Cocktail Friday: Bourbon Thyme

This bourbon thyme cocktail recipe is my new favorite. I have not always been a bourbon person. To be honest, I think my love for bourbon came after I became a parent. Coincidence? You decide. Seriously though, I have probably come to appreciate  bourbon more in the past year through experimenting with various recipes (Brown Butter Old Fashioned or Bourbon Apple Cider anyone?) that have proven that bourbon is more versatile than I expected. Given my new love, I was thrilled to receive a bottle of Elk Rider Bourbon from Heritage Distilling in Gig Harbor, Washington. Any day that involved a bourbon delivery to your front door is a good day. Am I right?

When I try new spirits, I like to first sample them on their own or mixed into simple, familiar cocktails. For example, when testing a new gin, I like to make a classic gin and tonic. I think that cocktail can tell a lot about the quality of the gin because it is vulnerable. In the correct amounts, tonic water and lime juice cannot cover up the herb notes in gin. If they do, something is wrong with either the gin or the proportions. But I digress. Back to bourbon...

I tasted Elk Rider Bourbon straight without ice to start. I was struck immediately by the smooth, sweet taste because I am often a little shocked at my first sip of any spirit straight up. Next, I added a tiny splash of water which can help the flavors bloom a bit. It was lovely. Drinkable with just the right amount of alcoholy bite and sweet nuttiness.

Once I had a good feel for the flavor of the bourbon, I started brainstorming what I could mix with it to make a refreshing spring cocktail. As with many of the recipes I develop, I found my inspiration by simply walking around the grocery store. After grabbing two bags of Meyer lemons and some beautiful fresh thyme, I knew exactly what I wanted: a bourbon spiked Meyer lemonade. Yes and yes.

Feeling inspired by the pleasant flavor of the bourbon and the Elk Rider story (which I've included below because I think it's great) I came home to mix up this delicious, spring-weekend-worthy cocktail. It's perfect for bourbon lovers who are looking for a way to extend the season for this spirit into warmer months. If you're not a bourbon fan, this will work beautifully with vodka or gin as well.

Here's a little bit about the inspiration behind the Elk Rider series from Heritage Distilling:

"The idea and inspiration for the Elk Rider™ line of spirits comes from our female founder. Her ancestors were some of the first settlers in the Lake Quinault and Queets River area in the late 1800′s in what is now the heart of Olympic National Park. While homesteading with a family of 17 children these early pioneering family members broke and tamed wild elk. Their feats were legendary for miles around. The elk became so popular they started to be used in parades in southwest Washington and Portland. The best part is we still have the family glass negatives to prove it."

"Every Spirit Has a Story," What's Yours? 

*Full disclosure: I was given products from Heritage Distilling to use for Set the Table cocktail recipes. My opinions are 100% my own.

Bourbon Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 oz Elk Rider Bourbon
• 2 oz Meyer lemon juice
• 2 oz water
• 1 oz honey-thyme simple syrup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 or 6 thyme sprigs

Instructions

1. Fill a cocktail glass with crushed ice.
2. Combine the bourbon, lemon juice, water, and honey-thyme simple syrup in a shaker filled with ice.
3. Stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Strain into prepared cocktail glass, garnish with a thyme sprig, and serve.
5. Combine the honey and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
6. Add the thyme sprigs and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and let cool.
8. Remove the thyme sprigs and pour into a jar. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

If you can't find Meyer lemons, you can use regular lemons. The result will be a bit more tart but still delicious!

Cocktail Friday: Honey + Allspice Jalapeño Martini

I'm getting to the point that most people reach near the end of winter. The point where you can't imagine getting through one more day of uncomfortable weather. For me, it's always frustrating waiting for fall to officially arrive. Cooler temperatures (both outside and in my kitchen), crisp, cleaner feeling air, and sweaters. That's what I long for. While I may desire a cooler climate, I still try to preserve the flavors of summer. This year that has been especially true. We have been enjoying a wonderful harvest of tomatoes (find out Monday how I made tomato paste with home grown tomatoes!), armfuls of basil that has been pestoed (totally a word), and peppers that are either drying or tucked neatly in jars surrounded by pickling liquids and spices.

I cracked open a jar of jalapeños that I had pickled with honey, allspice, and apple cider vinegar because I just couldn't stand waiting. Perhaps I'm fed up with waiting for fall, so I just don't have the patience to wait for other things...? Anyway, I opened them and was immediately taken with the delicious aroma: sweet honey, warm allspice, pungent garlic, and a little heat from the peppers themselves. I felt quite proud of myself, to be honest. I successfully preserved something that I am certain we will enjoy on homemade nachos, tacos, enchiladas...and in cocktails. True story. They are amazing in martinis.

I treated this martini a lot like a traditional dirty martini. Vodka (you could also use gin), vermouth, and a pickled jalapeño for garnish and for snacking. And of course, I made it dirty by adding some of the pickling liquid. Toss in a little extra honey and some lime juice and you've got a pretty impressive cocktail.

So this Friday evening, I'll be enjoying one of these with some salty potato chips.

Cheers to Friday!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:10]

Cocktail Friday: Lavender Honey Sidecar

I started working in restaurants when I was in college. The first was a café on campus. I made milkshakes, pizzas, burgers, and lattés for masses of sleep-deprived, starving college students. I like to think that I did my part to nurse hangovers and fuel all night study sessions. The next place of employment was at a classy restaurant off campus where they graciously trusted me to work behind the bar. I had had exactly zero experience mixing drinks, but they were very patient with me and helped me to learn the basics of cocktail mixing, stirring, shaking, and everything in between. They never said I did a bad job, which is either because they wanted to spare my young college-girl feelings, or because I wasn't terrible. After a while, I moved on to waiting tables at the same restaurant, which I much preferred. Still, I attribute much of my initial interest in cocktails to La Rana Bistro in Decorah, IA. If you ever find yourself in that area of the U.S., I highly recommend stopping in Decorah. It's a sweet little place and much more beautiful than most people expect for that part of the Midwest. 

Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup

Lavender-Honey Sidecar Cocktail

I didn't learn to make this particular cocktail while working at the bistro, but I did think about my time in Iowa the first time I made it. Something about the honey-lavender syrup made me think of, as the sign says when you enter the state of Iowa, "Fields of Opportunities". It's funny how a scent can bring you somewhere totally unexpected. As far as I know, there aren't lavender fields anywhere near Decorah, IA, but with the first whiff of the dried flower I was transported there anyway. That's the thing about food. Or drinks, in this case. Sometimes the smell or taste brings you someplace you didn't know you needed to go. I haven't physically been to Decorah in quite some time, but I welcomed the brief reminder of a place so dear to my heart.

So, a little about this Lavender-Honey Sidecar. The recipe for this lovely cocktail has been calling my name for a couple years. I only just got around to trying it out a little while ago and immediately smacked myself in the forehead for not doing it sooner. The original recipe calls for brandy, but I didn't have any on hand. Then I remembered a whiskey sidecar that I had on a visit to the Brown Palace in Denver a while back and decided it might work well here. Fortunately, I was right. I'm pretty picky about my whiskey cocktails but this one was right up my alley. Softly floral from the whiskey and the lavender, with the gentle sweetness of honey which was cut by fresh lemon juice and a splash of Cointreau. I am sometimes wary of cocktail recipes that incorporate ingredients easily mistaken for a cold remedy, but this was perfectly balanced and clean on the palate. Even my whiskey-loving husband enjoyed it!

My recommendation for this weekend? Sit back, enjoy the smells, sounds, and sights around you, and see where your mind wanders.

Lavender-Honey Sidecar

Adapted from a recipe in The Art of the Bar

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 ounces whiskey (or brandy, as called for in the original recipe)

3/4 of an ounce Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup (recipe follows)

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

A dash of orange bitters

Fine white sugar or granulated sugar for the rim of the glass.

Put your sugar in an even layer on a small plate. Use enough so that when you dip the glass in the sugar, enough will collect on the rim to be visually appealing. I usually use about 1/3 cup, even though not nearly that much ends up on the glass. Using your clean finger, put a dab of honey on the tip and trace the edge of your cocktail glass, making sure the honey is in an even, consistent layer but without clumps. Turn the glass upside down in the sugar to coat the honey and gently turn right side up. Set aside while you make the cocktail.

In a shaker, add the whiskey or brandy, simple syrup, cointreau, lemon juice and bitters. Fill the shaker to the top with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Pour through the strainer of the shaker into your cocktail glass and serve immediately.

Lavender-Honey Simple Syrup

1/3 cup Wildflower honey

1/4 cup dried lavender

1/4 cup hot water

Combine the honey, lavender, and water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let steep for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Pour through a fine mesh strainer and use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.