What to pair with oysters?
Try a Gin and Tonic! The citrus pairs nicely with the cucumber essence of the oyster liquor found in most oysters
In the book, Pearl by the Sea, the main character, Caterina, starts a food blog about oysters titled Pearl by the Sea. Below is an excerpt from the book when she dines with the owner of a seafood restaurant in Odessa, Ukraine and he suggests pairing her oysters with a gin and tonic.
Excerpt: The waitress brought over her wine, a very healthy pour in a clean elegant wine glass. It was cold and Caterina was tempted to take a big gulp, but she wanted to wait for her oysters so she just took a little sip. It was delicious. She observed her surroundings. This would be close to the end of tourist season for most cities, however, this felt unusually quiet. She had to remind herself that Ukraine was in the middle of a war, but it didn’t feel like a war. She didn’t know what a war felt like, this just felt like a slow day at a restaurant.
Her oysters arrived and the presentation was your typical display of open shelled oysters with two options of sauce, cocktail and mignonette. She stirred the horseradish into the cocktail sauce and did not squeeze the lemon on all the oysters, only the one she was about to eat. She learned through her YouTube education, the lemon will ‘cook’ an oyster changing the flavor if left to sit. She loosened the adductor muscle that adheres the delicacy to the shell and slid the oyster into her mouth savoring the tasty liquor that surrounded the body. She washed it down with a big sip of her wine.
She didn’t feel war at that moment. She felt peace.
“You have not tasted perfection until you try our oysters with a Gin and Tonic,” stated a good looking man who approached her with two drinks in his hands. He was wearing a crisp blue polo shirt and jeans. His salt and pepper hair was styled in a slight pompadour. He placed the two drinks on the table and stood straight. “I am Matteo,” he introduced himself, “and you must be the famous ‘Pearl by the Sea blogger’. Welcome to Odessa.”
“Oh, great, hi, yes,” said Caterina awkwardly, “um, thank you so much for welcoming me. Do you have time to sit?”
Matteo looked around and laughed a sardonic laugh implying he unfortunately had more time than he wanted. He sat down and pushed the drink toward Caterina. “Our oysters have a strong essence of cucumber and melon, so the botanical aromas of this gin infused with rose and cucumber pairs nicely.”
Caterina was intrigued. “Do you recommend the cocktail sauce or the mignonette sauce?”
“Hmm, excellent question. Myself, I like neither for my first pairing to get a true sense of blending both the oyster liquor and the gin liquor. For you, pick which you like best.”
Caterina tried no sauce like Matteo and they both scooped one in their mouth and followed with the Gin & Tonic enjoying the experience. “Mmm,” said Caterina, “excellent suggestion.”