Savory Cocktails by Greg Henry is for the person who enjoys crafting interesting drinks at home and doesn’t mind spending a little extra money or time doing so. The recipes in this book call for fine ingredients and sometimes obscure ones, like black truffle-infused honey (Can a girl find that at a typical grocery store? No.). I wanted to make a drink without buying a ton of ingredients that weren’t already on my home bar. I like gin and fresh flavors, so I decided to make the Rhubarb Rosemary Flip.
The book is divided into eight section by flavor profile: spicy, herbal, umami, bitter, smoky, rich and strong. Henry’s recipes are creative, including drinks like the Thai Bird Chile Kamikaze made with a Thai bird chile-infused vodka and an herbal lemon syrup with cilantro and the umami-focused Dog’s Nose, a recipe that calls for gin, porter and a pinch of porcini mushroom powder. Most of recipes call for you to make a syrup or infusion in advance, which adds a home cooking flair to these unique cocktails.
The Rhubarb Rosemary Flip, included in the sour section, was indeed sour, but balanced thanks to the rhubarb-rosemary syrup. This vibrant pink infusion was made by adding chopped rhubarb to a boiling simple syrup and then steeping rosemary as the mixture cools. The instructions were a little unclear, but thankfully, simple syrup is in fact simple.
The recipe was an easy combination of gin, the syrup, lime and a rosemary sprig to garnish. Henry made the egg white optional, so I opted out. The result was a bright pink drink that looked like it might be sweet and fruity, but was instead a sour, balanced, herbaceous concoction.
Rhubarb Rosemary Flip 1 Serving
1½ oz. dry gin
1 oz. rhubarb rosemary syrup, divided (Recipe follows.)
¾ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 small egg white (optional)
1 long fresh rosemary sprig, to garnish
• Pour the gin, ¾ ounces rhubarb rosemary syrup, lime juice, and egg white (if using) into a cocktail shaker. Cover and vigorously “dry shake” for about 30 seconds to combine.
• Add enough medium ice cubes to nearly fill the shaker, cover and shake as vigorously as you can until frothy, at least 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled tall Collins or chimney glass.
• Drizzle or drop the remaining rhubarb rosemary syrup over the top. Garnish with the rosemary sprig.
Rhubarb Rosemary Syrup 1 cup sugar
2 to 3 rhubarb stalks, sliced
1 rosemary sprig
• Stir together the sugar and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the sliced rhubarb and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking until a syrupy consistency is reached.
• Remove from the heat and add the rosemary sprig; let stand 30 minutes.
• Strain through a wire-mesh sieve lined with a double layer of damp cheesecloth, discarding the solids. Store refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.
Reprinted with permission from Ulysses Press What crowd-pleasing drink do you make at parties? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Savory Cocktails. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.
This article appears in January 2014.
