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Special thanks to Drizly for sponsoring this post in honor of World Gin Day. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Use code ELARI to get $5 off your first order.
Celebrate your favorite graduate (and World Gin Day!) with a well-chilled Gin + Green Chartreuse cocktail. And get ready to slap your herb garnish!
Ah, gin. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
I'm a big fan of gin-infused cocktails. Nothing beats an ice cold gin & tonic on a hot summer night.
But there are so many other things you can do with gin! If you're new to the world of gin, you are in for a treat!
I love experimenting with different brands of gin. There are SO many out there, and there are such a wide variety of flavor profiles available. Some are a bit heavy-handed with the botanical and floral elements while others have much more pronounced juniper notes.
I have a few favorite brands of gin, and was excited to see how many options were available on Drizly.com.
I love the idea behind Drizly - it brings the liquor store right to your home. You can get your favorite beer/wine/liquor and even extras like mixers and fruit juices right from your phone or computer.
And there are so.many.options!
So after perusing about a gazillion gin options, I decided to go with a local favorite, Brooklyn Gin.
I find that some brands of gin have a flavor that is a bit too pronounced to use in mixed drinks, but the Brooklyn Gin is perfect. It's a craft spirit made right here in New York with fresh citrus peels and hand-cracked juniper and it is oh so incredibly smooth and well balanced.
So, what to make in celebration of World Gin Day?
The inspiration for this cocktail came from a pineapple sage plant that I bought when I was in Indiana in the spring. I was chatting with a farmer at the local farmers market, buying some starter plants to bring home to New York for my garden.
I was checking out the herb selection when he pointed out pineapple sage. I was immediately intrigued - it looks pretty sage-y, but the flavor is like a slightly herbaceous pineapple. He told me it's great in tea, but my mind went right to happy hour cocktails!
If you can't find pineapple sage, fresh mint or Thai basil would work beautifully here as well. But it's definitely an interesting herb, so definitely check it out!
For this cocktail, I'm calling for a fun garnish method - slapping the herb leaves.
I've seen this at a few bars in the NYC area. It's a fun way to leave your herb garnish in tact, unlike what happens when you muddle. And the act of slapping the leaf between your palms releases just the right amount of essential oil to slightly perfume your beverage.
Floating it on top of the cocktail is a fun, elegant alternative to shoving a sprig of herbs into a glass, and the aroma of the herb hits you every time you take a sip.
So go ahead, slap that herb!!
Curious about the name of this cocktail? After my son graduated from preschool, we attended a class party at the home of some friends who live on Grace Lane.
The kids were running around in the sprinklers, having a blast, while the parents and teachers chatted it up while snacking and sipping on brunch-time cocktails.
Hey, school is out and those teachers deserve a DRINK!!!
So I was telling everyone about the new, yet-to-be-named gin cocktail I was working on, and it came to me. The Grace Lane Graduate.
I've been obsessed with Chartreuse ever since my trip to New Orleans a few years ago, and it goes incredibly well with gin.
This cocktail calls for Green Chartreuse, as opposed to Yellow Chartreuse. Here's a bit about the difference between the two from Wikipedia:
Green Chartreuse (110 proof or 55%) is a naturally green liqueur made from 130 herbs and plants macerated in alcohol and steeped for about 8 hours. A last maceration of plants gives its color to the liqueur. Yellow Chartreuse (80 proof or 40%), which has a milder and sweeter flavour and aroma.
Both are delicious (I recently tried Yellow Chartreuse for the first time) but I wanted that slightly absinthe-y flavor here.
To sweeten this cocktail, I used a little bit of simple syrup. Feel free to use more or less to your taste.
My husband has been doing a ketogenic diet lately, so I made a batch of simple syrup with monkfruit sweetener and it worked great here.
Simple syrup is incredibly easy to make in the microwave. Just put equal parts of granulated sugar and water in a microwave-safe container (I like using a Pyrex measuring cup) and microwave, stirring every 15-20 seconds, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool and keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
It's great for cocktails, iced coffee, iced tea... really great to have on hand, especially in the summertime.
Well, there you have it. The Grace Lane Graduate.
If you're looking for more refreshing summer cocktails, 2 of our favorites are this guava tequila cocktail and this watermelon cocktail.
What's your go-to summer cocktail? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.
Looking for more World Gin Day inspiration? My buddy Matt from Nomageddon made this Rosé French 75, and Sandi from Fearless Dining made Honey Gin Strawberry Ginger Cocktails.
Still thirsty? Check out some more of our happy hour favorites:
- The Herbalist
- Cucumber Gin Elderflower Smash
- DM Bloody Mary
- Chile Libre
- The Aztec
- DM Old Fashioned
- Bourbon Rouge
- DM Espresso Martini
- Rooster Shots
📖 Recipe
The Grace Lane Graduate
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 3 minutes
- Yield: 1 Cocktail 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Shaker
- Cuisine: American
Description
Celebrate your favorite graduate (and World Gin Day!) with a well chilled Gin + Green Chartreuse cocktail. And get ready to slap your herb garnish!
Ingredients
- 1 ounce gin (I used Brooklyn Gin)
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce Green Chartreuse
- ½ ounce simple syrup (I used one made with monkfruit sweetener, see note in post above)
- 2 dashes orange bitters (I used Angostura)
- A splash of club soda
- 1 fresh pineapple sage or mint leaf
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in gin, lime juice, Chartreuse, simple syrup, and bitters and shake well. Strain into a coupe and top with club soda.
- Place sage or mint leaf on the palm of one hand and slap the other hand down quickly but firmly on top of it. Float slapped leaf on top of the cocktail for garnish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 129
- Sugar: 7.5 g
- Sodium: 7.2 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.4 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sandi Gaertner
This looks amazing!! Love the flavors with my fav gin!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much, Sandi! Cheers to that, and to Brooklyn Gin! 😉
Liz Thomson
I love gin!! I'm definitely going to send this recipe to my husband (he's the cocktail maker in the house, haha) and give this a try!
Gloria
Gin is one of those "love it or hate it" ingredients. Unfortunately, I am on the negative side here. I would, however, give this recipe a try with vodka....I think it would be delicious as well.
aditi bahl
I have never tried making cocktails at home. But i prefer to have a gin based rather than vodka based one. This recipe sounds easy to put together and looks great. Shall try this one.
Kat Jeter
I've been drinking gin more often lately and I'm really learning to appreciate it. I'm looking forward to giving this cocktail a try.
Lauren
I love finding local brands for cocktails! While I'm not a huge gin drinker, I can appreciate a good cocktail that's not too overspiced. This sounds perfect!
Anne Lawton
This drink looks so refreshing! I have two pineapple sage plants in my yard, it is so good and they produce beautiful flowers at the end of the summer.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
Can you believe that I have never made a cocktail at home before!! This would save me SO much money! This looks delicious!
Anne Murphy
That slapped leaf technique sounds interesting! And I've sort of wondered what I would do with pineapple sage (I was at a farmer's market looking at herbs just yesterday...) so this gets me thinking... The combination sounds refreshing!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
This looks so refreshing! Am loving the presentation, too bad I don't drink! Recommending this to friends who do 🙂
Leslie
Thank you for including all the substitution ideas! I'm not super familiar with different herbs or cocktail add ins, so that's super helpful!
Jessica Knott (swanky recipes)
This drink is refreshing for a summer party. Making this with some grilled chicken and brisket next week!
Saima
Your cocktail sounds and looks amazing! I don't drink, but have friends who would really love it, I'm sure. Will direct them to your post for sure.
Heather
Beautiful!! Very creative use of pineapple sage and the recipe is spot on . Gorgeous pics and I can't wait to try
Kelsee
Hi there! I'd love to link this recipe as part of a gin cocktail recipe round up! Would you mind and if not, can we use an image as part of our Pinterest collage?
Ashley
Hi Kelsey - you can definitely link to it and use an image on your collage. Send me a link when it’s live - I love gin cocktails Cheers!
Michael Schiaparelli
Delicious! This is a keeper!
Ashley
I'm so glad this was a hit for you, Michael! We really enjoyed your aquavit spin on it, too!
Paloma Mansour
This is a well balanced and refreshing summer cocktail. Not too sweet, not too tart - sure to be quite the crowd pleaser!
Ashley
I'm so glad it was a hit for you, Paloma!! Cheers!