Grow Your Own: The Mixologist Simple Syrup Collection
My cocktail-loving friends at Log House Plants have put together a collection of plants that are particularly worth growing for infusing in simple syrups and for making infused vodkas and liqueurs. They’re a wholesale nursery, so they’re growing the plants for sale at retail garden centers and gourmet grocery stores on the West Coast. Look for them in your local indie garden center/grocery store, or order them online from the Territorial Seed Company, who has joined in this effort and put together a great collection of cocktail-friendly plants and seeds. Here’s what we...
Read MoreMamani Gin & Tonic
1.5 oz gin 2-3 fresh jalapeño slices (or, if you prefer, a milder pepper), seeds removed 2-3 sprigs cilantro or basil 2-3 chunks cucumber 1 chunk celery stalk 4 oz high-quality tonic water (Fever Tree or Q Tonic) 1-2 cherry tomatoes, along with a basil or cilantro leaf, on a pick for garnish Ice Fill a mason jar, Collins glass, or short tumbler with ice. In between the ice cubes, layer in a slice or two of pepper, a sprig of cilantro or basil, and a cherry tomato. In a cocktail shaker, combine the first five ingredients. Use a muddler or wooden spoon to gently crush the vegetables...
Read MoreThe Herbarium
1.5 oz Hendrick’s Gin .5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur 3-4 chunks lemon cucumber or regular cucumber 2-3 sprigs basil ¼ lemon Club soda Borage blossom or basil leaf for garnish Squeeze lemon into cocktail shaker and combine all ingredients except the club soda. Muddle cucumber and basil, then add ice, shake, and strain into a tall, skinny Collins glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and add garnish. Like...
Read MoreBasil
I confess that I have never mastered the art of keeping a year-round supply of basil going in my garden. I have, however, been successful with a number of strategies that, if implemented together, might just work. So give this a try. First, think of basil plants as a kind of long-lasting grocery store item rather than something you buy from the garden center once a year. In other words, plan on picking up basil plants whenever you see them throughout the year to replace the one that might be on its way out. Second, choose the right variety. The giant, fragrant ‘Genovese’ is...
Read MoreGrow Your Own: The Old Tom Gin Collection
My cocktail-loving friends at Log House Plants have put together a collection of plants based around the flavors in gin. They’re a wholesale nursery, so they’re growing the plants for sale at retail garden centers and gourmet grocery stores on the West Coast. Look for them in your local indie garden center/grocery store, or order them online from the Territorial Seed Company, who has joined in this effort and put together a great collection of cocktail-friendly plants and seeds. Here’s what’s in our Old Tom Gin Garden collection: Cucumber Mexican Sour...
Read MoreHerbs. Now.
Buying herbs at the grocery store is a sign of defeat. Not defeat, even, because defeat would suggest that you tried and failed. It’s more like inertia. Because really, if you can’t grow a few herbs, you have just given up on having any kind of interaction with the plant kingdom or the parcel of soil around your home. This is the year to change that, and the reason to make that change is because there are so many very nice cocktails that just require a pinch of some herb or another. A cocktail should be an impulsive decision, one that doesn’t require a trip to the grocery store. If...
Read MoreI’ll Have What She’s Having.
Gin. (vodka if you must, but really–gin. Hendrick‘s would be a fine choice.) Basil and cucumber, muddled. Squeeze of lime juice. Splash of Dry Cucumber Soda Happy Wednesday!
Read MorePut It in a Mason Jar.
“I hear you’ve got mojitos in there,” a friend said, looking down at my tote bag. We were in Blue Lake waiting in line for Mary Jane: The Musical. “Shhhh. Don’t say that so loud, or everybody will want one.” I had more than mojitos in my bag. I had three mason jars filled with the most exquisite combinations of summer fruit and booze imaginable. I figured I had enough for the six of us, plus a few hangers-on, but the last thing I wanted to do was to run out of drinks before intermission. Once we got settled on the lawn, I started to wish I had brought enough for the entire...
Read MoreBooks by Amy Stewart
The Drunken Botanist
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