A pastrami sandwich with a martini alongside is a good idea. Make them with pastrami from Katz’s Delicatessen and Hendrick’s Gin, and you can tie them together with a special edition of Katz’s pickles brined with the juniper berries, cubeb berries and coriander used in Hendrick’s, a gin famously infused with cucumber, the key pickle ingredient. The collaboration between Jake Dell, the owner of Katz’s, and Lesley Gracie, the master distiller at Hendrick’s, came about as an April Fools’ gag. This year, Hendrick’s posted a recipe for gin-infused pickles on Instagram without any intention of selling them. But the response was such that they ended up working with Katz’s. The pickles are in the half-sour category, barely; they still have the fresh green crunch of a new pickle. The brine conveys enough juniper so a splash of it along with a few slices of the pickle will enhance that martini.
Hendrick’s Gin and Katz’s Delicatessen Gin-Inspired Pickled Cucumbers, $14.95 for one quart, available for pickup or shipping, Katz’s Delicatessen, 205 East Houston Street (Ludlow Street), 212-254-2246, katzsdelicatessen.com.
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