Three Cocktails Boasting a Palmetto State Surprise
Enjoy them in our award-winning restaurants, and then make them at home, too!
By Kimberly Duncan
Frank’s Lavender Gin Sour
(Made in Charleston by SC’s First Organic Distillery!)
2 oz. Nippitaty Organic Gin
1 tsp. Honey Lavender Syrup*
(See below. Scale down this recipe if you choose.)
1 fresh organic egg white
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice to taste
Shake and serve in a martini glass. Delight in it!
* Homemade Recipe for Honey Lavender Syrup
(Scale down this recipe if you need to!)
3 ½ heaping tablespoons lavender buds
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup honey
4 cups water
Boil buds in water for 15 to 20 minutes and strain buds. Add honey and sugar. Mix until dissolved.
A Few Words About
Nippitaty Organic Gin
Nippitaty, SC’s first organic distillery, was established in Charleston in 2017 and has made a big splash there, here and everywhere. The name was chosen for a very specific reason; Nippitaty is defined as a particularly good and strong liquor. When it came to deciding the spirit to begin with there was no hesitation. It was always gin. (They’ve since expanded to vodka, too!)
Like food, gin has an endless number of flavor combinations. That detail allows the flexibility to manipulate botanicals and change subtle nuances in taste and aroma; sweet vs. spicy and floral vs. earth. The founders chose a “New Wave Style” gin which allowed them to pull back the pungent and more traditional juniper, and enhance other traditional botanicals like citrus, cardamom, and cucumber. Because of their dual batch method – where they combine two different gin recipes to create one smooth, sweet spirit—Nippitaty is not only appealing to the gin connoisseur but to the novice and even skeptics, too! Check them out at www.nippitatydistillery.com to discover new recipes, media shout-outs, awards, and more!
Rustic Table’s Wildflower Rose Smash
(Made with SC’s own Dixie Wildflower Vodka)
1 ½ oz. Dixie Wildflower Vodka
1 oz. Champs De Provence Rose
¼ oz. Orange Blossom Honey
½ oz. lime juice
5 Raspberries
6 Mint Leaves
Top with Ginger Beer
Muddle raspberries and mint in a shaker. Add vodka, Rose, lime juice and honey. Shake well and strain in a low-ball glass over ice. Top with ginger beer and enjoy!
A Few Words About Dixie Vodka
Dixie Vodka is an independent, American-made craft spirit with roots in the New South renaissance. The company was born in 2014 in hot pursuit of creating an all-American premium craft vodka that epitomized the best of Southern flavor, craftsmanship, and hospitality. On their journey to count themselves among the fastest-growing spirit brands in the nation, Dixie has paired with local farmers—from beekeepers in Savannah to mint farmers in Kentucky—to infuse authentic, regional flavors into what some are calling the “South’s Best Tasting Vodka.”
They’ve come a long way from selling vodka door-to-door in the Palmetto State’s “Holy City” and continue to search high and low to uncover the South’s best and brightest flavors. Raise a glass of Dixie Vodka and celebrate the South! Check out www.dixievodka.com for details you will want to know all about.
Bistro 217’s Arrogant & Shabby
(Made with Palmetto Distillery’s Jasper’s Gin)
2 oz. Jasper’s Gin
½ oz. simple syrup
3 to 4 slices locally sourced cucumber
4 locally grown basil leaves
¾ oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
Muddle cucumber and basil in shaker with lime and simple syrup. Add gin and shake. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with cucumber slice and basil leaf.
A Few Words About Jasper’s Gin
Charleston Distilling Company is theproudcreator of the one and only Jasper’s Gin. They are a
family-owned distillery that makes handcrafted spirits for people who care about how things are made. Using only hand-selected grains, they mill, mash, ferment, distill, age, blend, and bottle – bringing the highest quality spirits from the farm to your glass. Check out charlestondistilling.com for more interesting info you will want to know!