Spruce-y French 75 Cocktail
Bright conifer flavors add Northern sparkle to a celebratory French 75.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce juniper-forward gin
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce spruce tip syrup (recipe below)
- 4 drops Brightwork Spruce Tip Bitters from Port Chilkoot Distillery
- 3 ounces Prosecco or Champagne
- Lemon twist and sugared spruce tip for garnish (recipe below)
FOR THE SPRUCE TIP SYRUP
- 1 cup fresh or frozen spruce tips
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
FOR THE SUGARED SPRUCE TIPS
- Leftover spruce tips from making syrup
- 2–3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
FOR THE SPRUCE TIP SYRUP
- Makes about 2 cups of syrup
- Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Cover, bring to a boil, turn heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
- Strain into a pint jar, reserving spruce tips, then cool, cover, and refrigerate. Will keep for several weeks.
FOR THE SUGARED SPRUCE TIPS
- From an original recipe by Alaskan cook and author Laurie Constantino. She advises drying the spruce tips at room temperature and notes it can take several days. I took a shortcut and used a food dryer.
- Makes 1 cup
- In a small bowl, toss damp spruce tips with sugar. Don’t worry if the sugar clumps. Spread out on a parchmentlined baking sheet or drying screen. Dry at room temperature, or in a food dryer for 4 hours at 135° F. Store in a glass jar in the cupboard.
- Tip: if you run out of uses for candied spruce tips, buzz them in a food processor to make spruce tip sugar.
COCKTAIL PREPARATION
- Shake gin, lemon juice, syrup, and bitters over ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a champagne flute. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a thin lemon twist and a sugared spruce tip. For a booze-free option, eliminate the gin and Prosecco and go for soda water instead.
