At Sac-a-Lait, the award-winning New Orleans restaurant from Chefs Cody and Samantha Carroll, Beverage Director Norton Christopher focuses on fresh seasonal cocktails utilizing the produce and herbs grown in the restaurant’s on-site garden which is overseen by Brooks Mitchell.
Straight from the vine to the glass, unique ingredients are planted from around the world and include lovage, Aztec sweet herb, safflower, wormwood, Vietnamese coriander, lemon verbena, Malabar spinach, fish mint, Baltic rue; Nasturtium and much more.
This holiday season, Christopher is offering up several festive cocktails including Thyme is on My Side featuring thyme-infused Bristow Gin and Rittenhouse Rye with egg whites, house made thyme syrup and a charred lemon-thyme wheel.
Thyme is on My Side
Yields: 1 cocktail
1 oz of thyme-infused Bristow gin
1 oz of thyme-infused Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz of thyme syrup
3/4 oz lemon
1 egg white
Kummel spritz
Charred lemon thyme candy wheel
Combine first 5 ingredients, shake and double strain into a chilled couple. 2 sprays of Kummel on top of the cocktail. Garnish with thyme sprigs and charred lemon-thyme wheel.
Lemon-thyme candy wheel
Cut a lemon in half. Dip the exposed side on a plate of sugar. Brulee the sugar while on the lemon half. Drop some thyme leaves on the bruleed lemon half while still hot and pliable. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then gently cut and pull of the lemon -thyme wheel with the blade of a knife.
Thyme syrup
30 grams of thyme
400 grams of sugar
400 grams of boiling water
Muddle the thyme in a sealable container. Pour in the boiling water and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let infuse for 24 hours. Strain off thyme leaves.
Thyme infused spirits
30 grams of thyme
1 liter of spirit
Muddle the thyme in a sealable container. Pour the spirit in and let infuse for 24 hours. Strain off thyme leaves.
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Keep the red beans cookin’!
Eric
Eric Olsson is the food blogger of RedBeansAndEric.com. He publishes new recipes and interviews weekly. He has developed recipes and written articles for the famous Camellia brand in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been mentioned in Louisiana Cookin‘ magazine and has had recipes featured in Taste of Home magazine – with his Creole Turkey recipe being runner up in their annual Thanksgiving recipe contest. He lives outside of Detroit, Michigan, with his wife and four children.
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