Inspired Summer Sipping

Illuminating Infusions with Martinis,
Low ABVs & Spiritfrees

It’s golden hour and I’m sitting out on the back patio at Glou (pronounced “glue”), a neighborhood cocktail bar in Providence’s Fox Point. Glancing across café tables, my eyes flutter between cocktail glasses like a butterfly sampling nectar in a garden. I’m captivated by two stunning drinks: The Low Tide, glowing pink with watermelon-infused vermouth and The Forget Me Not, a rousing riff on a Martini with herb-infused vodka. Trying to forecast summer drink trends since Christmas (as in more frozen drinks? flamed orange peels? the return of the egg white cocktail?), I’m pleased to report that this summer, infusions are in! So, lucky for us, Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins, the partners and owners at Glou, are happy to share their covetable recipes.

As it turns out, French onomatopoeia inspired the name of Glou. Alexa and Emory say, “Glou comes from the French term Glou Glou, which translates to ‘glug glug,’ the noise people make when drinks are going down easy.” Wine culture further describes “glou glou'' as a very sippable or “gluggable” young wine. Alexa and Emory infuse the same casual gusto into the experience of their bar, a stylish and approachable space they describe as “light and unpretentious with an elevated living room vibe.” Each drink on the abbreviated cocktail list is familiar yet leaves a window for discovery.

The Forget Me Not (Martini spin) brims with herbal notes from a base vodka infusion of fennel seed, lime zest and fresh mint enlivened by equal measures of Dolin Blanc Vermouth, a white sweet vermouth for florality, and Salers Gentiane Apéritif, a rustic herbal liqueur with light grassy notes. The Low Tide cocktail, a seriously elegant low-ABV recipe, beams with juicy watermelon that’s been infused into a dry white vermouth and benefits from a splash of gin for botanical structure. Lillet Blanc adds flourish with citrus and floral aromas, and Génépy, an intensely herbal Alpine liqueur, adds tender green notes to the flavor profile. A few dropperfuls of saline solution sharpen the acidity to punctuate the fruit and lift the drink to an absurd level of “glou glou-ability.” Going spiritfree? Opt for the ruby-hued New Leaf, an enticing combination of Lyres Italian Orange Non-Alcoholic Spirit, fresh citrus and an exemplary rosemary syrup (also infused!) topped with soda water. How fortuitous that each of these recipes is within our summer reach! ChipRiegel.com

Willa Van Nostrand is an award-winning mixologist and beverage consultant and owner of Little Bitte Artisanal Cocktails and World’s Fair Gallery. Visit her at LittleBitte.com.