I have been making drinks using fresh herbs recently, but never grilled. What a cool challenge! I chose rosemary from my own garden and came up with two different drinks using it in its grilled form.
Here is how I grilled the rosemary. I heated up all my grill burners and then turned the one below where I placed the rosemary off to prevent burning. Grilled the sprigs of rosemary until quite fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Removed them from the grill.
I also prepared a simple syrup of 1/2 cup hot water and 1 cup sugar. I added several sprigs of grilled rosemary to to it and let it sit for a couple of hours. I strained the rosemary out and chilled the syrup before using.
Strawberry Rosemary Cooler
Rub inside of glasses with grilled rosemary.
Muddle several slices of strawberry and a few grilled rosemary leaves in the bottom of a shaker.
For each drink use:
2 parts vodka
¼ to ½ part plain simple syrup (tune sweetness to audience)
½ part dry vermouth (e.g. Noilly & Pratt)
Shake and strain into ice filled glasses. Garnish with a rosemary sprig speared strawberry.
(this isn’t original, except for grilling the rosemary)
2 parts bourbon
1 part grilled rosemary syrup
2-4 drips of bitters (Angostura or Orange)
Wedge of orange
2 maraschino cherries
Squeeze the orange wedge into an ice filled glass. Drop wedge on top of ice. Add the bourbon, rosemary syrup and bitters. Stir to combine. Garnish with maraschinos skewered on a rosemary sprig.
The first drink tastes of spicy red pepper jam or sweet tomato tarts; it was a wonderful combination of flavors. The second one is herbed spin on a favorite classic of mine and was actually the first thing my wife said after thinking about smoky rosemary. It to, tasted great!
I ended up using some of the leftover rosemary syrup over some sliced peaches. Lots of rosemary, but sweet for breakfast.
Cheers!
Jason
