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Porchlight Pickleback

By
Kate Dingwall
Kate Dingwall
Kate Dingwall
Kate Dingwall is a freelance writer whose work focuses on food, drinks and travel. She is based in Toronto.
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Published 11/17/21
Nick Bennett of Porchlight in New York City making a Pickleback

Porchlight

To perfect the pickleback, Nick Bennett, the bar director at Porchlight in New York City, developed his own recipe, building his pickle brine up with an array of herbs and spices to help the chaser pair well with a wider range of spirits. 

While still a pickleback through and through, the resulting spiced and herbaceous chaser is in a class of its own, with whole black peppercorns, bay leaf, coriander, whole star anise, thyme, rosemary, and lemon peel. “The spices we add to the recipe open up a whole array of whiskeys and rums as a potential pairing,” he says. “The added herbs are particularly great with pink gin or agave spirits.”

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Peels from one lemon
  • 2 quarts of dill pickle brine

Steps

  1. Add the peppercorns, coriander, and star anise into a small pot and heat until they become aromatic.

  2. Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, lemon peel and pickle brine and heat over low heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

  3. Strain out and discard solids. Will keep, bottled and refrigerated, for up to 3 weeks.