A very good Chartreuse cocktail

Like many humans, I spent a significant amount of my quarantine in the kitchen. And while I did hone my sourdough skills, I won’t burden you with how-tos for my fluffy loaves. Instead, I thought a cocktail (and a syrup!) that I invented one of the many times I played bartender might be more appropriate: 1) because it’s green and refreshing and nice for spring and 2) because it’s strong and it’s day 9832039023920 of Covid and I think that’s all I need to say. For those who aren’t familiar with Chartreuse, it’s a French liqueur made from 130 herbs and flowers, it’s delicious, and it has an alcohol content of 55% (!). Happy drinking :)

Makes 1 cocktail and a bunch of syrup

You will need:

• 2 parts gin
• 1 part green Chartreuse
• 1 part ginger-basil simple syrup (recipe below)
• Juice from half of a lime

To make the syrup:

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 (180g) cup water
• 1 cup (120g) ginger, sliced and peeled (pro tip: frozen ginger is easier to slice / grate) (pro tip #2: you can peel ginger with the edge of a spoon!)
• 1 bunch of basil, stems removed, chopped

Instructions:

1. Heat the sugar and water over medium heat in a saucepan.
2. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the ginger and basil and heat until boiling.
4. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Pull pan from heat still covered and let the ginger and basil infuse for an hour.
6. Strain your syrup through a fine-meshed strainer and store in a bottle.
7. To make your cocktail: Mix ingredients with ice in a shaker if you have one (if you don’t, just mix it all up in a glass with some ice) If using shaker, shake (obv) and strain into a glass. Garnish with a spring of basil if you’re feeling zesty
8. Drink! With a bowl of olives, preferably.

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