2 oz. Barr Hill gin
2 oz. clarified lemon honey balsamic shrub
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass, and stir with ice.
Strain over a large ice cube.
Garnish with a red clover.
Clarified lemon honey balsamic shrub
150g lemon peel
240g sugar
710mL apple cider vinegar
450mL lemon juice
90g balsamic vinegar
480g honey
375mL milk
Combine the lemon peel and sugar to make an oleo saccharum. Let sit 24 hours at room temperature. Combine this with the remaining ingredients except for the milk and let the flavors meld in the fridge for three days. Remove the lemon peels and pour the liquid into the milk. Let curdle for 1 hour, and then strain two or three times through a nut milk bag until clear.
I created this drink for the Barr Hill Bee's Knees cocktail competition in 2023, where it was selected as a semi-finalist. The requirements for submission were that the drink feature Barr Hill gin, an element of lemon, and an element of honey, so as to be at least slightly adjacent to a Bee's Knees. I wanted to incorporate balsamic vinegar to provide the drink a deeper, more complex undertone. The obvious way to do this was with a shrub. Even though the balsamic vinegar was such a small fraction of the vinegar used in the shrub, it was still nearly overpowering the delicate wildflower botanicals in the Barr Hill gin, and the texture was not what I was after. To remedy both these problems at once I decided to clarify the shrub, which helped to meld the flavors, provided a richer mouthfeel, and allowed for the drink to be stirred. This is the perfect drink for a warm August evening.