Pair These Whiskey Cocktails With This Summer Salad

This is the season for crisp salads and refreshing cocktails. Despite whisky’s reputation for pairing brilliantly with heavier, heartier foods, it works wonders at a summertime table as well. To make the most of the fruits and vegetables of this time of year, we reached out to chef Brett Uniss of Humble Spirit in McMinnville, Oregon, right in the heart of wine country.

Uniss takes inspiration from the incredible seasonal produce bounty of the Pacific Northwest. “It’s exciting when tree fruits come into season in late spring,” he says. “Cherry is one of the first, and they are spectacular in Oregon. Some of my favorite bourbons are chock full of cherry and spice notes—think Old Forester.” Which is why the dish and cocktails here are so perfect together. “This quick-to-prepare salad celebrates the start of stone fruit season,” he continues, “and echoes some of my favorite bourbon aroma [and] flavor profiles.”

Make it at home:

Cherry & Fennel Salad

Serves 4

• 1 lb. fresh pitted red cherries (sweet or sour)
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. shallot, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper, coarsely ground
• 2 heads fennel, shaved thin 2 bunches arugula
• 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and salted (or candied)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Sea salt to taste
• 2 oz. Briar Rose Fata Morgana cheese (or other high-quality feta)

With a torch or your oven’s broiler, roast the pitted cherries quickly to soften them while giving a slight singe, about 2 minutes. Place the toasted cherries and their juices into a small mixing bowl with the red wine vinegar, minced shallot, and black pepper. Toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine thinly shaved fennel, arugula, and toasted walnuts.

Strain out half of the cherries from the vinegar mixture and reserve. Place the remaining vinegar mixture in a blender and blend on low to puree the cherries. Slowly add the olive oil and sea salt.

Combine the cherry-black pepper vinaigrette with. the salad mixture and gently toss. Finish by topping with cheese crumbles and the remaining marinated cherries.

Cherry Smash

This cocktail “complements the salad by highlighting the cherry and spice,” explains Uniss. That, in turn, “accentuates cherry notes in the Old Forester bourbon.”

Serves 1

• 3-4 cherries, pitted
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 cup ice
• 2 oz. Old Forester Statesman (or other bourbon)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Place cherries in a rocks glass and splash with bitters. Muddle the cherries until mostly smashed.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add bourbon, vermouth, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Cover and shake vigorously, then strain over the cherries and fresh ice. Garnish with a whole cherry.

Mountain Mint Julep

Unlike the Smash, this cocktail serves as a contrast to the flavors on the plate. It's a "bright and refreshing departure from the fruit and spice notes of the salad," Uniss explains, "acting as a bit of a palate cleanser by leaning on the herbaceous notes in the whiskey and mint."

Serves 1

• 3 sprigs mountain mint (or fresh spearmint)
• 1 Tbsp. simple syrup
• 2 oz. Buffalo Trace (or other bourbon)
• 2 cups crushed ice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

In a Julep cup or Highball glass, lightly muddle two mint sprigs in the simple syrup. Add the bourbon and then pack the cup or glass tightly with crushed ice. Stir until the vessel is frosted on the outside. Top with more crushed ice to form an ice cone on top, and garnish with a sprig of mint and a dash of bitters.