Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

You & Yours puts peppers in its Spring Salad

“When you actually get down to the sweetness of them, they pair so well with fruit.”

Spring Salad
Spring Salad
Video:

You & Yours puts peppers in its Spring Salad



After scoring a sweet parking spot in East Village, I pass by a man using his skateboard to move a couch down the sidewalk. Seems right. Then I duck into You & Yours Distilling Co., where tasting room manager April Kirby shares a smirk with me over skateboard mover man and welcomes me to grab a stool at the bar.

April Kirby


She begins with some background while I look over the cocktail menu. “We distill red and white California wine grapes. That’s the base for everything that we make. We have a liquor license that allows us to just carry our own distilled spirits, meaning there’s no vermouth, amaros, aperitifs, liqueurs — basically things that have flavor in them. So we are very produce-heavy. We juice a lot of fruits, vegetables. We use herbs, and flowers, and roots, you name it.”

The Spring Salad uses their classic vodka. “It has just a little bit of a sweetness to it. And that’s because we do what is called the ‘late tails cut,’ meaning we don’t mind that there is an ever-so-slight — not sweet and not grape-flavored — little bit of hint of sweetness and mouthfeel leftover from the grapes.” The recipe incorporates bitters made in-house from Buddha’s hand, also used in one of their gins. “We try to use every bit of everything that we can. And bitters is a nice way to use something that maybe you would have thrown away.”

This is the 12th-or-so iteration of the cocktail since they opened seven years ago. “It’s always bell pepper, always a different color, always a different fruit pairing with it. By the time spring comes around, you’re ready for bright yellow and citrusy,” she says, straining the vibrant, juicy mix into a coupe. “The bell pepper always throws people off, like ‘Ew that sounds weird,’ but then when you actually get down to the sweetness of them, they pair so well with fruit. So with this one, it’s juiced cantaloupes and yellow bell peppers. A beautiful ombré color there, and just so fun.”

Finally, she squeezes several droplets of lemon-infused olive oil across the top — the tableside dressing to the salad that is my drink. “Bright, light, doesn’t overly flavor it, but gives it a really nice mouthfeel when you drink it. You get sweetness and a little savory; it’s very layered in its flavor.”

Kirby says the goal is to reframe what people want in a cocktail. “Every drink that we make here is something very unique to this space, something that is unlike what you’ll get elsewhere.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

You & Yours

Spring Salad

  • 1.5 oz You & Yours Vodka
  • 2 oz yellow bell pepper & cantaloupe mix*
  • 0.75 oz lemon juice
  • 0.5 oz honey syrup**
  • 2-3 dashes Buddha’s hand bitters
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Lemon olive oil for garnish

*Yellow Bell Pepper & Cantaloupe Mix

  • 1 c juiced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 c juiced cantaloupe

Combine bell pepper and cantaloupe juice in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

**Honey Syrup

  • 1/2 c hot water
  • 1/2 c honey

Combine hot water and honey and stir until mixed. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake hard and double strain into a footed coupe. Garnish with 5 drops of lemon olive oil.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Spring Salad
Spring Salad
Video:

You & Yours puts peppers in its Spring Salad



After scoring a sweet parking spot in East Village, I pass by a man using his skateboard to move a couch down the sidewalk. Seems right. Then I duck into You & Yours Distilling Co., where tasting room manager April Kirby shares a smirk with me over skateboard mover man and welcomes me to grab a stool at the bar.

April Kirby


She begins with some background while I look over the cocktail menu. “We distill red and white California wine grapes. That’s the base for everything that we make. We have a liquor license that allows us to just carry our own distilled spirits, meaning there’s no vermouth, amaros, aperitifs, liqueurs — basically things that have flavor in them. So we are very produce-heavy. We juice a lot of fruits, vegetables. We use herbs, and flowers, and roots, you name it.”

The Spring Salad uses their classic vodka. “It has just a little bit of a sweetness to it. And that’s because we do what is called the ‘late tails cut,’ meaning we don’t mind that there is an ever-so-slight — not sweet and not grape-flavored — little bit of hint of sweetness and mouthfeel leftover from the grapes.” The recipe incorporates bitters made in-house from Buddha’s hand, also used in one of their gins. “We try to use every bit of everything that we can. And bitters is a nice way to use something that maybe you would have thrown away.”

This is the 12th-or-so iteration of the cocktail since they opened seven years ago. “It’s always bell pepper, always a different color, always a different fruit pairing with it. By the time spring comes around, you’re ready for bright yellow and citrusy,” she says, straining the vibrant, juicy mix into a coupe. “The bell pepper always throws people off, like ‘Ew that sounds weird,’ but then when you actually get down to the sweetness of them, they pair so well with fruit. So with this one, it’s juiced cantaloupes and yellow bell peppers. A beautiful ombré color there, and just so fun.”

Finally, she squeezes several droplets of lemon-infused olive oil across the top — the tableside dressing to the salad that is my drink. “Bright, light, doesn’t overly flavor it, but gives it a really nice mouthfeel when you drink it. You get sweetness and a little savory; it’s very layered in its flavor.”

Kirby says the goal is to reframe what people want in a cocktail. “Every drink that we make here is something very unique to this space, something that is unlike what you’ll get elsewhere.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

You & Yours

Spring Salad

  • 1.5 oz You & Yours Vodka
  • 2 oz yellow bell pepper & cantaloupe mix*
  • 0.75 oz lemon juice
  • 0.5 oz honey syrup**
  • 2-3 dashes Buddha’s hand bitters
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Lemon olive oil for garnish

*Yellow Bell Pepper & Cantaloupe Mix

  • 1 c juiced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 c juiced cantaloupe

Combine bell pepper and cantaloupe juice in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

**Honey Syrup

  • 1/2 c hot water
  • 1/2 c honey

Combine hot water and honey and stir until mixed. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake hard and double strain into a footed coupe. Garnish with 5 drops of lemon olive oil.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Next Article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader