This is the fifth drink in The Alchemist’s Notebook, a series of original drink recipes. I post a new recipe every full moon.
When I first served this drink, my partner exclaimed, "It's like drinking an old lady's perfume - it sounds terrible, but it's really good!"
There is something about the sweetness of the strawberry and the delicate floral scent of the black locust flower meeting up with the herbal complexities of the gin and nonino which makes the solid foundation of gentian's bitterness come across like it might be the base of a perfume...
I'm not doing a very good job of selling this drink, am I? But that is the point: it sounds terrible, but it's really good.
Ethel's Bouquet
1.5 oz gin
1.0 oz Salers gentian
.5 oz Nonino
.5 oz black locust flower simple syrup
.5 oz strawberry simple syrup
*black locust/strawberry flower simple syrup recipe:
Combine a strong handful of black locust flowers/strawberries with equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, let cool, strain.
Salers gentian is the most readily available bottle of gentian liqueur where I live, and it is a wonderful bottle to have on the bar. The bitterness of gentian can make a solid foundation for a drink, shoring up the spirit and holding space for any ranger of other flavors you might have in mind.