Is it just me or have things been getting WAY too serious around here?
Anybody else need a drink?
Ok…so I may have already started without all of you.
Let me introduce you to my friend the “L Train.” So the name is kind of embarrassing…but (1) I didn’t name it. And (2) the taste makes up for it, ok? This recipe comes fromShake, a cocktail book that has been responsible for instructing and inspiring some pretty yummy drinks chez moi.
It is yet another gin-based coupe-served lavender-y delicious thing. I know, I know…but I have a lot of lavender on hand–dried from last year’s garden–and, really, can you possibly go wrong with a gin-based drink served in a pretty chilled coupe?
Repeat after me: No, Hillary, you cannot go wrong with a gin-based drink in a pretty chilled coupe.
Great, now that we are on the same page, gather your ingredients to make two drinks–one for you and one for your extraordinarily attractive companion (or one for now and one to chill in the fridge for later…I’m not judging):
2 shots of gin (I used the Botanist…please don’t tell Hendricks)
1 shot St. Germain
1/2 shot fresh-squeezed lemon juice
4 sprigs lavender (reserve 2 for garnish, if you’re fancy)
seltzer (the recipe calls for “good quality” seltzer, which means something in specialty glass bottle, that cost more per fluid ounce than the gin. I used Polar seltzer…and I totally survived the whole experience.)
Put your coupes in the freezer or fill them with some ice to chill.
Before squeezing your lemon roll the lemon back and forth on the counter under your palm–this releases the juice and maximizes how much you’ll get out of the lemon.
The gin, St. Germain, lemon juice, and lavender all go into the shaker. Add ice to above the fluid level. Shake for 10 seconds. Please set a timer…it must be exactly 10 seconds or you’ll totally ruin the whole thing and no one will ever drink your cocktails again. Also, unless you are a professional or you have really large hands, do not attempt to do some fancy one-handed shaking–because it is totally possible that you might do so without making sure the top is on tight and then you might, for example, spill all over the kitchen and your clothing…in which case you’d have wasted gin, which is a grave sin. On the plus side, you’ll smell like gin…
I mean, that is just an example of something that might happen to a person. This has never happened to me, personally.
Once you’ve successfully navigated the precise timing of the shaking process strain the contents into a pre-chilled pretty little coupe. Top off with chilled seltzer.
You can also serve in a larger glass with extra seltzer if you like something a bit lighter.