Going camping with my family is one of the great joys of my life. I adore getting out into the mountains with them and unplugging from real life for a couple days. We roam around the woods, collecting firewood and looking for moss, and we always look for ponderosa pine trees. I don’t know where they can be found outside of Colorado, but I know that when my husband first had me smell one, I a) looked at him like he was crazy, and 2) could not believe how much the sap smells like butterscotch. Piney, sweet, and caramel-y scented Ponderosa pines were the inspiration for this cocktail and I hope you’ll try it! It’s a dreamy flavor combination that works beautifully with a nice bourbon.
Hint: to get the most out of your rosemary garnish, give is a couple slaps between your palms to release the oils in the leaves. You’ll smell it as you raise the cocktail glass to your lips and it will accentuate that lovely pine flavor!
Ponderosa Pine Flip
Makes 1 cocktail
1 ounce bourbon whiskey
1 whole egg (don’t freak out- and don’t omit! the cocktail won’t work without it!)
2 tablespoons rosemary infused butterscotch sauce (recipe below- OR buy store-bought butterscotch, something good, and gently warm it over the stove with a couple sprigs of rosemary for at least 10 minutes)
1 rosemary sprig
freshly ground nutmeg for garnish
For the butterscotch sauce (recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen):
1/2 stick of salted butter (or unsalted butter- just add a little more salt than called for here)
2 large sprigs of rosemary, torn in half
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, salt and rosemary. Simmer, whisking often, for about 5 minutes or until creamy and slightly thickened. Transfer to a glass jar and cool completely.
For the cocktail: combine the whiskey, egg, and butterscotch sauce in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. I put 2 tablespoons of the sauce in the recipe, but I tend to like it a bit more on the butterscotch-flavored side. (Maybe you do too, in which case you should add more to taste.) Here is where you earn you cocktail: shake it vigorously until the mixture is super creamy and has a nice foam on top. Strain into a cocktail glass, sprinkle with nutmeg, and garnish with a rosemary sprig. Cheers!