VIN DE MINUIT

The Vin de Minuet, or “midnight wine,” is a play on one of our favorite classic cocktails- the Bee’s Knees. Alpine Dry Gin featuring local Juniper, Lavender, Sage, and Spruce pairs with a blackberry-balsamic shrub and honey syrup (all recipes below) for something that’s bright and fun, but definitely an autumn sour.

Vin de Minuet

2 oz Abbott & Wallace Alpine Dry Gin

0.75 oz Blackberry-Balsamic Shrub (see recipe below)

0.5 oz Honey Syrup (see recipe below)

-Combine all in a shaker, and shake hard with ice. Strain and serve up. Garnish with a lemon twist, expressed and discarded.

Cheers!

Blackberry-Balsamic Shrub

Shrubs have been historically used to preserve fruits out of season. As far back as colonial times, we’ve been using the acidity of vinegar to make spring and summer fruit flavors available all fall and winter.

1.5 Cups Blackberries

1 Cup Sugar

-Muddle together, cover, let sit overnight

5 oz Apple Cider Vinegar

3.5 oz Water

0.75 oz Balsamic Vinegar

-Stir together, strain, bottle. This shrub will keep awhile, but it’ll also go fast if you’re making these cocktails at home!
Honey Syrup

Honey lasts indefinitely, but it’s more than 80% sugar and it pours very slowly, so we make a honey syrup for use at the bar. It no longer lasts forever, so it does need to be refrigerated, but it’s very easy to make.

1 Cup Honey

0.5 Cup Nearly Boiling Water

1 small pinch salt

-Sprinkle salt onto honey, then add the nearly boiling water and stir until it’s an even consistency. If you need it to last longer than a week, and won’t give it to any kids, add 1 oz of Vodka to the bottle or jar.