Tag: cocktail

Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin and Blueberry Basil Fizz Cocktail

Blueberry and Basil Gin Fizz. A cocktail recipe using Sourland Mountain Gin, fresh New Jersey blueberries, and basil from my garden.

I like Sourland Mountain Spirits. I took a tour of the distillery shortly after opening to the public and I was impressed by the distiller's expertise and attention to quality. I uploaded photos from the even back in March but never got around to writing a blog post about it. With this post, I have repurposed those photos.

I love blueberries. I like eating them a handful at a time. For me, it’s the best low-glycemic-index snack. My daughter loves them too. She eats them by the carton. I recently learned that the blueberry is New Jersey’s state fruit. I thought that was cranberries. Scratched head. I'm sure I can find a recipe for gin and cranberry juice.

Soutland Mountain Spirits Gin, Inaugural Batch | 11 March, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6

Sourland Mountain Spirits recently posted a recipe for a Blueberry Basil Gin Fizz on Facebook and I wanted to try it. I bought fresh blueberries from Von Thun Farms at the Montgomery Friends of Open Space Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and used fresh basil from my garden planter. I bought two cartons of blueberries. One for me and one for my daughter.

I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora1 and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.

Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin and Blueberry Basil Fizz Cocktail

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

I love blueberries.


Ingredients

Directions


I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora[^1] and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.

  1. I couldn’t help myself but I think Harry Belafonte prefers rum. ↩

Whisky Sour

[exif id="28207"]

Over the summer I experimented with Scotch-based cocktails. Why? Because I could. Because I like whisky. Because it was hot outside today and I was bored and can’t find a movie to watch on Netflix or Apple TV.

The basic Whisky Sour is whisky, some sort of souring agent, a sweet syrup, bitters and optionally, an egg white. I found a basic recipe on scotchwhisky.com.

This is my second attempt at making a Whisky Sour. On my first attempt, I used the last of my 12 Year Macallan and lemon juice concentrate and skipped the egg white. It was good, but for my second try, I used freshly squeezed lemon juice and Macallan’s 12 Year Double Cask. The Double Cask is aged in American and European Sherry seasoned oak casks.

My son helped me separate the egg white. He’s not old enough to drink but he’s an excellent chef. He has the skill to separate the egg white. I do not.

I did not have a cocktail shaker, but since I am experimenting with making cocktails, it seemed appropriate to have one. I drove around town hoping to find a cocktail mixer but none of the local liquors stores nor the grocery store sells cocktail mixers. The manager at the ShopRite even commented that, with the exception of alcohol, the store sold everything else needed to make mixed drinks.

I gave the managers at both liquors stores an odd look after being told they didn’t carry any cocktail shakers. A look that basically said, “what fracking sort of liquor store is this”? I found one a few weeks later -- several in fact -- when I visited Gary's Wine & Marketplace in Hillsborough.

Here’s the recipe I used to make what I think is a delicious Whisky Sour.

Whisky Sour

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

My interpretation of a classic cocktail



Credit: http://104.236.229.226/

Ingredients

  • 50ml McCallan’s 12 Year Double Cask
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • 15ml agave syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 egg white (optional)
  • 1 dash of Tangerine bitters

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake without ice. The egg white creates thickness and a thin foam that adds to the look of the cocktail. Now add lots of cubed ice and shake hard for about 15 seconds. You can pretend you are in a Spanish band. Using a cocktail strainer and a tea strainer, strain the drink of all ice into a chilled martini glass.