20 Nov Drink of the Week: Bushwick Spice Trade
Drink of the Week: Bushwick Spice Trade
The weather has still been delightfully mild. We were still grilling dinner last week, and I sat outside for lunch two days. I hear it may even be warmer again by the time you’re reading this. And yet, seeing as we’re planning out our Thanksgiving meal as we work on this post, it’s hard to keep resisting the fact that winter is now around the corner.
As has been our custom, we turned to the guys at Shake to help us mark the change of season. Today’s drink is a little higher maintenance than the ones to which we usually point you: it involves a hard-to-find ingredient AND lots of muddling and juicing. On the plus side, it actually only involves one, basic bottle of alcohol, and your efforts are highly rewarded:
- All of the flavors from that muddling matter, creating a very nicely spicy mix;
- It’s an absolutely beautiful drink–winter can’t be that bad when you’re holding all of this cheerful yellow and hot pink in your glass.
The Bushwick Spice Trade
Ingredients
- 3 oz gin (we used Bombay, but something even cheaper like Gordon’s would work as well. The good stuff isn’t necessary here)
- 2 teaspoons simple syrup
- 1.5 oz lemon juice
- .5 teaspoon pink peppercorns (yes, pink, and, yes, it matters. order here)
- a few slices of ginger (and one more for garnish)
- a few basil leaves (and one more for garnish)
Instructions
- Muddle the simple syrup, lemon juice, ginger, peppercorns, and basil in the bottom of a mixing glass until the peppercorns are broken apart.
- Add gin and ice and shake for 15 or 20 seconds.
- Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with ginger and basil.
- Watch the floating pink specks of pepper as you sip this sweet and spicy creation.
