My variation on the Ryan Magarian’s Love Unit theme resulted in a truly great concoction: after careful consideration of different basic formulas i modified his recipe using yellow bell pepper instead of red, creme de cacao instead of vanilla rum, changing some ratios and skipping sugar syrup altogether – creme de cacao is sweet enough…
Now i never met a creme de cacao cocktail i didn’t like but this one came out truly amazing! And so harmonious, each of the ingredients contributing to the final complexity of the drink. You can probably discern their flavors only if being told of the contents.

* 3 yellow bell pepper rings, sliced 1/4 inch thick
* 4 basil leaves
* 2 oz white rum (Havana Club is amazing)
* 1 oz creme de cacao
* 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1/2 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

1. In a cocktail shaker gently muddle two bell pepper rings and 3 basil leaves. Add remaining ingredients. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously until very cold.
2. Pour drink through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled cocktail glass. Float a basil leaf atop drink. Balance a bell pepper ring on rim of glass.
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As one might notice i’m into unusual ingredients in cocktails. And what can be more unusual than snap peas! Introducing tarragon snap-pea irinha: a smart riff on caipirinha:

The original recipe didn’t call for any herbs but to me pea just called for either mint (classic) or tarragon. Here is my formula but all credit for the initial idea goes to very talented mixologist Adam Seger!

1 lime cut in eighths, center pith discarded
¼ cup spring snap peas plus couple for garnish
1/2 oz agave nectar
1.5 ounces Hendricks gin
small sprig of tarragon and one more for garnish
Crushed ice
Cracked black pepper

In a heavy rocks glass, muddle lime, snap peas and tarragon sprig until pods are crushed and limes juicy. Add agave syrup and gin. Fill with ice and stir. Finish with fresh cracked pepper.

Still in a state of fascination with basil-flavored drinks.
Also a sudden urge to use some raspberry vinegar (artisanal no less!), half-empty bottle of it collecting the dust in my pantry (well, how many beet salads one can make).
The point of departure was Sangre de Fresa from the excellent Art of the Bar book. And it worked like a charm!

5 raspberries, two lemon wedges, 5 basil leaves, tsp of sugar, 1/2 oz vinegar, 1.5 oz tequila blanco, 1/2 oz Cointreau, splash of lemon juice. Over the crushed ice in a pilsner glass, topped with soda.

ok so the truth is that lovage is not the only herb that survives in my backyard – basil does well too and here’s the proof:

now somewhere along the way i got tired of basil as a ubiquitous salad herb: that’s why it was such a relief to discover its great flavor value in cocktails!
I’ve mentioned rum-based Companero in some previous post and plan to play with the recipe soon but tonight i mixed another drink.
Its main appeal (besides the basil) was an opportunity to finally use a hibiscus-rose infused vodka i made sometime ago while being on a serious infusion spree.

Quite savory, and i’m surprised again how well basil matches sweet flavors (like rose in this case or cacao before).
And now i have a hope for my infusion – it seems working with orange as well as herbs flavors. Something to think about – i have almost 500ml of this stuff

I’m a poor gardener: and the only plant that hasn’t failed me is lovage. It comes back year after year, just begging to be used more.
So here’s to you lovage!

A simple gin and tonic base. Dash of Peychaud bitters. A muddled celery stalk. Lovage straw adds its subtle anise/celery flavor. Quite an elegant drink.

i can’t bring myself using vodka in cocktails; there are so many interesting base spirits out there that vodka seems like a waste… I know – empty canvas and stuff, but my palette (pun not intended) is limited…
So i worked from the classical kamikaze formula but made it with tequila. And some lemon thyme.

nice but i should stop serving everything on the rocks, this one is a definite Up – it’s a burst… like kamikaze.

A great list of ingredients and a clever name. Add to this a
recommendation from a friend and the drink of the night is pretty much sealed.

The original recipe calls for Tanqueray but Hendricks works well considering its obvious cucumber background. The drink is a bit sweet but so pleasantly so…

Ingredients in my version:
6 to 8 cilantro leaves with some stems
2 slices of cucumber, skin on
3 slices of jalapeño, seeds in
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz agave syrup
½ oz Cointreau
2 oz gin

Directions:
1. Muddle cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeño with lemon juice and agave syrup.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled glass.
4. Garnish with de Arbol chile.

Oh and i just found a rosemary version (sort of) of this drink – a possible candidate for tomorrow: stay tuned

My first serious attempt in creating a cocktail. I wanted to experiment with lemon thyme and chartreuse. The inspiration came from the Green-Eye Daiquiri. I chose a daiquiri formula from The Joy of Mixology: liked the ratio and also how Regan suggested to serve the drink in an ice-filled wine glass. And instead of rum i went for the gin – it works well with chartreuse, and lemon juice instead of the lime.

Adapted from the sources mentioned above.
* 3 sprigs lemon thyme + 1 sprig for garnish
* 2 ounces gin
* 1/4 ounce green Chartreuse
* 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 ounce simple sugar syrup
Instructions: Bend 2 thyme sprigs and drop into a cocktail shaker. Press the thyme with a muddler to release the flavor. Fill the shaker with ice. Measure in the gin, Chartreuse, lemon juice and sugar. Shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled wine glass. Garnish with the remaining thyme sprig.

Well i never tasted grouse but Jeremiah Tower was convincing enough so i marinated a small spatchcocked chicken in Chivas whiskey, olive oil, crushed juniper berries and thyme and then roasted it 425F oven for about an hour (covered breast and lowered temp to 350F sometime in the middle).
Excellent bird, one of the recent best.