It’s not hyperbole to say that these have been the craziest times in anyone’s memory, but one tiny silver lining for us was the creation of the Honey Chamomile Whiskey Sour!

After the first giddy “feels like a snow day” rush, the Ground Hog Day effect set in.

Every day was just like every other.

No schedule.

No where to go.

No reason to get dressed.

Nothing to look forward to.

We adapted though. While everyone spent their days working or studying from home or making some attempt to maintain housekeeping standards, we made it a point to plan our dinners in advance. We cooked together with Ina Garten’s Spotify playlists in the background, and Saturday nights meant dressing up and lighting candles. But perhaps most importantly, we met every evening for predinner cocktails. Aperitifs are a timeless ritual for a reason and we appreciated this tradition more than ever during the quarantine.

One of the big liquor companies featured a whiskey sour on their Instagram, and in a “hey, why not?” minute, we dusted off that old classic (because lemons! Vitamin C!) and rediscovered a forgotten favorite.

It was such a hit that we repeated it a number of times…and when, during a family Zoom meeting, we jealously watched someone enjoying a Sons of Liberty Honey Chamomile Whiskey on the rocks, a light bulb went off and a new star was born!

In place of regular simple syrup, the honey chamomile simple syrup lends a slightly floral note that complements the whiskey and bright lemon flavors and makes a classic cocktail just a little bit more special.

I hope you enjoy this cocktail as much as we do. Cheers!

Looking for more cocktails? Try:

Not Your Nana’s Bees Knees

Watermelon Coolers

Homemade Sweet Vermouth

Photo Tutorial for Honey Chamomile Whiskey Sour

There is only a short list of ingredients: your favorite whiskey (bourbon preferred), chamomile tea, honey, sugar and fresh lemons.

Chamomile tea is brewed double strength, before adding sugar and honey to create the simple syrup.

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Honey Chamomile Whiskey Sour

A fresh twist to the classic whiskey sour.

Course Drinks

Keyword cocktail, whiskey

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cocktails

Ingredients

Honey Simple Syrup

• 2 teabags chamomile tea
• 1/2 C boiling water
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C honey

Honey Chamomile Whiskey Sour

• 4 ounces bourbon
• 1 1/2 ounces honey simple syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 slice orange, to garnish

Instructions

• To make the honey simple syrup: steep the teabags in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove teabags and stir in sugar and honey. Reheat if necessary to completely dissolve the sugar. Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator.
• To make the whiskey sour: Place a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Add bourbon, honey simple syrup and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into two ice filled rocks glasses. Garnish with a slice of orange.

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During Prohibition, the expression “the Bees’ Knees” meant something really, really good. When I hear the phrase, it conjures up images of speakeasies and flappers and bathtub gin. The original Bees’ Knees cocktail was a classic, probably made from bathtub gin, and probably not so very tasty, but it got the job done!

Somewhere along the line, gin fell out of favor, replaced with cosmo’s, wine, vodka martinis, and an infinite variety of vodka infusions, but I think it’s time to bring this classic back! Not Your Nana’s Bees’ Knees is the perfect way to reintroduce gin: light, balanced, sweet and sour, and just a touch floral.

This may or may not be my Nana’s coupe glass ( and there may or may not be a story there!) but this lavender scented cocktail is definitely Not Your Nana’s Bees’ Knees!

Ingredient and Recipe Notes for Not Your Nana’s Bees’ Knees

Gin: The alcohol is the star of the show here, so use a premium brand. You can substitute vodka, but it won’t be quite the same

Lavender honey syrup: Make your own by combining equal parts of honey and water; add 1 tsp of dried lavender blossom per half cup of liquid. Bring to a simmer then let it steep for 30 minutes. Strain. Lavender blossoms can be purchased at health food stores or in some well stocked baking aisles.

Lemon juice: only fresh squeezed will do!

It’s a short list of ingredients: gin, honey, lemon juice, lavender blossoms

For presentation, I like to add a sugar rim to the glass: Here there are a few drops of lavender bitters on a plate. Roll the edge of the rim through the bitters, then immediately roll it in sugar. You can substitute lemon juice or another liquid if you prefer.

Here is the finished sugar rim. If you are in an especially fun mood, you can add pop rocks instead of sugar! Just use honey or corn syrup to wet the rim or the pop rocks will explode prematurely.

We experimented with making our own honey and lavender flavored poprocks. The originals come in only a handful of flavors, but homemade ones can be honey, lavender, lemon, coffee, mango, watermelon (How amazing would that be on the rim of a Watermelon Cooler?) and many more. If you are curious, check it out at Modernist Pantry.

Having tiny explosions in your mouth as you sip on a gin cocktail is guaranteed to make you giggle!

Happy New Year!

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Not Your Nana’s Bees’ Knees

A lavender scented modern take on the Prohibition era gin, honey and lemon cocktail.

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1/4 C honey
• 1/4 C water
• 1 tsp dried lavender blossoms
• 4 oz gin
• 2 T lemon juice
• 4 oz lavender honey syrup

Instructions

• To make lavender honey syrup: combine honey, water and lavender and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture steep for 30 minutes then strain.
  
• To make cocktail: Combine gin, lemon juice and lavender honey syrup in an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into coupe or martini glasses.

The post Not Your Nana’s Bees’ Knees first appeared on .

BB: Before Barcelona…..vermouth was a liquor cabinet staple, an essential ingredient for a Manhattan or the occasional Negroni, but I would never have thought to drink it on its own. That changed on our first trip to Barcelona, where we discovered vermouth culture, where locals and tourists “fer el vermut” or ” do the vermouth” as the perfect excuse for day drinking Sunday morning after church or as an aperitif. It is low in alcoholic content, big on taste, and quite inexpensive. Naturally that means that we had to learn how to make homemade vermouth!

Vermouth was probably first created in Turin, Italy in the late 18th century, where various botanicals were added to wine for their medicinal effects. The name comes from the German word for wormwood, which is the ingredient that creates its typical bitter taste. Today this aperitif is made by large producers as well as small, artisanal ones, but each has a proprietary blend of herbs, bark, roots and spices.

Our first visit to a vermuteria was during a tapas tour with Aborigens (highly recommended!). It was a small, local place filled with pre-civil war memorabilia. I was skeptical, but a glass of vermouth paired with some salty olives and anchovies and I was hooked.

Fer el Vermut

On later trips we actively planned to fer el vermut. Armed with a custom Google map of recommended vermuterias, we stopped often. Quimet y Quimet is the classic: a tiny space where little has changed in over 100 years. Moro Fi, which has been open for less than 10 years, is more of a hipster spot, and with young families and the occasional dog, you might feel as if you were in Brooklyn. What they all had in common, though, was delicious cold vermouth, pulled from a tap and served with tasty snacks!

Ingredient notes and Sources for homemade vermouth 

Wine: Start with a light, neutral white wine, such as pinot grigio. 

Fortifying alcohol: I have chosen to use sweet sherry. Other options are tawny port, or even dry sherry if you prefer the finished product to be less sweet.

Botanicals: wormwood and gentian root supply the bitter notes for the vermouth.  Sources:

     Wormwood, gentian: MountainMausRemedies on Etsy

     Angelica, chamomile: Mountain Rose Herbs

Other flavorings: I have opted for a more botanical profile, but some vermouths feature warm spices, such as cinnamon, star anise and ginger. This is where you can get creative and adjust to your own taste! Just be aware that a little bit goes a long way.

How to serve homemade vermouth: in Barcelona, vermouth is typically served neat or on the rocks, with or without a splash of soda. Garnish with lemon or orange and an olive. Salut!

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Homemade Vermouth

A recipe for homemade sweet vermouth, to add to cocktails or drink on its own.

Ingredients

• 1 750ml bottle white wine
• 1/2 tsp wormwood 0.3g
• 1/6 tsp gentian root 0.3g
• 1/2 tsp chamomile 0.3g
• 1/12 tsp angelica root 0.15g
• 1/2 tsp dried lavender 0.15g
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 4 pods cardamom
• 1/2 inch piece of vanilla bean
• zest from 1/2 orange, peeled in strips
• 4 leaves rosemary (actual leaves, not sprigs)
• 1 leaf basil
• 1 leaf sage
• 1 C sweet or cream sherry
• 1 C sugar
• 1/3 C water
• 1 C brandy

Instructions

• Measure all of the botanicals and add to about half of the wine in a medium size pot. Bring to a simmer, then take off the heat and add the remaining wine and sherry. Place in the refrigerator to steep for 2 hours. Strain.
  
• Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat, swirling occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture becomes deep amber in color. Remove from heat.
  
• Carefully add the brandy to the caramelized sugar. Using very low heat, cook until the caramel is dissolved into the brandy. 
• Add the caramel and brandy to the strained wine mixture and store in the refrigerator.
• Serve over ice with a twist of orange or lemon and an olive. Or use in your favorite cocktail, such as a Manhattan, Negroni or Americano. The vermouth will keep in the refrigerator for about a month.

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Winter is coming. With only one real weekend of summer left, say goodbye with a batch of Watermelon Coolers!

I have made this cocktail (often!) for several years and I realized it was a thing when the first question after a dinner invitation was “Will you be making the watermelon drink?”. My daughter in law loves them so much that they became her signature drink (The Blushing Bride—so pink and pretty!) at the wedding.

So, yes. Yes, I will be making the watermelon drink. Give me an excuse and I will whip up a big old pitcher of them! They are everything that is right about summer cocktails….cold and fruity and refreshing. And they go down easy….probably too easy. You have been warned. Ok, I know some of you tend to skim through the paragraphs, so just in case:

You have been warned!

Bonus: these cocktails feel special, but everything can be made in advance. I often mix the two alcohols together to streamline assembly and sometimes even combine everything (except for the sparkling water) in advance.

Ingredient Notes

Rum: Either light or dark rum works well in this recipe. 

Watermelon juice: For simplicity, make the juice in advance; just be sure to stir well before using.

Sparkling water: My store brand (Stop and Shop) is sweetened with aspartame and I find it has a stronger flavor and is sweeter than a LaCroix type seltzer, so taste and adjust as needed.

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Watermelon Coolers

A fruity, refreshing, summer cocktail.

Course Drinks

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C water
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 2 oz watermelon juice
• 3/4 oz rum
• 3/4 oz melon vodka Grey Goose
• 1 oz lime sparkling water
• mint sprigs to garnish

Instructions

• For mint simple syrup: Combine water, sugar and mint in microwave safe container. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Let it stand for a few minutes and strain.
• For cocktail: Combine 1/2 ounce of the mint simple syrup, watermelon juice, rum, and vodka in an ice filled glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Watermelon Coolers Pictorial

Make watermelon juice by processing chunks in a blender.  If you make it in advance, be sure to stir before using. 

Taste the cocktail and adjust the amount of simple syrup, depending on the sweetness of your watermelon.

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