End-of-Summer Cocktail: Lemony Verbena Ginfresher
There is nothing lovelier than spending a late afternoon reading in my garden, and I especially enjoy using fresh herbs in my concoctions; recently I hit upon a real winner. You can see the ingredients above (usually I like to use an organic gin like TRU, but my liquor store was out, so I went classic).
As I always remind, cocktail recipes should be “to taste.” I like a stronger drink and one that’s not too sweet, for example, but if you like the opposite, reverse the concentrations of lemoncello and gin.
Lemony Verbena Ginfresher
1.5 oz Gin – organic if you can find it
1.0 oz Lemoncello – homemade if you can secure some
4.0 oz Q Tonic*
Juice of 1/2 a fresh organic lemon
Sprig fresh Lemon Verbena
Mix gin and lemoncello first, then add tonic water and lastly, lemon juice.
Stir well. Add ice.
Garnish with Lemon Verbena fresh from your kitchen garden.
*I love Q tonic – it’s less sweet and mixes better with any liquor. Since it’s made with handpicked Peruvian quinine and sweetened with organic Mexican agave, it’s naturally lower in calories. According to their site:
Q Tonic’s natural quinine is believed to improve circulation and accelerate digestion. For centuries natural Peruvian quinine has been used by naturalists and herbalists to improve health, increase energy, and stimulate blood flow.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
