Found a recipe for another Collins variation that I had been wanting to try - the Rosemary Collins
- 1.5 oz gin (used Gordon's)
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz rosemary simple syrup
Shaken, then served topped with soda water and a rosemary sprig for garnish.
The rosemary simple syrup was made by first blanching the rosemary for 30 seconds, then adding that to a standard batch of one-to-one simple which was brought to a boil. The blanching is supposed to prevent the rosemary from turning brown.
It was a little too tart at first, so I doubled the simple putting it closer to "classic proportions." Nice drink, but next time I might try boiling the rosemary in the simple a bit longer to extract more flavor as this one had just a hint of rosemary.
One other tip: rub the rosemary sprig just before you garnish with it and it'll become more fragrant.
Attempted to make El Tamarindo from the "12 Bottle Bar" book, but
without proper Agua de Tamarindo. Instead, I took some burmese
tamarind candy and muddled with hot water.
- 3 parts white rum (used Brugal Especial Extra Dry)
- 2 parts tamarind syrup (3 tamarind candy chunks + 1 tbsp water)
- 1 part lime juice
- soda water
Our soda water was a little flat from last night but the drink turned
out OK. The tamarind flavor could be more pronounced but I didn't
want to use too much candy since it would be too sweet.
Classic John (or Tom) Collins:
- 3 parts London Dry Gin (used Gordon's)
- 2 parts lemon juice
- 1 part simple syrup
- soda water
- cherries and lemon to garnish
Stirred the first three ingredients with ice in a Collins glass.
Topped with the soda water. Garnished with a lemon slice and cherries
along with a teaspon or so of the cherry syrup.
Initially was too tart, but a spray of oil from the lemon peel seemed
to balance it out.
