BUTTERFLY SOUTHSIDE

A Southside is my cocktail of choice, and the one I normally order at any bar and restaurant – I love the tang of the lime and the fresh flavor of the mint. I created this purple one using Butterfly Pea Tea, as any time I can make my cocktails more beautiful, the better! Butterfly Pea Tea is very interesting, as when you make the syrup it’s dark blue, but it reacts with citrus to create a stunning purple color! We use it at some of our restaurants and it’s really a showstopper!

INGREDIENTS

For the Butterfly Pea Tea Syrup

½ cup Butterfly Pea Tea Flowers (available here)

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Water

Combine in a saucepan and bring to soft boil. Immediately turn down to a simmer and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the flowers have released their color and the syrup is a deep blue. It will have reduced by about half. Don’t leave it too long as the syrup will begin to become too hard. Strain the flowers out and cool. You should have enough syrup for 3-4 cocktails. You can reuse the flowers a second time immediately for a lighter-colored syrup, or make 2 batches and mix them together for a beautiful even color!

For the Cocktail: 

2 oz gin

1 oz fresh lime juice

¾ oz Butterfly Pea Tea Syrup

6 mint leaves

Edible flower for garnish 

PREPARATION 

1.     Spank the mint leaves by placing them in your hand and slapping them quite hard – expressing the leaves this way releases the oils and brings out the beautiful mint flavor.

2.     Add all but 1 mint leaf to a shaker (reserve one for garnish). 

3.     Add the gin, lime juice and syrup to the shaker.

4.     Fill the shaker ¾ full of ice. 

5.     Shake vigorously for 30 seconds – you need to shake hard to break up the ice and create the amount of liquid you need. 

6.     Using a cocktail strainer, strain into a cocktail glass (I like to strain with a cocktail strainer and not a sieve, as I like the bits of mint throughout.) 

7.     Garnish with mint leaf and an edible flower.