Cocktail recipe needed!

[nikkib]

When i last visited NYC we got hooked on the Mercers thyme infused lemonade vodka cocktail (amongst others!) and i would like to make a batch for my friends birthday next week - does anyone know best way to do this? I'm sure it will be ridiculously easy but hey it never hurts to ask for help!

[Nathan]

like any vodka "cocktail" it'd be ridiculously easy to do: try making a thyme simple syrup...add that to some lemonade, mix it into a bottle of vodka....and let it sit for a couple days. then probably mix it with some cointreau or something...whatever they did.

or infuse the vodka with thyme (stick a bunch of sprigs into the bottle for a few days) and mix that with lemonade..sweeten to your desired point.

Edited March 13, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[slobhan]

Mmmmm, that sounds delicious! I'm going to have to try it.

I'd infuse the vodka with thyme first. Just cut up some sprigs of fresh thyme and put it in the vodka, storing in a cool, dark place for a few days....checking for doneness every so often, adding more thyme if it seems overly weak after 24 hours. You know it's done when you like the flavor, but the longest it should go would be about 10 - 14 days. Strain out the thyme and you have thyme-infused vodka!

For the drink, combine the vodka with your choice of lemonade (a homemade Meyer lemonade would be scrumptious) and simple syrup if you like it sweet.

A garnish of fresh thyme would finish it off nicely.

Ok, now I'm going to have to try this at home!

[KatieLoeb]

Thyme simple syrup, citron vodka, fresh lemon juice to dial it back.

[nikkib]

The Mercer served it long over lots of ice with a sprig of thyme as a stirrer, and yes it was delicious - thanks for the advice, infusing the vodka sounds like the way to go, i was just a bit confused as to wether or not it was that or the actaul lemonade they infused?

[Nathan]

any of the foregoing suggestions will work.

vodka is a blank canvas.

[slobhan]

vodka is a blank canvas.

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So true. Spoken like a cocktail artiste.

[Mayur]

That's interesting, Siobhan. I'd actually be a little leery of infusing the vodka directly with thyme (or lemon thyme); those herbs have an extremely powerful profile that can come across as positively industrial-solvent-tasting with overuse. It's worked in your experience, though?

[plattetude]

I did a thyme-infused vodka once. After a few days of steeping, the vodka was very nearly brown, and not at all pleasant. I'd either go with a 24-hour infusion or go the infused syrup route, personally.

Christopher

[nikkib]

I did a thyme-infused vodka once.  After a few days of steeping, the vodka was very nearly brown, and not at all pleasant.  I'd either go with a 24-hour infusion or go the infused syrup route, personally.

Christopher

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That was my concern about the vodka infusion, Will try the simple syrup version and post the rseults

[slobhan]

I did a thyme-infused vodka once.  After a few days of steeping, the vodka was very nearly brown, and not at all pleasant.  I'd either go with a 24-hour infusion or go the infused syrup route, personally.

Christopher

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That was my concern about the vodka infusion, Will try the simple syrup version and post the rseults

←

I can see how that might happen.

I may have spoken too soon about thyme's infusability. I've had a good experience with lavender, but I guess time's effect on thyme (oh, geez, Siobhan) could be quite different.

Will have to play with it this weekend....

Siobhan

[KatieLoeb]

I think the infused syrup is the better way to go. Less chance of screwing up and more control over the flavor. It's hard to mess up simple syrup infusions. Alcohol infusions are much harder to gauge.

I just realized I have some thyme simple syrup in my fridge, as well as some limoncello and vodka in the house.

I sense an experiment later in the evening. I'll report back....

[bostonapothecary]

i infuse lots of different flowers for different uses....

when i start with something new i practice with a small sample infusion (couple ounces). and taste it every hour or so.

flowers just like any herbs have different capacity for bitter so you need to learn the properties of everything individually.

a couple things i use one half hour with agitation gets perfect flavor extraction.

one other has this fine line between beautiful and destruction by bitter...but its flavors also come out much different in water versus alcohol. it gets bitter much faster in water. different essential oils come out differently in different substances so you just need to try it and take notes....

i started using the most amazing flower which has no bitter component but tastes so much better infused in alcohol than water which people usually use it with....the alcohol just brings out so much more. but it also supports certain flavors on your tongue. it is just flat and unimpressive if you make it like a common tea....

cheers!

[KatieLoeb]

I tried mixing up a tall drink with the thyme syrup I had in the house tonight, to try and recreate the original recipe in this thread. Having never tried the original drink I have no idea if I was close or not, but certainly a pleasant and quite refreshing beverage resulted.

2 oz. vodka

.75 oz. Thyme simple syrup

.75 oz. Limoncello

Juice of half a lime (I didn't have a fresh lemon in the crisper drawer)

4 oz. Lemonade (I used Minute Maid Light in the can 'cuz I had it)

Shake first four ingredients over ice and dump into a Collins glass. Fill with lemonade. Sip. Sigh. Repeat.

This was quite tasty. I think I'll try a variant on it with my Herbal Simple syrup that I make in the summer time. That's the stripped leaves of two bunches fresh mint and one bunch each of basil and cilantro whirled into six cups of 1:1 simple syrup while it's still hot and allowed to cool overnight and strained. It's delicious with bourbon and bitter lemon soda as a sort of funky julep. It would probably be delish in this lemonade.

[nikkib]

Your herbal syrup sounds great, i'm going to have to give that a go too. The Mercers lemonade was a still homemade lemonade. I like the idea of limoncello too, definately wasn't in the original but in the means of experimentation i will give that a go too.....

[KatieLoeb]

Actually the use of the limoncello was a "make lemonade" moment for me. I didn't have any fresh lemons in the house, and I only had plain, not citron vodka. So it was a make due, but it worked just fine. It definitely needed the fresh lime juice at the end. The limoncello combined with the pre-sweetened lemonade needed a tart counterpoint.

I like to use limoncello for a burst of lemony flavor in a cocktail. Works well with the new Stoli Blueberry vodka too. 2 or 3 parts Stoli Blueberry, 1 part limoncello, fill with 7-up. The drink tastes like a lemon-blueberry muffin.