Fig smash – end of summer cocktail

Say it isn’t so! Just because it’s almost September summer doesn’t need to end, right? Besides, the fig tree is just coming into its fruit in late August/early September. What a better excuse do we need to lengthen our summer than sip a delicious cocktail on the back porch. Kick-off your shoes and enjoy. Dinner can wait another 20 minutes.

I love a cocktail with the word “smash” in it (not just because I am great at breaking things), but also because it usually is a cue that the cocktail is a “chef-style” cocktail: one that makes use of fresh ingredients in the kitchen as well as booze from the liquor cabinet. It is going to be a fresh (and refreshing!) cocktail, and our Fig smash does just that, even though we’re not technically smashing anything (our kitchen blender does the work for us.)

First, we make a simple syrup with brown sugar and rosemary (because I’ve never met a fig who hasn’t loved either one of those things.) I love infusing flavors into simple syrups…just sugar and water seems so, well simple, and I prefer to infuse a little flavor: be it a kick from chili pepper, florals from lavender flowers or in this case, fresh rosemary sprigs.

Add this to the blender with 4 fresh figs, and you’ve got the base of this cocktail. Then, the booze choice is up to you, really — rum plays nicely, as does bourbon, and who doesn’t love gin?

Having a nice cocktail shaker is crucial since you want to shake, shake, shake the drink with plenty of ice so that it’s super cold. A strainer is important for this cocktail, too. And of course, we love to use a big “king cube” in each drink, so that the ice melts slowly.

Cheers to you, and to summer!

Fig smash - end of summer cocktail

Monika Say it isn’t so! Just because it’s almost September summer doesn’t need to end, right? Besides, the fig tree is just coming into its fruit in late August/early September. What a better excuse do we need to lengthen our summer… Beverages fig cocktail, fig smash, end of summer cocktail, summer cocktails, kitchen cocktail European Print Recipe

 : makes 2 cocktails Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 3 minutes 3 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

For the "smash":

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 few sprigs of rosemary
4 figs, sliced in half, plus 1 more for garnishing the drinks

For the Cocktails:

6 ounces booze of your choice (rum, bourbon, gin, tequila all work, so pick your fave!)
juice of 1 lemon
2 - 4 ounces of the "smash", depending on your tastebuds

Instructions

Make the "not-so-simple" syrup by heating the sugar, water and rosemary until the sugar has dissolved and the rosemary is fragrant. Strain, and add to the blender with the figs. Blend with a few pulses.

Use a Boston shaker to add the cocktail ingredients, taste, and adjust as necessary. Shake vigorously with plenty of ice and strain into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish with fig slices or half of a small fig.