I hate it when people move away.
This cocktail is in honor of our friends, Jim and Michele, whom I credit with my renewed interest in cooking. I won't bore you with all of the details about how we met (work), but let's just say, we all hit it off.
They had us over for dinner, we had them over for dinner, they had us over for dinner.... next thing you know, it escalated. It was awesome.
They introduced us to Fine Cooking magazine, along with some pretty amazing music. As it turned out, we all were big fans of the same type of music. A challenge for me was to find new music they did not yet know about. I'm pretty sure I introduced them to Beirut and Kasey Chambers. They introduced us to a hell of a lot more.
And then they moved away. Wah!
Actually, we've gotten together several times since then, so I can't complain. Love you guys. I just wish you were closer.
Jim and Michele served us this cocktail when they recreated the May, 2010 barbecue issue of Fine Cooking. Everything was barbecued, including the salad. Talk about raising the bar. OMG.
In the recipe, the thyme is barbecued. For 15 seconds. This works if your barbecue is already fired up.
Instead of firing up the barbecue, I placed a cluster of thyme into metal tongs and dragged them through the fire of my gas cook top until the herbs were appropriately charred. Worked for me and released the herb's oils to make an ab fab cocktail.
Limoncello, Gin, & Grilled Thyme Cocktail
Ingredients
3 large sprigs of thyme, 2 for grilling, and one for garnish
Juice of one lime
2 ounces Hendricks gin (or the gin of your preference)
Instructions
Char two of the sprigs of thyme either on a grill, broiler, or over a gas stove via tongs.
Muddle the charred thyme with the lime juice at the bottom of a cocktail shaker or large glass.
Add ice and the gin and limoncello.
Stir vigorously.
Strain into a highball filled with ice.
Garnish with a thyme sprig.
Enjoy!!!
