Lemongrass - Verjus - Tonic
Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Standard !
It's hard to imagine supermarkets without lemongrass, standard assortment. Most people have probably had it on their plates in connection with Asian cuisine, and it is also a great spice. Fresh and exotic. As the name suggests, it contains citrus aromas found in lemons. But it also contains menthol, which gives lemongrass a fresh, minty taste. It has many uses in the kitchen. And as a syrup, it gives drinks an exotic, individual note. The syrup is quick to prepare and contains no artificial additives. It's really amazing what flavour you can get out of three stalks of lemongrass.
The sweet, lemony-minty syrup is a great base for many drinks. When playing with sweetness, acidity is known to be an important component of a good drink. To bring a slightly different sourness into play than the lemon flavour suggests, Verjus is a good choice. As an acid in drinks, the juice from unripe grapes is extremely well suited. But it is also ideally suited as a vinegar substitute for salad dressings etc. The menthol content of our syrup is further enhanced by fresh mint. At this point, we could already top up with tonic or soda, but for a good non-alcoholic cocktail, it lacks a little depth and aroma play. With a good 0.0% gin, such as Laori's No. 1, the drink takes on an additional spicy and grown-up character. Cheers, sober buddies!
The syrup
500 ml water
250 ml sugar
3 stalks of lemon grass, cleaned and pressedWarm the water with the sugar. When the sugar is completely dissolved, add the lemongrass and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Now remove the stalks and pour the syrup into a bottle. Store in the fridge. The Drink 5 CL 0.0 % gin3 CL lemongrass syrup 2 CL Verjus (extra sour)6 mint leavesPlace mint in a bar glass and press down. Pour in ice and ingredients and stir until cold. Strain through a sieve into a glass filled with ice cubes. Verjus is available from mild to extra sour, depending on which one you have available, the amount of verjus should be adjusted as desired. The drink should not be too sweet, but also not so sour that it makes you shake.
The drink
5 cl 0.0 % gin
3 cl lemongrass syrup
2 cl Verjus
6 mint leaves
Tonic water or Soda
Place mint in a bar glass and press down. Pour in ice and ingredients and stir until cold. Strain through a sieve into a glass filled with ice cubes. Verjus is available from mild to extra sour, depending on which one you have available, the amount of verjus should be adjusted as desired. The drink should not be too sweet, but also not so sour that it makes your shoes fall off.