Peppler - Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Families arent made out of bloodtheyre made out of love and showing up. None of this book would be possible without the incredible pop-up families around the world Ive been lucky enough to have stick around.

PARIS Joann Pai, you shot this book in a way no one else could. You also managed to prove youre Superwoman in the process. Its as big of an honor to collaborate on the images with you as it is to call you a friend. Lina Caschetto, not only did you offerhands downthe best recipe in this book (), you straight brought it to set every damn day. Neither the images nor the days would have turned out as beautiful without you. Thank you. Lise (the ice whisperer) Kvan, thank you for showing up on set every day with a smile, chocolate marshmallows, and the astonishing ability to be in six places at once. Lindsey Tramuta, aka the mayor of Paris, aka the greatest friend/researcher/confidant/French translator I could ask for, je te remercie, du fond du cur. Frank Barron and James Rose, your home is what Parisian dreams are made of; thank you for opening it and your hearts to me and the pages of this book. Amy Feezor and Christine Muhlke, your beautiful apartments made finishing the manuscript/shooting/editing the book with sweeping views of Paris more than special. Dorie Greenspan, thank you for the push I needed all those years back to move across the Atlantic and for showing me how to apro with the best of them once I got here. My forever love, Thibault Charpentier: youre the best gay French husband a queer lady could ask for. And, of course, JC, the original American cook in Paris: thank you for paving the way.

BROOKLYN + LOS ANGELES Peridot Zimmerman, youre the light of my world. Thank you for loving the two-day-old chocolate croissants I squish in my carry-on like theyre hot from the oven. Jade Zimmermanthe OG lightthanks for choosing me when we were fucking up our own chocolate croissants in pastry school and for still choosing me when I asked you to cross-test many of these recipes in your kitchen 3,625 miles and many a FaceTime away. Melissa Clark, for both the haven of amazing in the South of France and a lifetime of advice/friendship, thank you. To every sweet, beautiful, rock-solid soul who checked in and kept the flame alive while I was holed up drinking and writing alone: Alexis deBoschnek, Liz Clayman, Tessa Stuart, Michael Harlan Turkell, Megan Krigbaum, JJ Goode, Nick Fauchald, Katie Quinn, Lindsay Mait-land Hunt, Amlie Rousseaux, Julia Bainbridge, Tressa Eaton, Mariko Johnson, Erin Hartigan, Kort Havens, Akira Akuto, I love you and owe much of my (remaining) sanity to you. For the rest of that sanity, thank you, thank you, thank you to my therapist, Leila Kenzle.

My beautiful mama: thank you for bringing the world of words, the power of a strong independent woman, and the gift of acceptance into my life from the very start. Michael Skoglind, thank you for supporting us both.

Blake Whitney MacKay: I couldnt have written this without you. Not in the form it took, not without the form Ive taken. For this and all of it, thank you.

Mercis all around to the team at Clarkson Potter. To Rica Allannic for getting Apritif off the ground. My exceptional editor, Jenn Sit, who fully embraced my vision in both print and practice. My publisher, Aaron Wehner; associate publisher, Doris Cooper; designer, Stephanie Huntwork; production editor, Terry Deal; Jessica Heim in production; and copy editor, Mary Anne Stewart. Extra special merci to my agent and friend, Sarah Smith, without whom this book (and many others) wouldnt be possible.

The research for Apritif took me all around France and beyond. Special thanks to all the kind, apritif-peddling souls who met me, housed me, answered questions/follow-up questions/follow-up, follow-up questions, opened their doors (and bars), and/or lent their hands, bodies, faces, and livers to the cause: Marianne Fabre-Lanvin; the team at Distilleries et Domaines de Provence; Anne Serres at Grard Bertrand; the team at Noilly Prat in Marseillan; zgr Karakayan at Hotel Riberach; Therese Miralles at Terres de Querroig; Jean-Franois Ey at MonClubdeVin; Alexis Vuong; Claire Theme; Cecile Bernhard and Alexandre Defrance at Pernod Ricard; Eric Seed; Sullivan Doh; Maxime Potfer; Quentin Chapuis; Simon Wittrup; Nico Munoz; Thomas Deck; Thibault Mequignon; Riccardo Marinai and Clmentine Philippon at Big Mamma Group; Thomas Lehoux and Albin Durand at La Fontaine de Belleville; Angelle Boucher and Daniel Warburton at Neighbours and Honor Caf; Guy Griffin at Caf Oberkampf and Caf Mericourt; the lovely, generous women at La Librairie Szane in Paris; Clementine Mallet and her charmed home in Normandy; Keltoum Arrachidi; Jennifer Han; Yanique Francis; Sayaka Sawaguchi; Yasmin Zeinad; Eugenie Lin; Bastien Pessey; and many more.

Finally, to Gay Paris, the City of Light: everything that writers have written about writing in your cafs is true. Je taime always and thank you.

A last note to end, or perhaps begin, on: the images included in this book exist in a world in which there are no cis straight white men. Youre welcome, and enjoy!

REBEKAH PEPPLER is an American writer and food stylist living in Paris. She is the author of Honey (a Short Stack Edition) and her clients include the New York Times, Real Simple, and Food Network. Her work has also appeared in multiple cookbooks. When shes not working, you can find Peppler eating and drinking with friends in the 18th arrondissement. Her French is mostly not good, but shell try. More on rebekahpeppler.com and instagram.com/rebekahpeppler.

SUPPORTING RECIPES

recipes used in many of the cocktails in this book

TONIC SYRUP

makes about 3 cups tonic syrup | 6 cups tonic

There are a lot of recipes in this book that use tonica lot. And there are a lot of cloyingly sweet tonics on the market that will straight ruin a well-intentioned cocktail. Ive listed a couple solid brands that are available in the States in the Stock Up section (), but by all means, set forth and try to find your own house brand. Or make this recipe for tonic syrup.

Know: Homemade tonic is not clear like commercial brands. Cinchona bark colors the syrup an orange amber while imparting its bitter quinine. (Commercial brands use chemically extracted quinine.) And since the tonic syrup here is made with natural ingredients and cane sugarnot corn syrupits going to be less sweet and a lot more spice forward and intense in flavor. A good thing.

To make tonic with the syrup, mix it with equal parts sparkling water before adding to cocktails.

4 cups filtered water

1 cup granulated sugar

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 grapefruit, zested and juiced

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped cinchona bark (available at Amazon.com and Kalustyans.com)

3 tablespoons citric acid powder

10 juniper berries

10 allspice berries

2 small whole star anise pods

5 whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried lavender (optional)

In a medium pot, combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, grapefruit zest and juice, and lime zest and juice, the chopped lemongrass, cinchona, citric acid, juniper, allspice, star anise, peppercorns, and lavender, if using. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth and strain the tonic syrup; discard the solids. Strain again if necessary. Transfer the tonic syrup to a clean bottle or jar and refrigerate for up to 1 month.