Happy Herbal Water
Happy Herbal Water - one of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks to create and enjoy. This colorful collection of alpine strawberries, edible gem marigolds, basil mint, lime slices, and lime bitters came together for a recent sunny morning business meeting out in our garden of edibles.
I was very generous with my dashes of homemade lime bitters. Refreshing, good for your digestion, and visually appealing. This herbal water delivered happiness in a glass.
Flowers of Summer Amaro
This Flowers of Summer Amaro is my my most colorful herbal infusion to date. I decided to go for a floral flavor with this bittersweet amaro, and highlight all the edible flowers flourishing in our summer garden. The thyme was in bloom. the red mustard keeps trying to go to seed, and the alpine strawberries begged to be included.
I cruised the garden for blooming edibles, and included the following in my vodka base:
alpine strawberries
anise hyssop
borage
calendula
gem marigolds - lemon and paprika
lavender
lemon balm
monarda
nigella
red mustard
rugosa rose
thyme
violas
I'll be tasting this Flowers of Summer Amaro every few days during its' first week of infusing - ...
Arnold Palmer – The Drink
Something simple and enjoyable to drink for the summer - an Arnold Palmer drink. It couldn't be easier. Half tea and half lemonade is the basic recipe for this non-alcoholic refresher.
Use any tea you favor - green, black, rooibos, or herbal. I used an herbal tea with nettle, oatstraw, red clover and mint. For the lemonade, I squeezed a small lemon, added some mint simple syrup I had in the fridge, and some water. Any citrus juice would be dandy - orange, grapefruit or lime. A big sprig of tarragon was my garnish. Rosemary, thyme or mint would be grand ...
Lemon Balm Elixir
This Lemon Balm Elixir is a divine drink to your health. Lemon balm, borage leaves, and fresh lemon enjoy a long soak in brandy and local honey. Lemon balm, a member of the mint family, is known for many medicinal qualities - an herbal remedy for heart disease, heartache, depression, anxiety, and even viral and bacterial infections. Above all, lemon balm has enchanting flavor. The borage leaves add a hint of cucumber, and its' edible flowers are a knock-out garnish in a garden cocktail. I like to sip Lemon Balm Elixir by the small glassful. I've tried using it as ...
Lovage & Lime Lifter
My lovage plant is sky high these days, and is begging to lend its' celery flavor to a garden cocktail, like this Lovage & Lime Lifter. Lovage packs a powerful herbal punch, and marries well with this herbaceous gin from Copperworks Distilling Company, here in Seattle. Gin was my first liquor love, and I want to taste juniper and beautiful botanicals in my cocktail. Copperworks' gin delivers that strong balance of familiar and exotic qualities.
I started by making a Lovage & Lime Syrup. I made a big bottle of it, so we can enjoy this infusion with sparkling water, or ...
Negroni Bianco
To celebrate Negroni Week, June 2 - 8, I'm sharing this tempting variation - Negroni Bianco. Gin, dry vermouth and Aperol. Traditionally, a Negroni is equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. For some, Campari is a bitter taste to embrace. Aperol is a gentler bitter aperitif. The Negroni is truly a versatile classic cocktail. Play around with the proportions, and enjoy substituting ingredients. I was so fortunate to take a wonderful Negroni class at the recent Manhattan Cocktail Classic, led by the legendary Gaz Regan and talented Naren Young. We were served a bevy of beautiful Negroni cocktails - ...
Something New – Peket
Here's an intriguing gift I received recently - a nice assortment of Peket from Belgium. I'm all about trying new spirits, and especially ones from other countries. I learned that Peket starts with genever (pronounced "juh-nee-ver"), a juniper flavored spirit crafted by the blending of neutral alcohol and "moutwijn" or malt wine (grain mash), and infused with herbs, flowers, or fruits. This particular Peket has a lower alcohol content of 22%.
I sampled the Citron and the Speculoos, and was happy to find a bitter element, and a minimum of sweetness. I plan to enjoy them on their own, without any mixers ...
