Our favorite place to gather for cocktails is Vickery’s Bar & Grill in Glenwood Park. When the weather is good, we sit outside, enjoy great cocktails and watch the neighbors strolling by with their dogs. We’ve loved the Blueberry Sunrise. Will they share the recipe?
— Anita Janis, Atlanta
Benjamin Hunsinger, beverage director for Vickery’s, created this recipe as a variation of the classic gimlet cocktail. “I wanted to take a classic cocktail and create a version unique to Vickery’s. The house-made shrub gives the cocktail a subtle bite. I named it ‘Sunrise’ because it’s a new beginning on an old classic, as well as for the visual effect of the blueberry shrub floater in the cocktail.”
The Blueberry Sunrise has been on the menu since 2020, when the restaurant reopened during the pandemic. “The sunrise aspect is also a positive twist on emerging out of COVID. It was meant to be a seasonal cocktail, but everyone complained when it was taken off the menu so it remains on the menu to this day.”
Half the cocktail is served in a chilled martini glass. The remainder is poured into a small carafe, nestled in a bowl of ice to keep it chilled until the diner is ready for a refill.
Hunsinger recommends New Amsterdam Stratusphere Original gin, which he describes as smooth and dry with subtle orange notes that highlight the lime in the cocktail. They prepare simple syrup using equal parts granulated sugar and hot water, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
The restaurant also uses the Blueberry Shrub as the base for a mocktail, mixing it with soda water, simple syrup and a wedge of lime.
Vickery’s Blueberry Sunrise
- 4 ounces 80-proof gin
- 2 ounces fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 ounces simple syrup
- 1 ounce Blueberry Shrub (see recipe)
- Strip of lime peel, for garnish
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine gin, lime juice and simple syrup. Shake well, then strain half into a chilled martini glass.
- Carefully pour half the blueberry shrub into the glass. Garnish with strip of lime peel.
- Pour the remaining cocktail and shrub into a small carafe. Set carafe in a bowl of ice to keep cold.
- Serve immediately.
Serves 1.
Per serving: 442 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), trace protein, 49 grams carbohydrates, 45 grams total sugars, trace fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 31 milligrams sodium.
Blueberry Shrub
After the ingredients are blended, Hunsinger pours the shrub through a fine-mesh strainer at least twice to be sure all pulp has been removed.
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- In the jar of a blender, combine blueberries, vinegar, sugar and water. Process at high speed until smooth.
- Strain mixture into a jar. Discard any solids. Repeat as necessary until all pulp is removed.
- Use a spoon to remove any foam from the top of the shrub.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator until needed. Will keep for at least three months.
Makes 1 1/4 cups.
Per tablespoon: 30 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), trace protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams total sugars, trace fiber, trace total fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.
From the menu of … Vickery’s Bar & Grill, 933 Garrett St., Atlanta. 404-627-8818. vickerysatlanta.com
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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