By now, Gordon Ramsay, star of such shows as “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares,” has cemented himself as a culinary pop culture icon worthy of the celebrity chef Mount Rushmore. The longtime food personality has become a household name for his various television programs, his easy and useful cooking tips, and for the absolute slew of restaurants that he owns — not to mention his unapologetic persona and penchant to give television censors a hard day’s work.
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In a 2016 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the expletive-favoring Ramsay also displayed his love for a quality cocktail. In that particular taping, the notoriously irascible chef elaborated on his favorite libation, a drink that he calls “Wake Up, You Donkey” (with varying degrees of profanity). The cocktail combines tequila with honey, cider, and elderflower, providing a drink that’s smooth, silky, and delicate, showing Ramsay’s masterful ability to seamlessly create wonderful gustatory experiences.
Wake Up, You Donkey is actually quite refined
For as blunt and unabashed as Gordon Ramsay is in his on-screen persona, you mustn’t forget that he is a top-tier chef whose palate has to be finely tuned to detect even the most delicate flavors. For this reason the Wake Up, You Donkey must be impressive. A quick look at the ingredients shows why a chef of Ramsay’s caliber would take a liking to it.
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Tequila is an extremely versatile base liquor for cocktails, as evidenced by the sheer amount of great mixers you can use with it, ranging from dark soda to orange juice. Ramsay doesn’t specify which tequila he uses beyond saying it’s “the most amazing tequila.” A reposado tequila would provide enough boldness without distracting your taste buds from the other ingredients present. For the other components, using honey instead of another sweetener is a brilliant move, as honey provides floral flavor and earthiness not present in simple syrup. This also complements the elderflower (whether it’s smoked as Ramsay prefers or not). It’s unclear whether the elderflower flavor is added as a syrup, liqueur, or otherwise, but the bonus is that you have several options to add this delicate-but-definitive flavor to your cocktail. Top it with some effervescent cider, garnish with a lime wedge, and you have a drink that’s easy to make and even easier to drink.
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You don’t need a donkey to craft an exceptional cocktail
If you’ve gathered all the ingredients required to craft a Wake Up, You Donkey, you won’t regret the time spent enjoying your drink. However, if you’re hesitant to try one because you don’t want to sit on a pile of ingredients that you can only use in one cocktail, you have absolutely no reason to worry. The ingredients in this cocktail might combine in a unique way, but the components are quite handy to have stocked in your bar.
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Elderflower is a not-so-secret ingredient implemented by mixologists the world over, to the point that St-Germain (an elderflower liqueur) is colloquially known as “bartender’s ketchup.” It pairs well with tequila (as in Ramsay’s cocktail), gin, and other spirits that have floral or herbal attributes. Honey can help round out a cocktail by providing warmth and complexity. You can make a honey syrup by combining equal parts water and honey for easier cocktail crafting, and you’ll see the viscous ingredient used in classics such as the Bee’s Knees, Gold Rush, and various hot toddies. Of course, you can enjoy cider on its own, but you can also take a page from Ramsay’s book and use it as a topper instead of soda or tonic. As great as chef Gordon Ramsay’s cocktail is as he crafts it, it can also be a jumping-off point for your own inspired creations.
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