Gin Cocktail Recipes

Original Recipe:

• 5 oz Gin
• 5 oz Crème de Violette
• 1 Egg White
• 5 oz Lemon Juice
• 5 oz Simple Syrup
• A rinse of Absinthe

Garnish:

• Fennel
• Wormwood (Optional)

Steps

Rinse the glass in Absinthe. I like to get it as close to the rim as possible so you get a little taste on the tongue when you take a sip. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a shaker without ice and shake to mix. Add ice and shake your ass off. Garnish with fennel and wormwood — if you happen to have them.

This original cocktail, the Fly-Away Day, is in honor of the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly who laid her eggs on my fennel plant and let me care for her babies.

I didn’t intend to be a caterpillar steward, but the caterpillars were there, and the wasps were buzzing around, ready to make a meal of them. So, I got an enclosure to keep them safe, and it allowed me to watch as chubby caterpillars turned to chrysalides (cocoons) until the day this drink is named after, fly-away day. I just released the last butterfly a few days ago. Google “Eastern Black Swallowtail” if you’re curious — they are big, beautiful creatures!

I put a lot of thought into this, and I’m glad it turned out tasty. The creme de violette represents the flower part of the cycle, as the grown butterflies eat flower nectar. The egg white is from the eggs lain on my fennel. The rest of the ingredients are there to support the floral theme. The fennel is there because that is what the caterpillars eat, and the wormwood is there because of the Absinthe in the drink.

The whole butterfly project lasted about a month, and I’ll be better prepared next year! I plan to plant a lot more fennel, as well as parsley and dill. I also wanted to get more native flowering plants in my garden to feed the butterflies and the bees.

Thank you for reading this far. It was a lot to read because it’s a special cocktail.