ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
RASPBERRY-RUM SOUR: A lively summer sour, bringing out the raspberry’s acidity with lemon, with a refreshing hit of mint (2 oz/60 mL white rum, 1 oz/30 mL lemon juice, ½ oz/15 mL raspberry syrup, 1 dash orange bitters, 8 mint leaves; shake, double-strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice and a splash of club soda, garnish with a lemon wheel and a raspberry)
RASPBERRY VODKA SODA: The world’s simplest highball lets this raspberry syrup shine, with a big squeeze of lemon to bump up the acid (2 oz/60 mL vodka, ½ oz/15 mL raspberry syrup in a Collins glass with ice, fill with about 4 oz/120 mL club soda, garnish with a big lemon wedge squeezed into the drink)
BLUEBERRY SYRUP
Bourbon Blueberry Crumble, Kings County Distillery
2 pints/2 L blueberries
1 cup/240 mL water
1 cup/240 mL sugar
Blend the blueberries and water in a blender on high for 2 minutes and strain. Combine the juice and sugar in a small pot and cook over low heat, stirring often, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool.
ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
BLUEBERRY SOUR: An easy-drinking cocktail ideal for a summer brunch or garden party (1½ oz/45 mL gin, 1½ oz/45 mL blueberry syrup, 1 oz/30 mL lemon juice; shake, strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice, garnish with a few blueberries)
BLUEBERRIES & BOURBON: Blueberry can pair well with dark spirits, too, as in this shaken mint-lemon-bourbon drink (1½ oz/45 mL bourbon, 1 oz/30 mL blueberry syrup, ½ oz/15 mL lemon juice, 10 mint leaves; shake, double-strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, garnish with 3 mint sprigs and a few blueberries)
RED BELL PEPPER SYRUP
Drinking at the Gym, Huckleberry Bar
2 to 3 red bell peppers
Powdered chipotle pepper
Smoked Spanish paprika
White sugar
Juice the bell peppers, and measure resulting juice. For every cup yielded, add 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper and 1/4 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika. Bring that mixture to a boil, and add an equal amount of sugar to the juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat, let cool, then strain into a sealable container and refrigerate.
CUCUMBER SYRUP
Faith and Fortitude, Huckleberry Bar
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
½ cup/120 mL water
Simple syrup
In a blender, thoroughly purée the cucumber and water until fully liquified. Strain to get cucumber juice and measure. Add an equal amount of simple syrup to cucumber juice. Stir to combine, seal, and refrigerate.
ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
CUCUMBER-ELDERFLOWER COLLINS: Lemon lifts the already-refreshing cucumber and a small measure of St-Germain adds an intriguing floral element (1½ oz/45 mL vodka, 1 oz/30 mL cucumber syrup, ¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice, and ¼ oz/10 mL St-Germain; shake, strain into a Collins glass over ice, top with 2 oz/60 mL soda, garnish with a basil leaf)
CUCUMBER 75: A French 75 made lighter and brighter with cucumber (¾ oz/20 mL gin, ¾ oz/20 mL cucumber syrup, ½ oz/15 mL lemon juice, shake, strain into a flute, top with 4 oz/120 mL sparkling wine, garnish with a cucumber wheel)
RHUBARB SYRUP
Alice’s Mallet, Quarter Bar
1½ lbs/750 g fresh rhubarb
¼ cup/60 g sugar
½ oz/15 mL lemon juice
Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch/25-mm chunks, and place in a pot with the sugar. Add about ½ cup/120 mL water (just enough to keep rhubarb from burning). Cover and bring up to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the rhubarb has become soft and rendered its liquids. Press in batches through a fine-mesh strainer, reserving liquid. Add the lemon juice as a color preservative and refrigerate.
ROSEMARY SYRUP
Rosarita, Quarter Bar
1¾ cup/420 mL sugar
1¾ cup/420 mL water
3 to 4 oz/90 to 120 g fresh rosemary
Combine the sugar and water over low heat in a saucepan until just boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce heat. Add the rosemary, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand for 60 minutes. Remove the rosemary and strain the liquid into a container that can be closed and refrigerated.
ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
ROSEMARY COLLINS: Rosemary is a pleasantly familiar herbal addition to a classic lemon-gin-soda Collins (2 oz/60 mL gin, ½ oz/15 mL lemon juice, ½ oz/15 mL rosemary syrup, shake, strain into a Collins glass with ice, fill with about 2 oz/60 mL club soda, garnish with a rosemary sprig)
ROSEMARY-APPLE SOUR: Apples and rosemary pair well, so applejack is a perfect base for a rosemary sour (2 oz/60 mL Laird’s Bottled in Bond applejack, ¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice, ¾ oz/20 mL rosemary syrup; shake, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, garnish with a rosemary sprig)
MINT SYRUP
La Tempesta, Franny’s
1¾ cup/420 mL sugar
1¾ cup/420 mL water
Small bunch of mint
Combine the sugar and water over low heat in a saucepan until just boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce heat. Add mint, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand for 60 minutes. Remove the mint and strain the liquid into a container that can be closed and refrigerated.
LAPSANG SYRUP
Jupiter Disco
½ oz/60 mL Lapsang Souchong tea (about 4 teabags)
1 cup/240 mL demerara sugar
1 cup/240 mL hot water
Steep the tea in the hot water (approx. 180 to 190 degrees), then strain. Add the demerara sugar to tea and stir until dissolved.
ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
LAPSANG OLD FASHIONED: This intensely smoky tea, which seems to taste of smoked wood and barbecue, works perfectly with bourbon (2 oz/60 mL bourbon, ½ oz/15 mL lapsang syrup, 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, stir, strain into rocks glass with ice, garnish with an orange peel)
LAPSANG ICED TEA: Lapsang souchong is a tea, after all, so an iced tea format is incredible: blended Scotch to pick up the smokiness (though not add to it too much), lemon, the sweetness from the syrup, and club soda to lighten it up (2 oz/60 mL blended Scotch whiskey, such as Famous Grouse, ¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice, ¾ oz/20 mL lapsang syrup, shake, strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice, top with 2 oz/60 mL soda, garnish with a lemon wheel)
LAPSANG SYRUP
The Drink
1 Lapsang souchong teabag
6 oz/180 mL sugar
6 oz/180 mL hot water
Steep the tea in the hot water for 5 to 7 minutes, remove the teabag, and let cool. Add the sugar to the tea and stir until dissolved.
HIBISCUS SYRUP
La Guernica, The Drink
1 hibiscus teabag
6 oz/180 mL sugar
6 oz/180 mL hot water
Steep tea in hot water for 5 to 7 minutes, remove the teabag, and let cool. Add the sugar to the tea and stir until dissolved.
CHAMOMILE HONEY
Box of Rain, Achilles Heel and O.V. C., Ba’sik
1 Tbsp loose chamomile tea
1 cup/240 mL honey
1 cup/240 mL hot water
Steep the tea in the hot water, let cool, then strain. Add 1 equal part honey to the tea and stir until dissolved. For O.V.C (Ba’sik): Add 3 parts honey to the tea and stir until dissolved.
The Arnaud Palmer, Loosey Rouge
ONCE YOU’VE MADE IT…
CHAMOMILE SCOTCH SOUR: Floral chamomile plays well with Scotch in this light sour (2 oz/60 mL blended Scotch, ¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice, ¾ oz/20 mL chamomile honey; shake, strain into a coupe, garnish with a lime wheel)
CHAMOMILE MARGARITA: Tequila’s grassy character emerges with the pairing of chamomile (2 oz/60 mL blanco tequila, ¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice, ¾ oz/20 mL chamomile honey; shake, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, garnish with a lemon wheel)
Extra Fancy
CHAMOMILE SYRUP
The Close Haul and The Old Gunwale, The Drink
1 chamomile teabag
6 oz/180 mL sugar
6 oz/180 mL hot water
Steep the tea in the hot water for 5 to 7 minutes, remove the teabag, and let cool. Add the sugar to the tea and stir until dissolved.
GREEN TEA SYRUP
Grace O’Malley, The Drink
1 green tea bag
5 oz/150 mL sugar
5 oz/150 mL hot water
Steep the tea in the hot water for 5 the 7 minutes, remove the teabag, and let cool. Add the sugar to the tea and stir until dissolved.
CILANTRO SYRUP
Margarita de Pepino, Gran Electrica
½ pint whole cilantro leaves
1 cup/240 mL white sugar
1 cup/240 mL water
Heat the water to boiling and then mix all the ingredients together, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, cool and refrigerate the syrup. After 48 hours, strain out the cilantro.