Here are 3 HERBS to try in mixed drinks.
It’s not simply the booze and other liquids you use to mix cocktails that distinguish them. Some herbs will be used in cocktails, whether muddling into a mojito (see below), infusing into a simple syrup, or used as a garnish.
These four herbs will take your beverages to the next level of flavour:
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Lavender
It’s crucial to rouse the herbs you’ll use in cocktails before adding them to the drink. When you do this, you are ‘disciplining’ your herbs. This is important both before muddling and when adding sprigs as garnish.
Slap your hands together with a new sprig in one of them. This allows for additional aroma and flavour to permeate the beverage.
ROSEMARY
Rosemary’s robust flavours and resilience across all four seasons make it a versatile drink addition year-round. It works particularly nicely with gin and whiskey cocktails.
If you want to make a refreshing cocktail with Rosemary, try these ingredients:
- Mix 4 ounces of Club Soda with 4 ounces of Hidden Temple Gin.
- Fresh Grapefruit Juice, 1 oz.
- One sprig of mint, one sprig of fresh Rosemary
Fresh muddled mint is essential to the flavour of your basic mojito. This time-honoured cocktail ingredient is a perennial fan favourite. For a good reason, too, as the flavour of mint in summer drinks is unparalleled.
You’ll need a muddler if you want your mint to be properly muddled. Mint should be trained, and then its leaves should be added to a mixing glass. Crush the mint in a round motion with a muddler. Add a few lime wedges or a small chaser to the beverage for optimal results.
To make a traditional Mojito, you’ll need:
- A handful of lime wedges and ten fresh mint leaves.
- Squeeze the juice of six limes
- white sugar two tablespoons
- One cup of ice
- White Rum from Bacardi, 1.5 oz.
- Club Soda, half a cup
- In the serving glass, muddle the mint leaves with the juice of two lime wedges. Next, add the sugar and the remaining two lime wedges to the muddler and give it a good muddling. Then, fill the rest of the glass with club soda and pour in the rum.
LAVENDER
Lavender, one of the most fragrant plants, adds a beautiful flavour to simple syrup (for instructions on making simple syrup, see our dedicated topic). This preparation method allows it to be batched alongside most herbs and used as a conventional alternative to simple syrup.
Due to its fragility, lavender may not require special treatment when used as a garnish.
Using your lavender simple syrup, try this recipe for a Lavender Collins:
- The Hidden Temple Gin, 1.5 ounce
- Lemon juice, 1 ounce.A Simple Syrup of Lavender, 5 oz.
- Fizzy Drinking Water