Lavender Honeybee

I don't really have any entertaining stories behind this cocktail--just the thought that I wanted to do a lavender and honey cocktail, and I thought rosemary would be a nice accent to the mix.  This is honestly probably in my top five favorite recipes of my own...the balance of flavors is really beautiful.

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Lavender Honeybee

Glassware:  Large cocktail glass

Garnish:  Burned rosemary sprig

Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

2 oz Plymouth gin

.25 oz Simple syrup

.5 oz Lavender syrup

2 oz Fresh lemon juice

2 sprigs Fresh rosemary

.5 oz Smoked honey */**

Add ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.  Shake well and strain into glass.  Garnish with a burned rosemary sprig.

* I smoked the honey for around an hour using hickory wood.  If you're using a smoking gun you'll probably want to have the honey spread out as thinly as possible on a baking sheet or something to make sure all the honey gets the chance to catch the smoke since it's so viscous.

** I generally add the honey as the final ingredient, and give it a little stir before I add the ice so that it doesn't end up A) stuck to the bottom of the glass or B) as a cold clump attached to the ice in the tin after shaking.

Herbal Summer Lemonade

This lemonade recipe is actually not one of my own.  Someone I know tried it last spring at a food show up in Cleveland, and I had a lot of fun adding an alcoholic twist to it.  I haven't attempted to figure out the ratios of liquor to make a large batch, but it's delicious with or without, and leaving it non-alcoholic makes it appropriate for gatherings with kids, too.

To make the lemonade

Yield:  About 2.5 gallons

Build:

24 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice

24 oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

4 cups sugar*

144 oz Cold water

Add:

4 oz Fresh Dill

4 oz Fresh Mint

4 oz Fresh Basil

2 oz Fresh Rosemary 

Let steep to desired strength**.

* I've discovered that dissolving the sugar in the lemon and pomegranate juices before adding the water seems to work best to dissolve it as entirely as possible.  After that, I add the water, stir to blend, and add the herbs.

** Personally, I think about 24 hours is perfect, though you can generally start serving it after just a few hours of steeping, and you're not going to want the herbs in there much past a day and a half or so.

Alcoholic Version:

Method: Build

Glassware: 10oz Collins

Garnish: Edible orchid bloom

Ingredients:

1 oz Hendricks gin

.5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Add ice, fill with steeped herbal lemonade, and garnish.