See Food: Gin-Focused Spirited Dinner At Henri

By Paul Leddy in Food on Jan 25, 2013 9:20PM

Uby Khawaja from Scofflaw works with Clint Rogers (foreground) getting cocktails ready as Thomas Mooneyham (Gage) looks on.

First course was paired with the Wrinkled Tie Cocktail: Boodles Gin, Carpano Antica, Escorial (German herbal liqueur), and rhubarb bitters

First Course: Mackerel with Crisped Rice Cake, Sorrel Oil, and Grapefruit Consommé.

The Fountain of Clout Cocktail (Martin Miller\'s Gin, Fernet Branca, Lemon, and Soda) was paired with the second course.

Second course was Juniper-Cured Duck with a Mint Puree, Carrot Limoncello Granita, and Carrot Salad.

The third course was paired with the Heir Apparent Cocktail: Death\'s Door Gin, Cointreau, Kina L\'Avion d\'Or, pineapple, lemon, and Absinthe.

Third course: Cobia with licorice root, charred fennel, and blood-orange sabayon.

Fourth course was paired with the Desert Islander cocktail (Ford\'s gin, Ceres guava, lime, honey, Allspice dram, Angostura, and mint.

Fourth course was Piment d\'Espelette Lamb Rack with Confit Fingerling Potato, Chickpeas, Pomegranate \'Pesto\', and Cinnamon Glace d\'Viande.

Dessert was paired with the Dutch Alexander: Bols Genever, Creme de Cacao, and cream.

Dessert was Walnut Cake with Juniper Apples, Balsamic Apple Sorbet, and Brie.

Henri Executive Chef Chris Gawronski, Henri\'s Beverage Director Clint Rogers, and Scofflaw\'s Danny Shapiro describe the courses for guests.

On Wednesday, Jan. 23, Henri hosted the first in their Spirited Dinner Series for 2013. The dinners pair different spirits with a multi-course meal. Unlike wine and beer, the higher alcohol level in cocktails make them difficult to pair with food. To ensure perfect pairings, Clint Rogers, beverage director at Henri and Gage restaurants, made a point of approaching the pairings in a slightly different way.

For this first dinner, the restaurant brought in gin cocktails from Danny Shapiro and the Scofflaw cocktail team. Clint first went to Scofflaw to taste and learn the cocktails that they proposed to do for the dinner. He then went back to Henri's Executive Chef, Chris Gawronski, to let him taste the cocktails and to start planning dishes to pair with them.

The result was a fantastic dinner showing not only the great flavors that different gins can offer, but also show how to creatively match dishes with the complex cocktails from the Scofflaw team. Dish descriptions are in the photo captions.

There are two more upcoming dinners as part of the series at the restaurant. The staff will host Brad Bolt and the staff from Bar DeVille for a special “Fat Tuesday” event on Feb. 12. On March 13, Cognac-based cocktails will be shaken and stirred with the southern cuisine from Carriage House. Tickets are still available for both events. Call 312-578-0763 to make reservations.