Strawberry Forest
This is actually a revamp of a reaally old post using a standard Negroni format starring cedar-infused gin. Wait, what?? Yeah, cedar wood. It’s really not too crazy when you think about it— barrel aging is a wood-infusion of sorts. Cedar is a highly fragrant wood whose oils impart a noticeable (and pleasant) flavor, and quickly at that. The gin infusion below was ~1 square inch of a cedar plank (which costs like $2 at the store) in ~4oz of gin infused for 36-48hr.
The strawberry Campari is an amazing flavor complement to the cedar, and subbing Punt E Mes for sweet vermouth + a bit of fernet really highlights the woodsy notes with just a hint of menthol freshness. The drink needed just a bit of sweetness for balance, and a barspoon of rhubarb liqueur seemed perfect to pair with the strawberry. Seriously, this is one of my favorite Negroni riffs I’ve made in awhile and if nothing else I highly recommend trying the cedar infusion.
Recipe
1.25oz cedar-infused gin (@beefeatergin_us)
0.75oz Strawberry-infused Campari (@campariusa)
0.75oz Punt e mes (@puntemesarg)
Barspoon Fernet branca (@fernetbranca)
Barspoon rhubarb liqueur (homemade)
Combine all ingredients and stir with ice until properly chilled. Strain into chilled coupe and garnish with strawberry and lemon twist. Cheers!!
