In Key West a couple weeks ago for my good friends Arlo & Ashley's wedding celebration, I concocted some drinks for the reception(with the considerable assistance of Jolly Benson, a local raconteur, flaneur and culinary badass). One was a very dry, very lime-y daiquiri with simple syrup, fresh lime juice and Ron Zacapa Centenario 23. I'd infused some water with plumeria blossoms and we added a drop to the top of the daiquiri to give it that floral nose--a nice flourish, but in all honesty a little ephemeral, the flower water added something nice if not pronounced and you may not have noticed its absence. Drink was a hit regardless and we ran through about 200 of them in an hour, and then we were out. However, later in the evening one of the ace bartenders who worked the party, Jenn Stefanacci, started making champagne cocktails with the water: white sugar (all we had on hand), Francois Montand, and a healthy dropper full (we used bitters droppers) of the plumeria water. The infusion process had turned some magical corner in the 4 hours since we first used it (total infusion time: 16 hours) and was markedly more intense--rapturously so. At one point, around 3:00 a.m or so, Arlo was assembling about 20 plastic champagne cups to distribute this new creation to guests, and one of my favorite images of the evening was Ashley basically chugging plumeria water from the jar. Try this at home. Photos from the evening by Nick Doll, the man you want to go to if you get married in Key West.
Yes, that is a ukele in Ashley's hands. And a plumeria lei on Arlo, made by my dad, with flowers from a tree in our front yard.
We served Seelbachs as well. Georgia presented these to the bride & groom in family heirloom crystal champagne glasses.
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