The lemon tree next door has been dropping fruit into our driveway for several weeks now. What better way to use up both zest and juice than in a delightful cocktail?

My cocktail of choice is the sour. (See: the Fields of Gold, the Fitzgerald.) A basic sour recipe goes like this: combine 2 oz of the liquor of your choice with .75 oz of lemon juice and .75 oz of simple syrup. It's super easy to switch it up, either by trying different kinds of liquor or by flavoring your syrup. So I decided to make a gin sour and punch up my syrup with extra lemon and a branch of rosemary. The result was tangy, slightly sweet, and herbaceous: perfect.

My simple syrup recipe makes a very small batch, which I prefer because sugar syrups don't tend to last much longer than a week or so in the refrigerator. It's definitely easy to double or triple if you want to make a big batch of cocktails, though. The color is also really pretty--almost like a very light olive oil.

Keep in mind that your zest should be free of bitter pith. I read about removing extra pith from zest on a blog a few days ago, and I can't find it ANYWHERE now, but. Just use a spoon to scrape off any pith: totally easy and 100% effective. Why didn't I think of it before? Thank you, whoever mentioned this!

Rosemary lemon gin sour

2 oz gin
.75 oz rosemary lemon simple syrup (see below)
.75 ox lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 2-3 minutes, or as long as you can stand it. Strain into an ice-filled cocktail glass of your choice, garnish with a strip of zest or rosemary sprig if you so desire, and drink.


Rosemary lemon simple syrup

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 large sprig rosemary
zest of 2-3 lemons

Combine your sugar and water in a small saucepan. Chop your rosemary roughly and add it to the pan. Zest your lemons, taking care to avoid the white pith. Scrape with a spoon to remove any large bits of pith before you add your zest to the pan.

Bring the pan to a gentle simmer over medium heat, swirling occasionally. When all the sugar has dissolved, lid the pan, turn off the heat, and let steep for 30 to 45 minutes.

Strain your finished syrup through a fine-mesh sieve and cool completely before using.

What's your drink of choice this month?