Southside of the Forest
Another day, another southside riff because they’re awesome. This one came together because: 1) I received a lovely gin from @spring44distilling (with a cool victory engraving by @rec_etch) that definitely gives “mountain forest” vibes; 2) I attempted to make spruce syrup. I say attempted because spruce tips are really necessary to make a proper syrup and I only had branches. The result still tastes spruce-y but was not near the tree branch mouth slap that I was going for.
To up the woodsiness, I added some green ketchup…erm chartreuse (it’s good with everything, no?) and some cedar plank infused gin. The result is a southside that came right out of the woods. There are plenty of evergreen notes with an herbal backbone and a cooling note from the mint and cedar. Between this and the squirrel post this week, I’m basically an honorary woodland creature. One more random thought: in retrospect I feel like Braulio would fit right in here. Next time.
Recipe
1.75oz gin (@spring44distilling, gifted
0.25oz cedar wood-infused London dry gin
Barspoon green chartreuse (@chartreuse1605)
0.75oz lime juice
0.66oz spruce syrup
5 leaves mint
Combine all ingredients and shake with ice until chilled. Fine strain into coupe and garnish with fresh mint. I wouldn’t recommend the spruce branch garnish unless you’re taking a picture or like the thrill of potentially swallowing needles. Hey, who am I to judge. Cheers!!