The Hummingbird at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill

I recently went to visit my friend Alberto who works Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, located in the 6 Columbus Hotel at Columbus Circle for a few pre-dinner cocktails with Momma-San. Now Alberto and I go way back to our High School days so I've been meaning to go see him at the rooftop bar of the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. I was definitely not disappointed with the selection of cocktails that I had.

I left the choice of cocktails entirely up to him and along with the highly recommended pork belly appetizer (Thanks Julia), I was served a cocktail by the name of the Hummingbird. It was a simple cocktail made up of three ingredients: Avinyo Cava, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and Club soda with a garnish of the Yamamomo fruit.

Cava is a sparkling wine that comes from Spain and the Avinyo Cava brand describes itself as being as such:

On the front of every bottle of Cava Avinyó Brut Reserva is a Catalan inscription that translates: “from the must of the flower and with the rigor of a work well crafted.” This phrase sums up the Nadal family’s winemaking philosophy with their focus on producing the highest quality of wine through adherence to the natural fruit and through hard work and great delicacy in the winemaking process. After all, if you’re making wine for your family, you want to make sure it’s as good as it can be. Although the estate dates back to the sixteenth century, the winery was founded over 50 years ago when Joan Esteve Nadal planted Parellada, Xarello, and Macabeo to make sparkling wine for his family. Joan’s children now run the winery but they stick to their father’s notion of using pure free-run juice and delicate care in crafting this family wine. Cava Avinyó Brut Reserva is aged for 18 to 22 months on the lees and then disgorged right before it leaves the winery to ensure the freshest Cava available reaches you.

The Yamamomo is a Japanese fruit which is also known as the Japanese Mountain Peach. It is the size of a raspberry or a small strawberry. The fruit was quite tasty with a little tartness to round the sweetness. For more information on the Yamamomo, read the Shikigami blogpage for the Yamamomo.

The cocktail itself is quite the sight to see and it was nice and light with a sweet taste from the St. Germain and the Cava. I like the effervescent feel this cocktail has. It definitely adheres to the "less is more" philosophy. It was a nice way to start the evening.

I have a couple of more cocktails from Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill that I need to write about. Keep an eye out for them.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla