BOOM!
Welcome to the M.O.B. Fall Booze line.
Oh, you thought because summer ended I wouldn’t booze?
Aww…
You were wrong, my friend.
Wrong.
We’re boozing at least once a week – Maybe twice – I’m not sure.
AND my booze will come in all forms.
In a glass, baked into a pie, drizzled on cake, or infused in marshmallows.
We’re going there.
Flow with me… We’re boozing.
Soon – Very soon – Once the pumpkin craze ends and ERRTHANG is replaced with the December peppermint somethin’ something we’ll notice, for the first time, our fruit stores are barren.
The beautiful berries of summer will be long gone. Baking with apples and pumpkin will be considered passé.
Gingerbread? Don’t even go there.
Enter: Citrus notes.
Some of us don’t really think about showcasing citrus until we absolutely have to. Citrus is the sleeper hit of fruits – Like a movie you don’t think will be good – Yet turns out to be surprisingly heartwarming and tear jerking, like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Some of us use citrus in abundance, yet since it’s used almost every single day we don’t think – Hey, let’s make citrus notes THE STAR.
Today, we’re making it a star of sorts, showcasing the nuances of that jammy, without fully utilizing citrus or doing the whole squeezing thing.
Let’s do this! I found lemongrass in the supermarket a couple weeks back. 1 whiff and my first thought was: This is what lemon would smell like if it wore perfume.
My second thought: How can I make a cocktail out of this?
And right next to the lemongrass were nicely wrapped bunches of sage leaves, lined in a neat row. I grabbed a package, and then picked up a bunch of lemons.
This drink situation was on like Donkey Kong.
I made lemongrass simple syrup allowing the lemongrass stalks to steep in the syrup for about an hour. And let me tell you – There was super concentrated perfumed situation happening in that pot. The cocktail itself is simple: Lemongrass syrup, sage leaves, and lemon muddled and mixed until both lemon and sage release their shizz. I went with vodka here, a nice neutral booze situation – And since I like all my drinks fizzy – Seltzer.
The perfumed lemongrass flavor is predominant – the first to hit your palate, followed by tart lemon, finished with herby sage notes and the fizzies. I love me some fizzies.
So yeah… Deplete your supermarket’s supply of lemongrass – Whatever’s left. Add so much lemongrass to your shopping cart the supermarket clerk will wonder whether you’re stocking up for Armageddon.
And you kind of are.
You’re stocking up for those dreary cold winter months – The months where the fruit trees are still sadly barren. The months where if you make one more hearty meal in your hot-as-f*** sweater you’ll scream. The months where you need to brighten your situations.
This is where this perfumed cocktail will come in. And you will welcome that mofo gladly.
[purerecipe]
Ingredients
For the lemongrass syrup
- 4 stalks of lemongrass chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Cold water
For the cocktail
- 2 ½ tablespoons Lemongrass syrup
- Half a lemon sliced
- 3-4 sage leaves
- 1.5 - 2 ounces Vodka
- Ice
- Seltzer
Instructions
Make the lemongrass syrup:
- In a small saucepan, combine the sliced lemongrass, sugar, and water. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture has been brought to a boil, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer until the lemongrass is somewhat translucent and the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to steep for about an hour. Strain the syrup into a glass jar with a tightfitting lid. Discard the lemongrass. Store the syrup in the refrigerator until ready to use. Makes about 2 cups of syrup.
Lemongrass Cocktail Situation (Makes 1 cocktail)
- Add the lemongrass syrup to an 8 oz glass, followed by the sage leaves. Mash the sage leaves with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon until fragrant. Add the lemon slices and mash until the lemon slices have released their juice and fragrance from the peel. Add the vodka and stir to combine. Add ice and top with seltzer. Knock it back.
