Calm Seas: A nori-infused cocktail for those with a love of the ocean

This recipe from Evelyn Chick’s book, For the Love of Cocktails: The Everyday Guide to Delightful Drinks for Anyone, Anytime, balances salty, earthy tones with a "fresh and grassy backbone." It calls for Islay single-malt whisky, but don’t worry if you don’t have that on hand. The beverage expert said mezcal or “anything with a bit of salinity and smoke” would work in its place. 

Chick created this cocktail for her “nautical friends” who share her love of the ocean. Wanting to make it for our friends too, we reached out to her about what food we might serve with it. Oysters or sashimi, she said, or anything that reminds you of the sea.    

Calm Seas

By Evelyn Chick

When in a seaside town, one of my favorite moments of the day is sitting at the edge of a dock and taking in the calmness of the sea in the morning. Designed for my nautical friends who share my love of the ocean, this worldly cocktail contains salinity and earthy tones balanced with the fresh and grassy backbone of cachaça. 

Ingredients

• 1½ oz Nori Infused Fino Sherry (see below)
• ½ oz cachaça
• ½ oz Easy Rich Syrup (see below)
• ¼ oz Islay Scotch
• ¾ oz lime juice
• 1 piece nori, cut to 1½ x 2 inches, for garnish

Preparation

In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients but the nori.

Add enough ice to cover the liquid in the shaker, plus a bit more.

Cover and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. 

Strain through a Hawthorne strainer into an 8-oz Collins glass filled with ice. 

Garnish with the piece of nori, tucked lengthwise into the side of the glass (the ice will hold it up).

Nori Infused Fino Sherry

Here’s a funky Sherry infusion for you. This one uses Fino Sherry, the pale and dry expression that is aged under a layer of flor (a natural biological film that during aging protects the Sherry from oxidation), and that has great brightness and acidity. Infusing it with the umami and sea salt flavors of seaweed makes for a remarkably light saline infusion with the slightest touch of nuttiness. 

• 1 cup Fino Sherry 
• 3 large pieces of unsalted dried seaweed (each about 3 inches x 4 inches)

In a large mason jar, combine the Sherry and the seaweed. Cover and place in the fridge for 12–24 hours. Fine strain out all solids using a cheesecloth on a colander and squeeze out all excess liquid into your container. Bottle and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Makes 1 cup. 

Preparation time: 12–24 hours.

Easy Rich Syrup

This recipe will stand as your base sugar syrup that can be altered with various flavors, a few of which I highlight below. (You can also add this to your morning coffee instead of granulated sugar.) This “rich” simple syrup is called so because it is twice as sweet as a classic simple syrup. I prefer using rich syrups because it yields a stronger flavor profile without additional liquid.

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups white granulated sugar

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and heat on medium-low. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved, scraping the sides with your spatula to avoid crystallization. Let the syrup cool and pour into a non-reactive container. Store at room temperature for two weeks or in the fridge for four months. Makes 2 cups. Cook time: 15 minutes. 

Excerpted from For the Love of Cocktails: The Everyday Guide to Delightful Drinks for Anyone, Anytime by Evelyn Chick. Photography by Jessica Blaine Smith. Copyright © 2023 by Evelyn Chick. Excerpted with permission from Figure 1 Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.