Fizzy Peppercorn-Bay Gin Lemonade
Fizzy and refreshing drink, perfect for summer. See instructions to make it non-alcoholic. Delish either way!
Makes 8 drinks
Ingredients
Fizzy peppercorn-bay gin lemonade callilng your name on a summer afternoon.
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
8 medium bay leaves
About 2-3 lemons (to yield 1/2 cup juice), plus more for garnish
250 ml gin
Unflavored seltzer water, chilled (you'll use a half-liter to make 8 cocktails)
Instructions
1. Whisk the sugar into 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat until it dissoves. Stir in the bay leaves and peppercorns and turn the heat to high, just until it begins to simmer. Cover and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Steep for 10-20 minutes.
2. While the sugar and spices are steeping, squeeze the lemons to yield 1/2 cup of juice. Cut remaining lemons into wheels to use as garnish.
3. Strain the syrup, reserving the bay leaves and peppercorns. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
4. Use 10 oz. rocks glasses or short tumblers (see notes for more on choosing the right glass). Put a reserved bay leaf and a few reserved peppercorns in the bottom of each glass, then fill the glasses to the top with standard-sized ice cubes (about 8-10 standard ice cubes). Measure into each glass:
1 oz gin
1 oz peppercorn-bay syrup
1 oz lemon juice
Fill each glass with seltzer to the top. It should be about 2 oz of seltzer if using gin, or 3-4 oz seltzer if omitting it. Garnish with a lemon wheel and serve.
Notes:
This recipe was originally created for my Cooking Club members in June 2023. I wanted something fizzy and refreshing for summer, and our featured spice that month was our organic bay leaves, so I thought it would be fun to use them in something other than the usual soups and stews. And the black peppercorns give the drink a little zippy, aromatic complexity.
This cocktail is sophisticated and deLISH, and (fair warning!) very easy to drink on a hot summer day. So pace yourself, my friend! (Or follow the instructions in Step 4 to make it non-alcoholic.)
Measuring the ingredients:
A fizzy, lemony cocktail, infused with a little grownup sophistication supplied by the bay leaves and peppercorns. You may find yourself wanting a few more of these babies than you would normally drink, so start lining up those designated drivers now! (Or better yet, just host the party at your place.)
The best tool for measuring cocktail ingredients is a jigger, the same type your favorite bartender uses behind the bar. The standard size of this cone-shaped metal measuring device is 1 fluid ounce when filled all the way to the top. Most jiggers have two ends of different sizes. If you're not sure what size your jigger is, you can check by filling it with water and pouring it into a liquid measuring cup or a tablespoon:
One full 1-oz jigger = 2 tablespoons
Two full 1-oz jiggers = 1/4 cup
(And PS - if you don't have a jigger, you can use a tablespoon, filling it twice for each ounce in the recipe.)
Choosing the right glass:
The glass I used to create this cocktail holds 12 ounces of liquid to the rim. (I believe it was labeled a "10 oz glass" by the manufacturers, but these labels can vary in specificity.) To find out what size glass you have, you can use a measuring cup to fill it with water and check how much it holds. In a standard American liquid measuring cup, 1 cup = 8 ounces. So if your glass is the same size as mine, it will hold 1.5 cups of water right up to the rim.
All of this matters because the flavors in cocktails can get out of proportion if, for example, you don't have room for enough ice cubes or the full 2 ounces of seltzer.
So - if your glass holds more than mine, that's great! Just follow the proportions in the recipe and it will taste great (though there may be a bit more room at the top of the glass than in the picture).
If your glass holds less than mine, you can adjust the ingredients down proportionally, Start with half, then you can increase to taste as needed.