As to the homemade grenadine: you can use this for lots of things, both alcoholic and not (and in cooking, too). It’s thoroughly worth whipping up a batch. And feel free to nosh on the blossoms after you sip on this.
½ ounce (15ml) homemade grenadine*
½ ounce (15ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 ounces (120ml) sparkling wine (brut-level dryness recommended)
1 black locust blossom, for garnish
Pour the grenadine and lemon juice into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a locust blossom.
*Grenadine
¾ cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (235ml) unsweetened pomegranate juice
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and juice over medium heat, stirring until the sugar starts to dissolve. Simmer, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.
NOTE: Feel free to play around with your grenadine, adding other herbs or fruit to the mix. In the summer, I like throwing in ¼ cup (20g) of chopped rose hips.
Black locust blossoms
This riff on the classic Pink Lady cocktail is easy enough to make pink instead if you prefer—just swap in rose-petal syrup. But I like the way the vibrant purple adds a twist to this tipple. Note that to make the egg whites really frothy, you should first do something called dry shaking. That is, shake the ingredients vigorously without the ice, then add the ice and shake again to chill it down and give the cocktail the requisite amount of dilution.
1 egg white
¾ ounce (22ml) London dry gin
¾ ounce (22ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ ounce (22ml) apple brandy
¾ ounce (22ml) violet syrup*
1 violet flower or candied violets (and optional violet leaf), for garnish
Drop the egg white into a cocktail shaker without ice. Pour in the gin, lemon juice, apple brandy, and syrup. Shake for 25 to 30 seconds or until frothy. Add ice, and shake again for about 20 seconds. Strain slowly into a cocktail or coupe glass. Garnish with a fresh violet flower or candied violets.
*Violet Syrup
1½ cups (355ml) water
¾ cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (80g) violet flowers
In a saucepot, simmer the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar starts to dissolve. Add the flower petals, and simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Allow to cool. Transfer to a sealed container, and refrigerate for up to a month.
Wild violets © Shutterstock
The pineapple likely became a symbol of hospitality from the days when this coniferous fruit was brought on merchant vessels near and far. But the pineapple weed actually has more in common with its close cousin chamomile (for which it is sometimes mistaken, sans the petals) than it does with the spiny, tropical fruit in its name. It does, however, smell an awful lot like pineapple. As to the weed part of its title—well, one man’s weed is another’s delicious cocktail ingredient.
5 mint leaves
¾ ounce (22ml) pineapple weed syrup*
2 ounces (60ml) vodka
Club soda
1 sprig of pineapple weed or mint, for garnish
Drop the mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, drizzle in a little of the pineapple weed syrup, and gently muddle. Fill the cocktail shaker half-full with ice, and pour in the vodka and the rest of the syrup. Shake for 25 to 30 seconds. Strain slowly into an ice-filled Collins glass or frosted tin cup. Top with club soda, and garnish with a sprig of pineapple weed or mint.
*Pineapple Weed Syrup
¾ cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (235ml) water
1 cup (80g) fresh pineapple weed, tops only
In a saucepot, gently simmer the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar starts to dissolve. Add the pineapple weed, and simmer, stirring, for 7 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Transfer to a sealed container, and refrigerate for up to a month.
NOTE: Also known as wild chamomile, pineapple weed can be difficult to find outside of North America and Northeast Asia. However, this simple recipe is an excellent chance to exercise your creativity. Experiment with different flavored syrups to see what suits your taste buds as a complement to delicious fresh mint and vodka. Ginger? Or even the more savory rosemary or sage? Perhaps a unique twist featuring local ingredients? The choices are endless!
Pineapple weed © iStockphoto
Its sharp, peppery, mildly sour aroma and taste earned this plant the Latin name Nasturtium officianale—nose torture. But don’t let that scare you off! Wild watercress is delicious. It also happens to be jam-packed with lots of vitamins and is a super-healthy green for the picking in much of Europe, Asia, and all over North America. I like combining it in the glass with the giddy-sweet tropical taste of fresh pineapple juice and a complementary dousing of tequila—a spirit that tends to have a vegetal, peppery note.
¼ cup (15g) wild watercress
1 ounce (30ml) pineapple juice
½ ounce (15ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce (15ml) Cointreau
2 ounces (60ml) 100% blue agave reposado tequila
Pickled jalapeño or nasturtium leaf, for garnish
Drop the watercress into the bottom of a cocktail shaker, drizzle in a little of the pineapple juice, and gently muddle. Fill the cocktail shaker half-full with ice, and pour in the rest of the pineapple juice, lime juice, Cointreau, and tequila. Shake for 25 to 30 seconds. Strain slowly into an ice-filled double
