Thursday, April 1, 2010

Thirsty Thursdays: Moonshine Edition, Part Two

As you may have guessed, its been a busy week in Divaland. I've had little time to cook and zero time to write. That said, its Thirsty Thursday, so you know we'll be getting our drink on! As promised, we're going to revisit that white whiskey today.

I wish I could take credit for this cocktail, but I stole it from Waldy Malouf ... or one of his bartenders, to be more specific. You see, the husband and I had occasion to dine at Beacon recently, and prior to dinner we sipped on a really delightful cocktail. I believe it was called the Irish Sage. Made with Jameson's Irish whiskey, lemon and fresh sage, it was perfectly balanced and altogether delightful. No sooner did I take my first sip than I decided to mix up my own version using the Hudson New York Corn Whiskey.

Basically, this is a whiskey sour with a twist - a bit of sage mixed into the simple syrup and muddled into the drink. I'd tell you that its a perfect drink for warm weather ... but we seem to be in short supply of that lately. So if you're feeling like you need a little sunshine ... why not take it in liquid form?

The Sour Sage:
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 4 - 5 large fresh sage leaves, torn (or mint)
  • 1 ounce of lemon sage syrup (recipe to follow)
  • 3 ounces of white whiskey (alternately, you could use brown whiskey)
  • dash of lemon bitters, if desired
Pour the lemon juice into the bottom of a martini shaker and drop in the fresh sage. Muddle well, with a muddling tool, until the sage is coarsely ground. Drop in some ice and over it pour the lemon sage syrup, the white whiskey and a dash of lemon bitters. Cover and shake well until the outside of the shaker frosts. Strain into an ice filled rocks glass, garnish with a fresh sage leaf or slice of lemon. Serve and enjoy, repeat as necessary!

Traditionally, whiskey sours are made with white sugar, often in cube form. As you know, I'm not a huge fan of drinks made with sugar, so I've gone the agave route here. If you prefer, please feel free to substitute 1/2 cup of granulated sugar for the agave nectar in the syrup recipe below. Alternately, you could use some mint in lieu of the sage.

Lemon Sage Syrup:
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 3 two inch slices of lemon peel
  • 4 large whole sprigs of sage, torn
Bring all of the above to the boil in a small sauce pan. Cover, reduce heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and let cool before using.

So, how does it taste? Like really grown-up lemonade! Its tart, refreshing and certainly intriguing. The flavor of the corn whiskey, while somewhat tempered by the lemon, is present and up front. You definitely taste it, but the white dog is complimented by the fresh lemon and made all the more interesting for the subtle hint of sage.

This drink would be a perfect little refresher for a hot, sunny day. Its not at all sweet and it certainly goes down smooth. If you prefer a sweeter drink, by all means opt for the granulated sugar, or increase the agave.

While I enjoyed my solo sips of white whiskey last week, I find that I vastly prefer it cocktail form. I guess I'm not man enough to handle the white dog all on its own ... but add a little lemon and that dog heels just fine! Woof!

Stay tuned for more explorations of white whiskey in future Thirsty Thursday posts. I've got a whole bottle of the stuff, so its time to get creative.

Cheers!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

This definitely looks quite tasty!!

Molly said...

yum, I never knew there was such a thing as white whiskey!

SKIP TO MALOU said...

I'm not man enough to take white whisky or any whisky at all.. but making it sweet (ill probably add more sugar) will help me be "man" enough to try.

gfe--gluten free easily said...

Good Lord, that looks good! I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but I'd have to sip on that. The sage sounds like such a great flavor to add. Much preferred over mint in my book. Great photo!

Shirley

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm... it looks delicious. Love the lemon and sage combination. ;-)

The Diva on a Diet said...

Thank you, Sandi!

Molly - I hadn't heard of it either until it started to become a trend. Its interesting stuff!

Skip to Malou - LOL and me too!

Shirley - I love sage too, and the lemon is the perfect foil for the white dog. I mean to try something with orange or blood orange in the near future too.

Thank you, Deb! :)

Mo Diva said...

id like some of that grown up lemonade when i am officially healthy again! save me some!

Tangled Noodle said...

As usual, when you post your Thirsty Thursday cocktails, I'm shouting through the walls to let my husband know about another great drink recipe that we have to try. He's definitely on board for this one as whiskey sours are a regular feature in the Noodle household. Wait, does that make us sounds like a couple of lushes?

LaFleur said...

Wow, and I was just wondering what I was going to do with the extra sage I'm going to have left over after making stuffing for my Easter Chicken. The universe is speaking to me! And you too, Diva, of course :D