We're down to the final three of our calendar, and we wanted to finish with a flourish. So we're invoking the legend of the Three Wise Men of the East, aka The Magi, as the theme for our remaining cocktails. According to the Bible, wise men visited the Baby Jesus after his birth and presented him with three gifts.
The Bible doesn't mention the names of the Magi, or the gifts each specifically presented. But tradition gives us the following pairings:
- Kaspar brought frankincense;
- Balthazar brought myrrh; and
- Melchior brought gold.
The scent of frankincense is quite complex but some pine and lemon notes definitely come to the forefront. Given this, we thought that the botanicals in gin would represent the king's gift well and provide a nice base for the cocktail. A simple syrup made with rosemary also helped to enforce the piney nature. We then infused the gin with figs to further recall the flavours of the Middle East.
The Kaspar Cocktail:
- 2 oz fig-infused gin (see notes)
- 1 tsp rosemary syrup
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- rosemary
- tonic water
- ice
- highball glass
Mix the gin, lemon juice and the rosemary syrup in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a high ball glass filled with ice. Top with tonic water. Gently stir. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a lemon twist.
Cocktail Notes:
Someone asked how we made the fig-infused gin. Super-easy. Take some figs (we used dried mission figs). Put them in a jar. Pour some gin over them. Let them steep for 3 days. Strain. We used 5-6 dried figs to about 1 cup of gin.
For rosemary syrup, make a simple syrup and add a sprig of rosemary while heating.
Inspiration:
Hugh Jackman singing "We Three Kings"? Yes, please.
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