Champagne Mojito
1 oz white rum .5 oz simple syrup (see note) .5 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice 2-3 sprigs fresh spearmint 3-4 oz sparkling wine (A dry Spanish cava works well. Segura Viudas is an excellent affordable option. Please don’t use Cooks or another rock-bottom cheap brand) Fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Fruit can be left whole, but if the strawberries are large, slice them. Crushed ice Note: To make simple syrup, heat equal parts sugar and water until the sugar melts. Allow to cool. Keep refrigerated and use within 1-2 weeks. Don’t buy bottled...
Read MoreThe Frezier Affair
1.5 oz white rum .5 oz yellow Chartreuse or Verviene du Velay 3-5 alpine strawberries 3-4 lemon verbena leaves 1 lemon wedge Reserve one small strawberry or a slice for garnish. Squeeze lemon wedge into a cocktail shaker and add the other ingredients. Gently crush the berries and herbs with a muddler. Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a strawberry. This is a twist on a recipe from The Drunken Botanist that celebrates the contributions of Amédée-François Frézier, who introduced Chilean strawberries to Europe. Crosses between the Chilean strawberries...
Read MoreThe Berry Patch
1.5 oz white rum .5 oz simple syrup ‘Mojito’ Mint Strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries ½ lime, fresh-squeezed Optional: Soda or sparkling wine Reserve one mint sprig or berry for garnish. Squeeze lime into a cocktail shaker and add the other ingredients. Gently crush the berries and herbs with a muddler. Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with soda or sparkling wine if desired, then add garnish. Watch a video about the Berry Patch...
Read MoreStrawberries
The trick with strawberries is to plant them in a vertical planter or hanging basket so the berries are more or less suspended in the air, not turning to mush on the ground. I turned an old wooden medicine cabinet into a vertical planter last year by knocking out the mirror and replacing it with chicken wire, then drilling holes in the top, bottom, and back for drainage and air circulation. I placed it on its back and filled it with potting soil enriched with coco fiber. (Ask at the garden center for a potting soil with coco fiber designed for hanging baskets—it holds much more water, which...
Read MoreGrow Your Own: The Old Havana Rum Garden Collection
Is it summer yet? My friends at Log House Plants have put together a collection of plants based around the flavors in rum. 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 Havana Rum Garden collection: Alpine strawberry ‘Golden...
Read MoreSummer. Punch. That is All.
So. Summer is here, more or less, and that means that you need to break out the punches. Not that dreadful stuff made with Sprite and sherbet and the worst possible vodka, but a nicely-made, Victorian-style punch, served in that punchbowl you never get to use, or a repurposed pickle jar, or whatever other sort of urn you happen to have around. If you don’t have the matching glasses that once came with your punchbowl, teacups make a weird and elegant substitute, as do Mason jars. I have been in Portland for a couple months for a writer-in-residency sort of affair with Portland State...
Read MoreBooks by Amy Stewart
The Drunken Botanist
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