Hello everybody my name is Sarah and I’m a ‘Ginaholic’. Unlike an alcoholic however I’m more likely to stare and sniff at my pretty bottles of gin on the shelf than drink the stuff constantly. Gin is definitely my drink of choice. It took me a while with my IBS to figure out what spirit my body would be okay with, for years I would drink ciders, rums and have all kinds of problems. So I’m thankful for my body settling for lovely gin…

lemon verbena, lime, cocktail, gin, rock rose gin, recipe

Usually my go-to gin is Bristol based Psychopomp- gotta support the local!, but this week I was sent some lovely homemade Rose Rock Gin all the way from Scotland.

Rock Rose Gin gets its wonderful flavour from a carefully selected and put together creation of local and traditional botanicals, Juniper berries, locally harvested Rhodiola rosea off the cliffs, sea buckthorn and Rowan berries. All these combine to make a really fresh and zesty smooth gin- read more about the story behind their gin on the website here!

Our garden is flourishing with Lemon Verbena at the moment – it’s one of the easiest things we grow in the garden. I hardly tend to it and it just pops up in spring- summer with its gorgeous perfume everytime I’m rushing past it. Miko tends to smell like it after he lays directly behind it in his sheltered cat spot in the garden all day. I much prefer that smell over tuna.

Rock Rose Gin has wonderful berry notes and is great for a stand alone G+T but I wanted to get creative, I’m no cocktail expert but I love mixing things up, as you know.

I wanted to make a mixer syrup that I could keep in the fridge to be used whenever I fancied (Friday nights, weekend BBQs, dinner parties) but I feel this Lemon Verbena, peach and lime gin cocktail ..would be truly amazing as a wedding reception drink.

Lemon Verbena, Peach & Lime Gin Cocktail

I got my Agave peach nectar from M&S but i am sure this can be sourced in a variety of specialist delis and online. The peach is lovely in this, but the cocktail is also just as delicious without it.

Ice!

2 tbps of Lemon Verbena and Lime Simple Syrup (See recipe below)

50ml of White Peach Nectar

Double measure of Rose Rose Gin (50ml)

Tonic water or soda to top.

Sprig of Lemon Verbena to garnish and mix

Put ice into a glass of your choosing and pour over the gin, lemon verbena and lime simple syrup and white peach nectar. Give this an initial mix together before topping with tonic water or soda. Garnish and mix further with a long sprig of lemon verbena.

For the Lemon Verbena and Lime Simple Syrup:

200ml water

200g caster sugar

Juice of two limes (sieved)

Two long springs of Lemon Verbena

Put sugar in a small saucepan with the water and lime. Stir to dissolve over low heat on a simmer. Let it simmer for just a couple minutes. Stir in the lemon verbena and take off the heat. Let steep for fifteen minutes, then put the mixture through a sieve, into a jar or bowl and put aside to cool completely.