Garden Cocktails: A Refreshing Summer Rickey Recipe

Make this and drink it now! (or maybe later): It’s good for you and your garden

Summer. It’s hot, it’s the weekend and you would like to have a tall, icy drink outside next to the garden you have worked in all day.  At least, Brent has worked in it all day.  Daisy and I have been working to come up with this:

SUMMER RICKEY (one drink)

• A few fresh mint leaves or a few fresh basil leaves  right from your garden
• 2 oz Plymouth or other high quality gin
• ½  oz Pernod
• ½ lime from your lime tree
• Fever Tree Club Soda or other high quality club soda
• A splash of tomato water (see below) made from YOUR tomatoes

Muddle the mint or basil leaves (or both!) in a mixing glass, add the gin and Pernod and some ice and stir. Strain it into a highball glass packed with crushed ice, squeeze in half a lime and drop into the glass, stir again, fill with soda water, top with a splash of tomato water. Garnish with a sprig of mint or basil and a straw (preferable a striped one).

TOMATO WATER

Chop a pound of ugly but juicy tomatoes, place in a large strainer over a large bowl and let them drain for a few hours.  Don’t press on the tomatoes.  The liquid in the bowl should be slightly pink (or yellow if you used yellow tomatoes) and mostly clear.  Use the tomatoes in some other delicious recipe, but use the water in a Summer Rickey or just drink it.