Kumquats don’t get the love they deserve.
If you’ve never tasted one of these tiny little citrus fruits, you’re missing out.
They’re small, about the size of a large grape and you eat them whole. The skin is extremely sweet and the inside is extremely sour. The contrast is surprising and delicious.
Each year, when kumquats are in season, I eat them with relish. But, until recently, I’d never done anything else with them.
Then I stumbled across a recipe for a kumquat cocktail and was obsessed. Why had I never thought of putting a kumquat in a cocktail?
I poked around, but couldn’t come up with any recipes that struck my fancy. So I started experimenting. Here’s what I came up with. It’s quite delicious, if I do say so myself.
Kumquat whiskey cocktail
- 1 1/2 ounces kumquat simple syrup
- 1 1/2 ounces whiskey
- 1/4 ounce ginger liqueur
- 2-3 ounces soda water
To make
Make simple syrup by adding a cup of sugar to a cup of water. Heat until sugar is full dissolved. Let it cool. Pour syrup into a blender. Add 10-12 kumquats, with seeds removed. Blend until kumquats are chopped very fine. For a stronger kumquat flavor, add more kumquats. You want the syrups to be thick but still easy to pour. Keep unused syrup in the fridge.
Pour all ingredients except soda over ice. Stir well. Add soda water and gently stir. Garnish with a sliced kumquat.
Kumquats in prosecco
While I was experimenting, I also tried tossing a few sliced up kumquats in prosecco. The result was fabulous. I highly recommend it as well. I’ll save you a formal recipe because I’m sure you can figure it out. Squeeze just the juice of a few kumquats in for a bit more tang.
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