A Rosemary Cocktail

David and I went to an excellent Japanese restaurant a while back, and we treated ourselves to a cocktail to start the meal.  I tried their rosemary gimlet, and really enjoyed it.  I searched for a recipe online, and found one on David Lebovitz's food blog.  I've tweaked it a bit, cutting back on the amount of rosemary syrup.  I grow rosemary in a pot outdoors in the summer, and have had success bringing the pot indoors over the winter, so I have a ready source of fresh rosemary. But if I didn't, for this drink I'd splurge and buy some in the grocery store.

ROSEMARY GIMLET

adapted from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2015/11/rosemary-gimlet-gin-cocktail-recipe/

Rosemary Syrup—make in advance, with time to cool down

(enough for about 5 drinks; will keep in fridge for several weeks)

     1/4 cup  sugar 

     1/4 cup  water 

     1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

To make the syrup, heat the water, sugar and chopped rosemary leaves in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Once cool, strain the rosemary syrup into a jar, and refrigerate until ready to use.

The Gimlet

(instructions for 2 servings, as that's what I usually make, and what fits easily in a cocktail shaker)

3 oz. gin

1.5 oz. fresh lime juice

1 oz. rosemary syrup

Measure the gin, lime juice and rosemary syrup into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker halfway with ice, preferably slightly crushed, cover, and shake the cocktail mixture about thirty seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. If you don't have a cocktail shaker, you can put a pile of crushed ice in a quart-size measuring cup, pour the mixture over the ice, stir it around for a while, and then strain off the cocktail. (I inherited a cocktail shaker from my parents, and love using it for this drink.)