Cocktail Time, Goumi Berry Style!

Growing up, everyone in the family had a Goumi (Elaeagnus Multiflora) bush in their backyard, courtesy of my paternal grandfather.  I am not sure why he loved this particular fruit tree/bush so much - but he did!  And in all the different towns/cities we lived in growing up, we were the only people with a goumi bush/tree - in fact, I haven't ever met anyone who knew what they were!

Both of my grandmothers would pick the berries from their respective bush/tree and make goumi jelly - which I loved.  About 4 years ago, I ordered one online and planted it - not sure how it would do in the piedmont of NC.  Within months of planting it, we moved to Vermont - but I would always check on it whenever we came back to town.  Unfortunately, I began to think I had gotten a dud - It never bloomed and produced fruit!  Alas, when we moved back to North Carolina, it was winter - but by spring, the goumi bush was FULL of blooms!!!  By late spring, there were literally millions of tiny (unripe) goumi berries.  I watched them grow and start to change colors from bronze/green to yellow to orange and just a hint of bright red - and that's the exact time we had a trip booked!  I was so worried the birds would feast on my goumis!  We carefully wrapped the bush in window screen (we tried bird netting on the fig tree, but every day we were having to rescue a bird caught in the netting) and hoped for the best!

When we returned 2 weeks later, the tree was HEAVY with ripe goumis!!!  We immediately started picking them, and discussing what we could do with them....  we started considering jelly, and then an idea struck us:  what about a goumi cocktail?  we searched the web, and came across the perfect recipe, and as they say, the rest is history...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar   

1 cup fresh goumi berries

1 1/2 ounces vodka

1 1/2 ounces goumi berry syrup (made with the first three ingredients)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

To make the simple syrup, in a small saucepan over medium-high, heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  

Add the goumi berries and cook over medium heat until the skins begin to pop, about 3 minutes.  

Strain liquid through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove solids - be sure to press solids firmly to remove as much juice as possible.

Allow the liquid to cool to room temperature before chilling in refrigerator.  The juice should keep for several weeks - although I will make large batches and freeze for a later use.

To make the martini, place 1 1/2 ounces vodka, 1 1/2 ounces goumi simple syrup, and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with fresh goumi berries, and enjoy!