Anytime is a good time for a gimlet, but somehow to me, August is the perfect time. Back to School bashes and Pre-Labor Day soirees beckon memories of summertimes’ end. Shrimp boils, BBQ’s, reading on the porch, and stuffing myself with the last of the Seaside Farmers Market seasons tomatoes. As the sun begins to dance on rooftops of Grayton Beach homes, and the sunburned tourists walk past coming from the beach, the feeling is mutual, “It’s five o’clock somewhere!”
The Gimlet is the perfect sweet and sour apertif to bring yet another lazy 30A day to a close, but if visiting New Orleans, get out of the Quarter, hop on the St. Charles Avenue streetcar and admire the gorgeous homes along the way to the Upperline Restaurant. At night, sample what’s new and happening in New Orleans with contemporary Creole cuisine at the Upperline.
The Gimlet
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Tanqueray Gin
- 75 oz fresh squeezed and strained lime juice
- .75 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio. Incorporated at room temperature and chilled)
- 5 mint leaves
- Herbsaint Absinthe (must have)
- Spray bottle
- Shaker
Preparation:
- Add all ingredients to shaking tin and shake hard 15 times.
- Spray Herbsaint Absinthe 4 times into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Double strain shaker into the absinthe sprayed glass.
- Garnish with slapped mint leaf and one spray of Herbsaint Absinthe.
NOTE: You can add spice to the drink by using fresh basil leaves as opposed to mint.
