Tastes like a Lemon Drop. Refreshing for the summer. What more could you want? An entirely interchangeable recipe? You got it. If you don’t have lemon, muddle any other citrus. If you don’t have rosemary, muddle any other herb. If you don’t have seltzer, you can top with tonic or even kombucha. Consider this your opportunity to experiment with whatever you have on hand.
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Muddled Lemon and Rosemary Spritzer
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
- Sprigs from 5 stems of rosemary (about 1/3 cup of sprigs)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- Lemon slices for garnish
- Rosemary sprigs for garnish
- Seltzer
- Gin or vodka (optional)
Instructions
- Put sugar and water into a small saucepan and heat gently—don’t boil—until sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
- In a small, clean jar with a lid, add lemon juice, lemon zest, rosemary, and vinegar. Pound or muddle the contents gently with a muddler stick, pestle, or the handle of a stainless steel spoon to break everything down and to release the lemon and rosemary oils.
- Add simple syrup liquid. Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then, strain into a jar with a lid, which will keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.
- For a mocktail, add 3 tablespoons of syrup to a glass full of ice, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and top with seltzer.
- For a cocktail, in a cocktail shaker with ice, add 1 ounce of fresh lemon juice, 1 ounce simple syrup, and 2 ounces of gin or vodka. Shake for 20 seconds or until chilled and combined. Add to a cup with ice and top with seltzer and optional garnish of a rosemary sprig and a slice of fresh lemon.
Notes
Other combinations that we like:
- Lemon + Rosemary + Simple Syrup + Seltzer
- Lemon + Thyme + Simple Syrup + Seltzer
- Grapefruit + Sage + Simple Syrup + Tonic
- Blood Orange or Orange + Basil or Mint + Simple Syrup + Seltzer
The simple syrup is key and the only thing that is not interchangeable. It offsets the herbaceousness of the herbs and tart citrus.
Comments (4)
When does the rosemary go in?
Hi Amanda! The rosemary is added in step two when you combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, and rosemary in with the vinegar. Cheers!
What do you think of subbing agave for the simple syrup?
Hi Laurie! Great question. Agave nectar can be 1 or 1.5 times sweeter than simple syrup, so if you go the agave route we just suggest using 3/4 or half of the amount. Let us know how it tastes!