Mocktail: Wishful Thinking

Thanks so much to all of you who shared congratulations and good wishes after my announcement on Tuesday! It's so much more fun now that everyone knows about the pregnancy. I promise I won't overload the blog with baby-related things, but I am looking forward to sharing the next few months with all of you.

Not being able to drink hasn't been nearly so bad as I thought. I was mostly worried that it would be a bummer when I went out, especially to bars. Ever since we started trying for a baby, I've been scanning menus for mocktail sections for future reference. I've been happy to see that most places will have two or three on the menu, or at least a nice selection of sodas and juices. The selection isn't as varied as if you could order a cocktail or a beer, but it's nice not to be left out.

One place that reliably has a couple of high-quality mocktails on their menu is Backbar in Somerville. This is probably my favorite place to grab a cocktail in the Boston area, so I was particularly miffed at having to choose between the two non-alcoholic options. But I really enjoyed the mocktail I ordered, which was made with club soda and a lavender-lime-cardamom shrub. I liked the flavors together, and decided to work on a variation on this for my first mocktail recipe. For ease, I skipped the shrub and made a quick lavender syrup that I paired with lime juice and cardamom bitters. I also worked in some ginger beer for extra flavor. The final product is so delicious, you won't mind in the least that there's no booze involved!

A note on this being a "mocktail:" bitters are generally made with alcohol, so if you're avoiding any traces of it, you'll want to use a substitute (in this case, I recommend throwing some cardamom pods into the syrup as well). But since they're used in such tiny quantities, the fact that they're technically alcoholic isn't going to be an issue during pregnancy or if you're the evening's designated driver.

Booze it up: If you want to make this a cocktail, I'd try adding some vodka, gin, or white rum.

Styling: Copper straw from Viski, glass from World Market.

Wishful Thinking

1 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. lavender syrup*
1 dash cardamom bitters (Scrappy's)
6 oz. ginger beer (I recommend a mild one for this recipe)

Combine lime juice, lavender syrup, and bitters in a shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a Collins glass and add ice. Top with the ginger beer and stir gently. Garnish with a lime wheel and some dried or fresh lavender.

*For the lavender syrup, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, and 4 sprigs of dried lavender in a saucepan (fresh lavender would be even better). Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the syrup sit for one hour. Fine strain to remove the lavender, and let cool before using.

Sherlock & Watson

I've got a list of cocktail recipes a mile long that I would make if I had the right bitters. There are so many different kinds I'd like to buy. They're much cheaper to invest in than spirits, but their effect in cocktails is also more subtle, so it feels like a bit of a trade-off. Since I'm on a budget, I try to think hard about what I can buy for my bar that will give me the most mileage.

So I was pretty thrilled when I found out that Scrappy's sells sampler packs of their bitters. I generally don't make a big dent in my bitters bottles, so buying tiny sizes in a variety of flavors seemed perfect. When I took a trip to the Boston Shaker the other day, I snapped up the pack with grapefruit, chocolate, lavender, and cardamom. (I also bought the nifty coupe in the photo!)

I've definitely learned that it's worth buying better bitters. I used to stock up on Fee Brothers because they were cheap, but there was a specific cocktail that changed my mind. I made the Means of Preservation with their celery bitters a few months back. Then I had the same cocktail at Backbar with Scrappy's celery bitters instead. It was an entirely different drink. I liked it with Fee's, but I loved it with Scrappy's. I was a convert.

The Sherlock & Watson was first on my list of recipes to make with my beautiful new bitters. Scotch, lemon, and an Earl Grey honey syrup are given a spicy, aromatic boost with cardamom bitters. It's perfection. If I had been creating this recipe, I probably would have reached for bourbon or rye, but I always tend to forget about Scotch as a cocktail ingredient. Here, it provides a delightfully subtle smokiness, the intensity of which will depend on what you use. The original recipe recommends American single-malt whiskey or Highland Scotch. I can just imagine making this cocktail with a rich Scotch like Highland Park - it would be even more dreamy. But the only single malts we have in our bar at the moment are the peat-bombs my husband is currently into, so I used some Johnny Walker Red that inexplicably found its way into our possession following a weekend with friends. It still worked well. But the better the whiskey, the better this cocktail will surely be!

History: The Sherlock & Watson was created by Kenaniah Bystrom at Essex in Seattle.

Sherlock & Watson

2 oz. Scotch or American single-malt whiskey
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Earl Grey honey syrup*
2 dashes Scrappy's cardamom bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

*For Earl Grey honey syrup: Pour 8 oz. boiling water into a saucepan. Add an Earl Grey teabag and let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bag and add 16 oz. honey (or, if you want to make less, use a ratio of 2:1 honey to tea mixture in the desired quantity). Heat the mixture on medium heat, stirring until the honey is dissolved. Let cool completely before using.

Recipe from Food52.