This months recipe of the month is as you can see actually three recipes! We served these drinks at the opening of the Ger-Nis Culinary & it is Herb Center and they were a huge hit. Despite the many different wines and champagne that we offered, the herbal drinks were the favorites of the night. Unfortuanlty it is impossible to choose which of these three were the overall favorites as they were all pretty equal depending on your flavor cravings and likes.
The Meyer Lemon Thyme Tom Collins offers the tart lovers something spectacular. Gin and lemons go wonderfully together and the thyme give it an herbal twist that balances the sweetness of the meyer lemon syrup.
Meyer Lemon Thyme Tom Collins
2 oz gin
1 oz meyer lemon thyme syrup
3 oz club soda
1 meyer lemon peel twist
3 -4 thyme leaves
Combine gin, syrup and soda in a shaker half filled with ice. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon peel and thyme leaves.
For those who crave things on the sweeter side while still giving a punch of liqur we offered up our blood orange basil cosmos, sweet and lively with hints of zesty basil this drink is sure to please the pallate of the sweet and cour folks alike.
Blood Orange Basil Cosmopolitan
2 oz vodka
2 oz blood orange basil syrup
Basil leaves for garnish
Combine gin, syrup and soda in a shaker half filled with ice. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon peel and thyme leaves.
For those who prefer to celebrate with champagne we offered up a smooth and zingy ginger beet champange cocktail. Sweet beets merged with spicy ginger over a smooth dry champagne, truly made the celebration spectacular.
Ginger Beet Champagne Cocktail
6 oz champagne
1 oz ginger beet syrup
Pour 1 oz of ginger beet champagne in a champagne glass and then pour champagne over, do not stir.
Recipes for the syrups
Ingrediants
½ cup to 2 cups sugar
½ cup to 2 cups water
For the beet syrup : 2 medium beets and 1 -2 tablespoon fresh ginger pieces
For the Meyer Lemon Thyme Syrup : juice of 6 meyer lemons, ½ cup fresh thyme
For the blood orange basil syrup : juice of 5 blood oranges, 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
Make a simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar and water and other ingrediants depending on what syrup you are making. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, cool, strain, and set syrup aside.