Sometimes you are awash in your own thoughts about cocktails and cocktail ingredients and a bunch of those things intersect all at once. I knew I wanted to do more original content as far as cocktails go, felt like I needed to take a step back and start with basics, and yet also wanted to have some kind of a cocktail series starting in spring. I also happened to have various things around the house that I felt were being underused and wanted to make some syrups and cordials and so on to put some stuff to use. Specifically, I wanted to see what this gunpowder green tea I'd mail ordered would taste like as a cocktail ingredient, and I wanted to do a very slight twist on some cocktails that use simple syrup to flesh out their flavor and body. Then I came across a cocktail written up for Imbibe called the Eastside (gin, lime, simple, cucumber, mint)...which was based on the Southside, a Chicago named cocktail that at it's barest is citrus and mint with varying spirits used. Anyway, I put it all together and decided, let's make a spring cocktail series, let's start with gin, and let's ground these cocktails in a little tea-based earthiness.
Please excuse my hilarious citrus juicer, though it works great for doing small batches AND it has a pretty sophisticated measuring system if you tilt it diagonal. The dark green-black liquid is green tea syrup. Any green tea will work, I had the stuff commonly called Gunpowder green tea.
Green Tea simple syrup
The base of all simple syrups is a 1:1 ratio of sugar to liquid. Technically that liquid is usually water. I made this syrup by first making a concentrated green tea. I did about 6 tablespoons of tea to a pint of 180 degree water (normally you'd use maybe one tablespoon for a 6-8 ozs). The tea leaves absorb some of the water and left me with a 10 oz measuring cup of tea. So I added 10 oz of sugar, got that to almost boiling, and then just simmered it for 10 minutes til it was completely dissolved.
Gin choices: Because I'm doing this as a series and gin will keep popping up, I started off with
Letherbee, locally made, delicious, and pretty classic in terms of botanicals and spices. Also, great body to it, viscous and not watery. I'm sure to tackle some other locals in the future, as well as some favorite national and international brands.
The Southside
2 oz Letherbee gin
0.75 oz of fresh lemon
0.75 oz of green tea syrup
tablespoon of mint leaves or 4 or 5 large basil leaves
Traditionally, The Southside is made with mint. Mint and basil are both great cocktail additives, and both are about to make their way in plant form to your nearest gardening shop or green grocer. In fact, my Green Grocer,
THE Green Grocer, had basil and no mint, so I switched it up. It works either way, trust me.
You can muddle the leaves if you'd like. That handsome muddler is from
Gary's Custom Muddlers. Gary is the father of acclaimed Chicago bartender and liquor rep Todd Appel, and these muddlers are gorgeous pieces of art that also muddle fantastically. Since you're shaking the cocktail, it's not totally necessary, but you're going to muddle the cucumber in the variation following.
Combine all ingredients in a shaker, with ice, strain into a coupe.
OR, strain into a Collins glass filled with ice (traditional serving). Also, you can strain this into a Collins glass with ice and top with some soda water to give it some effervescence.
You could probably also add some sparkling wine or champagne or kava and it would be a lovely variation on a French 75.
Garnish idea: take an extra leaf of mint or basil, place it in your palm, and slap it. Basically, high five yourself with the leaf in between your hands. Then drop into the glass.
The Eastside (Southside variation)
Somehow Imbibe's spin on the Southside came up in internet reading a few weeks ago, though it's from a 2009 gin issue.
2 oz of Letherbee gin
1 oz of fresh lime
0.75 green tea syrup
tablespoon of mint or 4-5 basil leaves
2 slices of cucumber + 1 for garnish
Muddle the two slices of cucumber and the leaves gently in the bottom of a shaker tin or mixing glass. Add simple, lime, gin, top with ice, shake vigorously.
Strain or even double strain into a coupe/martini glass. Garnish as above, but also with a cucumber wheel. You can use the same variation ideas on this one, but I don't really recommend it unless you're serving it as a punch.
