Green With Envy
Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m sure your feed is filled with Red, Clichés, and references to fat, matchmaking little angels. This post goes out to anyone not feeling all the Love…or maybe even feeling a bit jealous of all the warm fuzzies Hallmark would make you believe you should be feeling. [Full disclosure: I am a Big Softie and I happily married to my forever Valentine🥰].
Great drink coming your way today. It was built around a lovely syrup from @barefootbotanicals made from Ashwagandha, an African shrub with many reported health benefits. It’s herbal and earthy and really tasty. I wanted to go Green here so I added a potent fennel-based tincture I recently made. I turned up the anise notes with a touch of absinthe, aquavit, and some fresh basil, the latter of which really tied nicely back to the syrup. The anise is prominent up front, but the drink quickly brings in much more depth, with citrus and herbal freshness pairing nicely with the juniper of the base spirits. The more earthy notes come out at the end for a rich, complex finish.
Recipe
1.25oz aquavit (unaged)
0.75oz London dry gin
0.75oz Ashwagandha syrup
0.75oz lemon juice
3 Basil leaves
0.5 tsp absinthe
1 large egg white
Small pinch salt
Combine all ingredients and shake until chilled, fine strain and shake again (reverse dry shake). Fine strain again into chilled coupe and garnish with more tincture and fresh basil. Cheers to you!!
Brands I used (all gifted):
Aquavit- @nordenaquavit
Gin- @spring44distilling
Syrup- @barefootbotanicals
Absinthe- @absinthe_absente
