Last month, we made a refreshing cocktail at Black Fox Farm & Distillery with John Cote called the ‘After Dark Intermezzo’. Now to follow that, for this month’s After Dark gin cocktail, we wanted to come up with something that said February.
With our Valentine’s Day concert happening this month, what better cocktail to make than something that feels romantic? So we got together with Judith Yan (conductor of Everything is Romantic) and had the SSO’s Tom Brown pass the skills he learned from John Cote last month on to her.
Without further ado, let’s get into February’s gin recipe for a romantic twist on a classic French 75.
What You’ll Need
- Champagne flute
- Cheater tin and strainer
- Bar spoon
- Ice
- After Dark gin
- Hibiscus syrup (or substitute)
- Lemon
- Champagne of choice
Ingredients & Measurements
- 1oz After Dark gin
- 1/2oz hibiscus syrup (or substitute)
- 1/2oz fresh lemon juice
- 2-3oz champagne
Recipe
- Fill cheater tin with ice
- Add 1oz After Dark gin
- Add 1/2oz hibiscus syrup
- Add 1/2oz fresh lemon juice
- Stir
- Strain into champagne flute
- Top with 2-3oz champagne
- Garnish with lemon twist
- Enjoy!
Notes
SYRUP SUBSTITUTIONS: A typical French 75 is made with simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water). For this Valentine’s Day themed French 75 though, we substituted the simple syrup for pink hibiscus. This way, we still get the sweetness from the syrup, but we also bring in another flavour (and it gives our drink the pink colour, making it feel more on-theme!). If you are wanting to stick with the pink theme but hibiscus isn’t your choice, strawberry and raspberry are also delicious options! Almost anything could work though.
TIP FROM TOM: Stirring the first three ingredients in a cheater tin instead of shaking them over ice gives the base of the cocktail a smoother texture and a less diluted taste.
WATCH THE RECIPE! The videos below show this cocktail being made in real time. Choose the quick, straight-forward recipe video (left) or the full walkthrough with Tom Brown from the SSO alongside conductor Judith Yan (right).
BUY AFTER DARK GIN HERE!
