Lulu’s First Baby, Luciana

The cocktail is made with Sagaponacka Vodka.

When you’re in good company, it makes it a lot easier to produce a great end product, as is the case with developing cocktails. 

“The first spark behind the cocktail was simple,” said Joshua Fishbein, general manager of Lulu Kitchen & Bar, a Mediterranean bistro in Sag Harbor. “We wanted to make a drink using Sagaponacka Vodka, which is an exceptionally smooth and complex potato vodka made down the street at the Sagaponack Farm Distillery.”

Located in Sagaponack, the Sagaponack Farm Distillery, built in a nearly 100-year-old retired dairy barn, is known for its potato-based spirits. The distillery even has what they’d like to call a “potato whiskey” (they call it Single Spud) but can’t, for, according to federal law, whiskey must be made from a grain mixture that is at least 51 percent corn. The “mash” of the distillery’s first release of Single Spud was made from Adirondack Red potatoes, distilled and then barrel aged in new American Oak.

“One of the most beautiful aspects of summer here on the East End is the abundance of flowers, hence the Combier Rose Liqueur,” he says. “From there it was a question of ensuring balance and depth to the cocktail, and for this we added the Punt e Mes, pomegranate liqueur and a touch of citrus. The name of the cocktail [Luciana’s Charm] is an homage to one of our employees who is having her first baby and naming her ‘Luciana,’ nicknamed ‘Lulu..”

In sum, the cocktail has the following ingredients: Sagaponacka Potato Vodka, Punt e Mes, PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur, Combier Rose Liqueur, lime juice and aquafaba.

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker, add ice, shake and double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a dried edible flower or dehydrated strawberry and citrus zest. 

“Light and fresh, very easy to drink with a soft velvety mouthfeel,” Fishbein says. “Impossible to have just one.”

Lulu Kitchen & Bar is located at 126 Main St. in Sag Harbor. It can be reached at 631-725-0900 or lulusagharbor.com.

This article first appeared in the Long Island Press.