Drinks

An Elevated Oyster Shooter

Tip back a taste of Louisiana

October/November 2020

Photo: Tim bower

Run-of-the-mill oyster shooters in a shot glass throw back fiery and fast. But when Jeff Mattia, the chef-owner at Pyre Provisions in Covington, Louisiana, wanted a shooter to savor, he grabbed a bottle of Tito’s and mixed in fresh juice and mild green Tabasco. Sure, it’s a little fancy, but this shooter hasn’t forgotten where it came from: “Gulf oysters are at least two bites,” Mattia says. “So our shooter is a big gulp.”

Ingredients

- 4 oz. Tito’s vodka
- 4 oz. green juice (Mattia juices spinach, celery, parsley, and lemon; you can make your own or use any store brand)
- 1½ oz. Tabasco green pepper sauce
- 2 oz. lemon juice
- 2 dashes liquid smoke
- 4 lime wedges
- 1 tbsp. barbecue rub
- 4 shucked oysters

Preparation

In a cocktail shaker, combine the first five ingredients, add a scoop of ice, and shake well. Rim glasses with lime wedges and then dip in barbecue rub. Place an oyster in each glass, and pour cocktail mix over each oyster.

CJ Lotz Diego is Garden & Gun’s senior editor. A staffer since 2013, she wrote G&G’s bestselling Bless Your Heart trivia game, edits the Due South travel section, and covers gardens, books, and art. Originally from Eureka, Missouri, she graduated from Indiana University and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where she tends a downtown pocket garden with her florist husband, Max.