Recipe: the Briar Patch Cocktail

I'm back today with another fun and refreshing summer cocktail recipe to liven up your Monday. Last time I shared a drink with you, we tipped our hat to Wimbledon with the Pimm's Rangoon, a variation on the Pimm’s Cup, a gin-based beverage. This time, we’re going back to the well, so to speak, with a different gin cocktail: the Briar Patch.



Like the Pimm’s Rangoon, this one is also from the great minds at The Violet Hour in Chicago. It’s much simpler, but no less delicious. You need the same equipment as last time, and perhaps a bag to crush ice if you don’t have an icemaker in your fridge that dispenses it.



INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ fl. oz Plymouth Gin
• ¾ fl. oz. Lemon Juice
• ½ fl. oz. Simple Syrup
• ¼ fl. oz. Homemade Blackberry Syrup + a little more
• 1 Blackberry for Garnish
• 2 Sprigs of Mint (optional)
• Angostura Bitters

This cocktail takes advantage of the wonderful berries you can get in the summer. The recipe calls for blackberries, but if you like, I see no reason why you can’t substitute raspberries, boysenberries, or even blueberries or strawberries.

The recipe calls for Plymouth Gin, which is both a brand, and an official subtype of gin. Many people think that gin always means London Dry Gin, but really there are several official subtypes each with their own character. Just like whiskey (or whisky) has its bourbon, rye, Irish and Scotch traditions, gin has London Dry, but also the sweeter Old Tom Gin, malty and aged Dutch Genever, and earthy Plymouth Gin.

Plymouth Gin, the official subtype, must be made in Plymouth, England and there is only one brand still being made in that city, the eponymous Plymouth Gin. Plymouth Gin has more roots and herbs in it than your average London Dry, so it is a nice set off to the bright and crisp flavors of citrus and blackberry in the Briar Patch. Even so, if all you have is a bottle of Tanqueray or Beefeater London Dry, don’t be shy and still try this drink out.

Here’s how it goes:

1. Make the Blackberry Syrup by taking a cup of blackberries and putting them in a metal, glass, or ceramic mixing bowl. Plastic can stain, so stay away from that if you can. Add a half cup of the simple syrup you made last time and mash those berries. I used my trusty muddler, but any tool you have at hand is fine. Toss in 3 generous dashes of Angostura bitters and that’s it. Let the mix rest for an hour if you can (we didn’t this time), and then strain it through a chamois sack into a jar or bottle.

2. Pour your Gin, your juice and your syrups into a vessel to mix. We used Sean’s trusty shaker, but a regular cup will do.



3. We had some mint left over from last time, so we added a sprig and muddled it into the mix. The original recipe didn’t call for it, but it sounded fun, and mixology is all about fun, so in it went.

4. You aren’t going to shake this drink. Because it is served over crushed ice, you don’t want to dilute it once by shaking with ice and then dilute it again by letting that crushed ice melt into your drink. The dilution from the melting rocks in the glass will be enough.

5. Fill your tumbler with crushed ice. If your fridge doesn’t make crushed ice, take your cubes out, drop them in a plastic or mesh bag and crack the rocks with a muddler or mallet until they are broken up sufficiently.



6. Pour your drink over the ice. The ice will recede some, so top off with more ice. You want your glass full and frosty like a julep.

7. Garnish with a plump Blackberry, another sprig of mint if you are using it and another drizzle of Blackberry syrup on top for color and a burst of flavor.

Enjoy!

x, Tam (and Sean)

Recipe: Creating a Pimm's Rangoon Cocktail

Anyone who's ever come over to our house knows that Sean is a bartender extraordinaire. Today, in honor of Wimbledon, I asked him to help me make one of my favorite drinks, the Pimm's Rangoon (a slightly modified version of the Pimm's Cup). This drink is so delicious, I had to share my experience making one!

The Pimm’s Cup is the official drink of Wimbledon. It’s a refreshing summer concoction that hits the spot whether you’re watching tennis, at a picnic, or lounging by the pool. The main ingredient is Pimm’s No. 1, a gin-based liqueur infused with spices and other botanicals. (There used to be Pimm’s Nos. 2-6 as well, but the original was the best, and today it’s is the only one still made year-round.)

I’ll leave it to Wimbledon to tell you the official recipe for the official Pimm’s Cup, but I want to show you a modified Pimm’s Cup called a Pimm’s Rangoon, developed by the talented bartenders at the Violet Hour bar in Chicago (if you haven't been, go just for the handcrafted cocktails!). The recipe is not complicated, and does not call for too many exotic ingredients, but presumes you have a basic bar already set up. You will need a shaker, a strainer, and a muddler at a minimum, though a soda siphon and a conical sieve help too.

Here’s the list of ingredients:

• 1 fl. oz. Pimm’s No. 1
• 1 fl. oz. London Dry Gin
• ¾ fl. oz. Simple Syrup* (or Ginger Syrup if you like a kick and can find it or make it)
• ¾ fl. oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 Mint Sprig (save a leaf for a garnish)
• 3 Cucumber Slices (plus one more slice for a garnish)
• ½ Strawberry (and the other ½ for a garnish)
• Soda Water to top

And here’s how you make it:

1. Prep your produce by cutting the cucumber into slices and halving the strawberry (if you like more strawberry, go for it, but you run the risk of overwhelming the cooling flavor of the cuke), Pick a healthy sprig of mint, and pluck all the leaves. Save the prettiest mint leaf for a garnish.

2. Place the cucumber, strawberry and mint leaves into your shaker. Add the gin. Use the muddler to mash up the cucumber and the strawberry and bruise the mint.

3. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients to the shaker, add a handful of ice, and shake shake shake for at least 20 seconds.

4. Pop the top of your shaker and strain into a cocktail glass using the Hawthorne strainer. If you have one, double strain the cocktail with the conical sieve when you pour to catch all of the pulp from the produce. It’s okay if you don’t double strain, but it looks nicer if you do.

5. Add a spritz of soda to top your cocktail. How much to add is up to your tastes. I like just a little, but a friend of mine likes to make this drink in a Collins glass and fill it with soda to the top like a cooler. You decide!

6. Put slits in a slice of cucumber and a half a strawberry and perch them on the rim of the glass. Take that last pretty mint leaf and float it on the drink. Your end product should look something like the first photo in this post, and I'm hoping it tastes as good as that one did.

Enjoy!

x, Tam (and Sean)

*Note: simple syrup can be purchased, but it is easily made for pennies at home by boiling together sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio until dissolved. Ginger syrup is a little harder to get your hands on. The company Ginger People sells a nice product which can be picked up at larger Whole Foods Markets, or you can make your own by juicing fresh ginger, and then boiling it with sugar in a 1:1 ratio. FYI, ginger syrup is also great mixed with soda water over ice with a squeeze of lime.