Happy Tears
Today’s recipe includes one of the spirits I brought back from Greece: Mastiha liqueur. It’s made from the resin that comes from an evergreen shrub native to Greece. When the plant’s resin comes out it looks like a tear drop, and can be used in a variety of culinary (and drink) applications (and more). The nose on the spirit is pine-y and not too distant from gin/juniper, but the taste is definitely distinct and includes more woodsy/cedar/earthy notes with a tiny hint of herbaceousness/?mint. Yum!
The drink build here is simple, but the flavors run deep and work incredibly well together. The chocolate mint syrup is a great complement that helps draw out some of the more subtle flavors from the mastiha, and gin seemed like the most obvious base spirit to pair with. On a side note, a lot of you remarked on how beautifully green the syrup turned out— I will post the process I used in the near future.
Recipe
2oz London Dry Gin (@beefeatergin)
0.5oz Mastiha liqueur (@skinos_mastiha_spirit)
0.5oz chocolate mint syrup
0.75oz lime juice
Shake, strain, garnish with chocolate mint sprig. Cheers!!
