March 23, 2022 Cocktails

He's a Smashing Young Lad

I’ve tried pepper in cocktails before and always ended up picking flecks out of my teeth. Building it into a syrup gave me the bite I wanted without the dental aftermath. The basil and lime keep things bright; the absinthe is just a whisper. A bottle of gin and absinthe

Recipe

Smashing Young Lad

Serves 1 · Gin, Absinthe

Ingredients

Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp black peppercorns

Cocktail

1.5 oz Aviation Gin
0.5 oz basil and lime puree
0.5 oz black peppercorn syrup
dash absinthe
Top with Tonic

Method

Pepper in the pot

Roast the peppercorns about 10 minutes. Boil equal parts sugar and water, simmer with the pepper 15 minutes, cool in the pan an hour, then strain.
Make it green

You can muddle the basil with lime juice in your cocktail shaker. To really pull the flavor and color however, this takes quite a bit of smashing. To make your life a little easier, you can purée a handful of basil leaves, juice from 4-5 limes and just a bit of water. Strain into a container to mix with your drink.
Shake it 'til you make it

Shake all the ingredients minus the tonic in a shaker with ice. Pour into a tall glass, and top with tonic. I added frozen strawberries for some color and a bit of flavor.

He's a Smashing Young Lad

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