Cocktail

Rosemary Redux

I’ve been a big fan of the effect that rosemary has on Campari since the official cocktail from Tales two years ago opened my eyes to what can be best described as flavour sensation.

It was with no small measure of excitement that I clocked a six foot rosemary bush growing at the back of the summer holiday home I spent much of my summer escape at. I knew the bottle of Campari would be getting acquainted in no short order.

I put together a thick syrup (2:1) of Demerara sugar and about a cup of chopped rosemary, you could use less, but when you have an abundance, why not…. Leave it to steep for a couple of hours under the warm New Zealand sun before you strain, bottle and refrigerate it.

I had laid my hands on some Italian Vermouth from Dolin as well before heading north along the coast, and the rose petal note I had been enjoying in my summertime Negroni’s seemed like they might make a welcome addition to a more summery interpretation of the Winter Sour. My soon to be mother in law, for whom I was making the drink, seemed to think it worked pretty well.

One for the Mother in Law.

45mls Campari, 20mls freshly squeezed lemon juice, 20mls Dolin sweet vermouth, 15mls rosemary demerara syrup.

Combine all ingredients over ice, shake and strain over a well iced rocks glass. In cases of abundant rosemary, it makes an appropriate garnish.

 

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Cocktail

Friday Fix from Tales – The Winter Sour

Winter SourSomething nice and new to try from N’Awlins. This recipe is by Chris Odeja of Varnish. It belongs to an article from Tales that you can read here, with some home truths about starting a bar. Like all of the drinks recipes, it doesn’t have a method, just a description. So again, this is how I would make it.

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40 mls Campari, 20 mls lemon juice, 10 mls orange juice (both freshly squeezed) 15 mls rosemary syrup. Combine over ice in a shaker and go to work on it. Strain it up or over ice. garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Making rosemary syrup: combine 500g sugar with 500 mls of water. hot, cold, boiled, your choice. I like to boil the water, take it off the heat and then stir in the sugar. Add plenty of fresh rosemary to the mixture and let it steep for at least an hour.

The end result should be a bitter sweet spicy symphony that warms the cockles of your heart.

Good weekend everyone.

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