Well, I invented it on a Thursday. Yesterday.I was working at home to try and get a day free of distractions - to work on a design for a Tribeca rooftop. But a flurry of emails whirled up, from another project, and by the time evening rolled round, the idea of DRINK had been embedded. 'n Groot, donnerse dop. Beeg dreenk.
Invent is a disingenuous word. One never invents, when it comes to food and drink. Nothing new under the sun, blablabla. I'm sure this exists somewhere. Someone has mixed it, and enjoyed it, and forgotten, or never had the urge to give it a name. Or called it something else.
I was thinking gin. I have Bombay Sapphire at the moment. In the picture above you'll see a decanter of clear stuff. Oops, that was Cointreau. Used for Margaritas and Crepes Suzette, thus infrequently. But when you need it you need it. I caught the mistake before an atrocity was perpetrated and swapped the decanter out for the one below. The scent of crushed juniper. And I abandoned the idea of Cassis.
(Yes, I need a new butcher block. I'm on it.)
My terrace mint is looking good, so...mint. Lime because...no excuse: I find it hard to move without lime or lemon. Habit. The worst of reasons.But the elderflower cordial was a must - it has an addictive flavour I find hard to describe. Sweet, an astringence, a brightness that I like to think is of the flowers, white in English hedgerows.
The elderflower cordial is sweet. So the lime is the justification. Sweet can only succeed in context.
The prototype on the plexiglass seat with the rose petals on a wet evening. It was delicious.
Today is Friday and it is still cool and raining in New York, which makes me happy. So I remixed the drink, confirmed that it works, and here it is:
June Friday
4 parts Gin
1 part Elderflower Cordial
Half a lime's juice
1 sprig mint
Icecubes, a cocktail shaker. I am not a fan of stirring. I like drinks to be shaken. Alcohol cannot be bruised. But I am open to persuasion. The art of which has been all but forgotten.
I believe "Cdr. Bond" preferred his the same way...
ReplyDeleteThis is too herbal for many, but in my drinking days, I was fond of gin (and I could stop there but I'll add the point of the communication) laced with a bit of Chartreuse.
ReplyDeletehugs and purrs from the mainland from Melanie and ~^:^~ and ^!^ and ~^.^~
Never had a chance to comment, but I was wondering if this is a limited time offer... ;-)
ReplyDelete