Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Gin Fling


It feels like Spring again!  Today anyway.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring, so I'm celebrating (again) while I can.  Out on the deck the other day, I spotted tiny little leaves of mint just emerging from their winter hibernation.  Wouldn't they be just the thing for a Spring cocktail?!  Yep.

Deck Mint!
 What else would be bracing and refreshing and would suit the occasion?  In Saturday's Mixology class, we used fresh celery juice in a celery and honeydew drink - very good, but very sweet...how about using celery and mint?  Hmmmm...two beautiful spring green colors going on there so why not reinforce the spring green color with lime?  Yes!  And gin?  Yes, again!  Gin and beautiful weather seem to go together simply....well, beautifully.  

A little tasting determined all that lime tartness needed some sweet, so I used my current favorite fennel simple syrup (yep, another spring green going on here) to achieve just the right balance.  I don't know if this cocktail creation has a name anywhere else, but I'm calling it a Gin Fling...kind of a combo of a spring fling and gin!  I used Bluecoat Gin, made in Pennsylvania and with lovely citrus notes.  I much prefer a citrus-y or botanical gin instead of the overly pine-y English-style gin....especially in my Gin Fling.

Here's how I did it.

Gin Fling

  • 2 oz. Bluecoat Gin
  • 3/4 stalk of celery, sliced
  • 1/4 lime, cut into half again
  • a few tiny mint leaves or 1 larger mint leaf
  • 3/4 oz. fennel simple syrup or plain simple syrup
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • ice
In a cocktail tin, put in the celery, lime, mint and simple syrup and muddle well.  Add gin, juice of 1/2 a lime and fill tin 3/4 of the way with ice.  Cap and shake until tin is frosted and very cold.  Strain into a martini glass or glass of your choice and garnish with a sprig of celery leaves and a lime wheel.
Enjoy!
       
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