Herbs and Booze

[raxelita]

Had a chance to raid mom's herb garden over the weekend-- her pineapple sage was looking and smelling beautiful.

Decided a new gin drink might be in order...

Muddled pinapple sage, limes and just a little sugar.

Beefeater

Ice

Shook fiercely, poured over ice, topped off with a splash of club (and a float of OJ for "too stong, too tart" mom).

Very refreshing, though in the future I would let the sage and gin spend time together over night.

In the past I've experimented with savory herbs in drinks with mixed results:

A fragrant and quaffable basil gimlet with fresh basil, lime, sugar, and kettle 1.

A promising but not quite there lemonade with lemon thyme.

A pretty bad but mabye tweakable rosemary gin fizz.

Any others have success with booze and the savory herb?

[dockhl]

I LOVE the concept~not being a very 'sweet' person.....all of those sound great to me!

[ned]

Here's an herby drink I've been hankering for on these summery evenings:

puree of cilantro, lime zest and lime juice

simple syrup

small amount crema de mezcal

mezcal

Proportions are to taste, but as I recall, it wasn't too sweet and the cilantro was so plentiful that the cocktail was almost chewy. After discovering the drink at a party, I've mixed it only once or twice myself and it's been a couple of years since then. . . and that "Del Maguey, Single Village Mezcal" (the recommended mezcal for this drink) will erase memories you never knew you had.

Edited August 3, 2005 by ned (log)

[therese]

Basil subs nicely for mint in lots of things. Recently had something described as a Suntini (sort of like a Long Island Iced Tea) made with basil.

[Kent Wang]

Chambar in Vancouver has a nice one:

Bazil Zayjax

A real drink named after a real man

Fresh basil muddled with chunks of orange. Shaken with pomegranate syrup and crisp white rum. Served Collins style with a dash of soda and a sprig of mint.

Any other uses for basil?

[JAZ]

A pretty bad but mabye tweakable rosemary gin fizz.

Any others have success with booze and the savory herb?

←

I've found that rosemary works much better with tequila than with gin. I kept thinking that gin and rosemary should work, but it's too piney for me. I had pretty good luck with tequila, grapefruit and a small rosemary sprig, shaken and served up. But you have to be careful to go easy on the rosemary, or it takes over.

[eje]

raxelita,

Not exactly savory; but, since you mention Pineapple mint...

The flowers are actually quite tasty.

I've been meaning to try using them to flavor a simple syrup for a while now.

It might be a bit subtle; but, I think it will be pretty nice. I'll check my plant tonight and see if I have enough to give a small batch a try.

[Sneakeater]

They used to have a drink I really liked at the bar at Bolo (in NYC) called "It's About Thyme." It's principal (but not, I think, only) ingredients were gin, orange juice, and thyme. They stopped serving it since only one person in history ever ordered it and I wasn't there that much.

Edited October 16, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

There was, of course, the dangerous Lemon Thyme Daquiri on the Summer 2006 menu at Pegu (in NYC).

And Room 4 Dessert (in NYC) has a delicious (although currently, for some reason, off the menu -- although they'll happily make it for you if you ask for it) Mojito variation with some exotic type of basil in it.

Edited October 17, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sarabeth]

MidCity Cuisine here in Atlanta serves a drink called "Milk and Honey":

Ginger infused Grey Goose vodka and lemongrass syrup

When I make it at home I coat the rim of the glass in lavender sugar. Yum.

[Tess]

Vodka with fresh cilantro and slices of cucumber; let sit overnight and strain. Make a tall drink with soda and lemon or cucumber.

[eje]

Well, I didn't really have enough pineapple sage flowers to do the syrup justice.

For a 1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar syrup, I think you'll need at least a 1/2 cup (loose) of flowers. I had less than 1/4 cup. Mild scent is there; but, not much flavor or color. Probably punching it up with a touch of lemon zest wouldn't hurt. As it is, I can't think of a spirit or mixer that wouldn't overpower it.

[Sneakeater]

Cilantro. Right right.

The "Modern Martini" at the Bar at the Modern (in NYC) has a hefty dose of cilantro.

I love it. I have never gone there with a single woman who hasn't run away screaming after tasting it.

Well, at least they TELL me it's the martini.

[KatieLoeb]

Basil works really well with tequila. A bruised basil leaf, hefty shot of tequila and ginger ale over ice in a Collins glass makes for a most refreshing summer cooler.

Horseradish works well with tequila too, since it's sort of part of the flavor profile already. I've done horseradish infused tequila for oyster shots or killer Bloody Marias. Quite yummy.

[Bill Poster]

http://www.sputnikvodka.com/

Vodka infused with basil etc. i mentioned a while ago. The horseradish one is v good

Edited October 21, 2006 by Bill Poster (log)

[Peter Green]

Infusions are one thing.

What would work well packed up the column for a fifth run?

[Abra]

Thanks for reporting on the pineapple sage flower syrup, eje. I was ready to run outside and get some started myself.

I recently infused some (kaffir) lime leaves and star anise into 100 proof vodka, then made a cocktail with a good ginger ale and a splash of prosecco. Not killer, but pretty darn good, and served before an Asian food dinner, people drank it right up with no problems.

[Graphix]

hmm...strange... raxelita

you wouldnt have taken a trip to saratoga springs this summer, and ordered some of those basil gimlets at Siro's restaurant possibly? i only wonder because someone ordered those exact drinks from me this summer...

just curious,

Brendan

[raxelita]

Sorry, wasn't me. I actually started this topic last summer, but it got bumped up recently.

We've had a bunch of Lavender around, so in addition to my Lavender & Lillet

cocktail we've been drinking Lavender Gimlets, which are also great. Could be I'm just a softie for a Gimlet...