apple cocktail bitters, which I used here to great effect. The grains of paradise syrup is also an unusual ingredient, but I was feeling adventurous so purchased some inexpensive bulk grains of paradise spice, pulverized it, and made the syrup. The process was also an educational one, as the spice was new to me. With origins in West Africa, this peppercorn like spice is described as having “notes of cardamom, coriander, citrus, ginger, nutmeg, and juniper”. I found it to be quite floral as well. Next time you are in Baltimore, you might consider going to Church, and letting this spirit move you. Cheers!