Overview: Cooper Hotel in Charleston introduces a seasonal cocktail designed to mark the transition from summer to fall. Beverage Director Cameron Nadler created the Midnight on the Med to reflect a shift toward deeper flavors and adult drinks.
The Full Story
The concept relies on a coastal Mediterranean theme with a Lowcountry twist. Nadler describes the drink as an attempt to flip scripts slightly, starting with something adjacent to the Vieux Carré but basing it on gin. While gin is typically associated with warm weather, the addition of cognac and other ingredients adds a caramel kind of fall flavor. The shift from summer spritzes to these duskier, deeper flavors satisfies a seasonal palate as daylight diminishes.
Just as there is a fall palette of colors, certain flavors satisfy the seasonal palate. They are duskier, deeper, more bass than treble. What they have in common is that they warm you from the inside. One cocktail that ticks those boxes comes from the Cooper Hotel, a new luxury hotel that opened this past spring on the waterfront in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
Production & Profile
The recipe stacks fall notes like firewood beneath the basso profundo of the cognac. Ingredients include 1½ oz. London dry gin (Beefeater recommended), ¾ oz. cognac (Rémy Martin 1738 recommended), ½ oz. fig syrup, ¼ oz. Bénédictine, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, and 1 dash chocolate bitters. An orange twist garnishes the drink.
To make the fig syrup, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup dried figs, and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stir, then let sit until cool. Add 1 generous teaspoon lemon juice, stir, then strain into a jar. Will keep 2 weeks refrigerated. The final touch is a fluttering layer of cherrywood smoke atop the drink.
Brand & Industry History
Cooper Hotel is a new luxury hotel that opened this past spring on the waterfront in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. At its restaurant the Crossing, which offers what it describes as coastal Mediterranean cuisine with a Lowcountry twist, beverage director Cameron Nadler built a bar program that plays off that theme.
What This Means
The drink represents a seasonal transition where flavors warm you from the inside. It brings to mind the first backyard fires of fall as one mentally prepares for the winter ahead. The optional cherrywood smoke garnish is evocative, though it can be skipped.
Consumer Takeaway
This offering provides the drinker a specific cocktail experience at The Crossing in Charleston. The specs include recommended brands and an optional smoking step. The syrup keeps 2 weeks refrigerated if made at home.
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