This peak-summer cocktail has zero booze

An easy drink that captures the big flavor of tomatoes

The first tomatoes of the season are sometimes a lie: Sure, they looked the part, all tie-dyed in gold and ruby or emerald. They were heavy in the hand. But then you sliced and revealed mealy insides.

It was June. Even mid-July. You should have waited.

But now, finally, tomatoes near me are looking and tasting good. I am beginning a strict regimen of BLTs and tomato toasts and all the summer salads—tomatoes until I just cannot tomato more.

I started this week with pan con tomate. I grated a few different types, working the flesh of the tomato onto a box grater until just the skins were left. The pulp was good, almost ready for spooning onto olive-oil-crisped toast rubbed with a clove of garlic.

But first, I poured the bowlful through a strainer, just to separate the rich pulp from a bit of its liquid. That liquid’s highest purpose isn’t wetting toast. It’s this drink.

I’ve had tomato-based cocktails on the brain since reading Emma Hearst’s Flavors from the Farm. (I also need her Cabbage au Poivre asap.) She makes a gimlet with muddled Sungold tomatoes, gin, lime or lemon juice, and just enough simple syrup to sweeten. I thought I’d shake up a spin on that drink, using the tomato water strained from my pan con tomate pulp. The pulp went on the toast, the liquid went in my cocktail shaker. It’s a two-for-one situation.

I added lemon, salt, and simple syrup, and measured out the gin. I piled in the ice and shook until the shaker with frosty-cold on the outside, then strained into a little Nick and Nora glass. I sipped, and sipped again. I absolutely loved it.

Then I looked back at my setup and saw my measuring cup was—oops—still full of gin.

But the drink just didn’t need it. The juicy sweetness of the tomato, heightened with citrus and just a touch of sugar and salt, needed nothing. So this is the nonalcoholic cocktail I’ll be making until the season’s done, sometimes with a few drops of olive oil on top, or a floating basil leaf. (Yes, I tested the gin version later. I’m still confident in my choice.)

The balance of the drink will very much depend on your specific tomatoes, so don’t be afraid to adjust to your taste—you can use a straw to sample the undiluted mix before you shake. I like it tart and tangy, but if you want the cocktail to be more robustly tomato-y, you could increase the tomato water to 1½ oz.

You might be tempted to skip the simple syrup, but keep in mind that generous seasoning (both salt and sugar count!) can make the difference between a drink that’s fine and a drink that pops.

Summer in a Glass

Inspired by Emma Hearst’s Sungold Tomato Gimlet in Flavors from the Farm.

This alcohol-free cocktail starts with tomato water, which is easy to make. I used the strained liquid from a few grated tomatoes—the pulp is what you need for pan con tomate, but the strained tomato water is deeply flavorful. You can also put a cored tomato in your blender real quick, and strain the mush to get the liquid needed here, but then you’ll have bits of skin in your tomato pulp, which isn’t really ideal if you want to eat it.

If at all possible, chill your glass in the freezer before you start.

Makes 1 (feel free to double!)

1¼ oz. tomato water (see above)

¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

¼ oz. simple syrup (1:1)

Pinch salt

Garnish: fresh basil leaf or a few drops olive oil (optional)

Combine 1¼ oz. tomato water, ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice, ¼ oz. simple syrup (1:1), and a pinch of salt in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until ice begins to break up and exterior of shaker is cold.

Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick and Nora glass, and garnish with either a fresh basil leaf, a few drops of olive oil, or nothing at all.