Dallas Drinks: The Kristin

Dallas Drinks is a co-creation with Dallas Decoder, honoring the characters of the television show Dallas--both the classic series and the newer TNT Dallas, which continues the Ewing family saga. See all of the Dallas Drinks here.

Kristin Shepard is, notoriously, the answer to Dallas' most important trivia question. Dallas Decoder has a rundown of her greatest moments. In designing the drink, I wanted a refreshing highball--something relatively light that you could imagine Miss Shepard sipping at an outside Dallas cafe as she plots her next move. I also wanted to connect the drink to three characters: her sister, Sue Ellen; her lover/bullet-holder, J.R.; and her biological son, Christopher.

With The Sue Ellen cocktail, the Kristin shares its pale pink color from the grenadine (a subtle nod to J.R.'s blood). With The J.R. Shot, the drink shares the flavor of mint, which I also used because its vivid green color reminded me of the Italian sportswear Kristin favored on the show. The drink shares the most ingredients with The Christopher, Bobby and Pam's adopted son, but also Kristin's biological son with Jeff Farraday, most notably its use of peppercorns and ginger to give the drink a nice spicy kick in fitting with Kristin's fiery personality.

Dallas Drinks: The Kristin

1/2 tsp. pickled green peppercorns (with brine)
12-15 spearmint leaves
1/2 oz. ginger liqueur
1 oz. American dry gin
1/2 oz. grenadine
4 oz. Italian lemon soda (Limonata)
Mint sprig garnish

Add the peppercorns, mint leaves and ginger liqueur to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the ingredients. Add the gin and grenade and fill the shake with ice. Shake until cold, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with Italian soda and garnish with mint sprig.