THE SILENT NIGHT
This cocktail is my new festive favorite! It’s essentially a Bee’s Knees (one of my go-to winter cocktails if you’re at a restaurant as it’s essentially gin, lemon and honey– all the holiday flavors but light and refreshing) with three twists that give it a Very Vanderpump spin! Bitters are one of my favorite ways to sex up a cocktail – they add layers of subtle flavor to your drink to make them more complex and balanced. This cocktail uses Rhubarb bitters – with just a few drops you’ll enhance the play on your taste buds with a very Christmasy fruit flavor (if you’ve never used bitters before, start small! You can try it with 1-2 drops, straw taste it, and then add more!) and Elderflower liqueur for a light wintery feel. I also use a honey syrup instead of straight honey (it’s lighter so the cocktail isn’t too sweet) and aquafaba to give it a frothy foamy finish. Enjoy!
Aquafaba is something you may not have heard of but, chances are, you have it in your kitchen! It is basically the juice that accompanies the Garbanzo beans in their can! It might sound strange for a cocktail, but it is essentially flavorless and acts almost identically to egg whites (but vegan!) giving your cocktails that frothy deliciousness. We swear by it at TomTom!
INGREDIENTS
2 oz Gin
½ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
½ oz Fresh lemon juice
½ oz Honey Syrup (Recipe Below)
4 dashes Rhubarb Bitters
¾ oz Aquafaba
Ice
PREPARATION
1. Add the aquafaba to a shaker and shake it vigorously with nothing else in it. This activates the frothiness!
2. Add the gin, St. Germain, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup and rhubarb bitters to a shaker.
3. Fill the shaker ¾ full of ice.
4. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds.
5. Strain into a martini glass.
6. Enjoy!
HONEY SYRUP
Making a honey syrup is very simple! Add 2 parts Water to 1 part Honey, brought up to just before boiling and then reduced to a low simmer for 5-10 minutes. To make a flavored one, simply add whatever herbs and spices you’d like. Then let cool.
