Wine had always been my drink of choice rather than a cocktail. I think because wine is a match for food and I am food obsessed including and beyond jam. But some years ago I strayed from this habit to enjoyment of a gin and tonic. That summer I drove the usual route from my home in the Boston area to Camden, Maine to visit my friend Nancy. I had discovered that Nancy – a writer of food, and also a fan of matching wine with a meal, liked an occasional gin and tonic in the summer. So when I planned a summer visit I searched for a good gin and presented Nancy with the bottle and the required tonic and fresh lime. The memory of sitting on her porch at the end of a wonderful fragrant Maine day –lobsters in our future – has lingered and developed into a full- blown habit to be repeated every summer. The wonderful memory made me an aficionado of a good cocktail. Here are two that I particularly like - perhaps because the recipe ingredients include my jam.
Both cocktails served in a rocks glass.
Pear Gin Fizz
Yield: 2 cocktails
Ingredients
- 2 oz Gin
- 3 Tbsp Bonnie’s Lemon Pear with Lemon Verbena jam
- A pinch of cinnamon
- 6 oz lemon soda water
- ice
Garnish: lemon peel, cinnamon stick, and a thinly sliced pear
Directions
In a cocktail shaker combine gin, Lemon Pear jam, and cinnamon. Add ice and shake until frothy
Strain the mixture into two rocks glasses. Add equal parts of the lemon soda water to each glass. Mix to combine.
Add ice, and a cinnamon stick For the holidays a few cranberries are a good touch.
Gin & Jam Cocktail
Yield: 2 cocktails
Ingredients
- 6 oz gin
- 3 oz cranberry juice
- 3 oz orange juice
- 2 tablespoons of Bonnie’s Cranberry Orange with Brandy & Spices and more for garnish
- 3 oz sparkling white wine such as prosecco
- ice
Garnish: Fresh cranberries, thyme sprigs, orange segments and/or strips of orange peel
Directions
In a cocktail shaker combine gin, cranberry juice, orange juice, and 1 tsp of cranberry jam, ice and shake until frothy.
- Top with Sparkling wine and garnish with cranberries, more jam, and a sprig of thyme and orange zest.