Dollar Bill Cocktail
I’m sure you know tax day is coming. At least it is here in the United States. It’s that awful day where we figure out how much the government took over the past year and if it’s enough for us to get a refund, (yay!) or more likely, what we still owe them. It sucks and I hate it. As a matter of fact I don’t know anyone who likes tax day… unless of course you’re a CPA… or the IRS.
But I’m here to make that awful day a little easier, and what better way to make things easier than with a cocktail? While any drink will work, I thought a cocktail that will have you dreaming of dollar bills would be the best way to go. So, may I present the Dollar Bill cocktail. Yup, that’s the name of today’s drink. No, it’s not a classic, I made it up. I thought about what I’d want to drink while figuring out my taxes… something light, something strong and definitely something green because I want to get some of that green back, baby.
When I think of a lighter cocktail, I tend to think of vodka or gin. And as luck would have it I went to a gin tasting last week for Sipsmith. Set up in London in 2009, Sipsmith is the city’s first traditional copper distillery since 1820. The founders wanted to recreate a classic dry gin in small batches, so set to work researching what would make a gin that harkens back to those classic London gins of the 19th century. What they discovered were copper stills and botanicals (of course) were they way to go. Unlike other gins that use 15 or 20 botanicals, Sipsmith went with 10 including juniper berries (because gin just isn’t gin without juniper), cinnamon, licorice, orange and lemon peel. Those ingredients distilled in copper stills gives you a very smooth dry London gin that’s great neat, on the rocks, mixed with soda or into a cocktail. Being the drink enthusiast I am, I obviously opted for the cocktail, and a green one at that.
You may think that the only way to get a green cocktail is if you use Midori or green creme de menthe. But there is another green liqueur out there that is centuries old and makes a great drink. It’s Green Chartreuse. Made from 130 botanicals, the French liqueur has been around since 1737, and is one of my favorite classic cocktail ingredients. It may seem like a lot, but those 130 botanicals actually compliment the gin quite well. If you’re worried that the combination of this dry gin and Chartreuse might be a little too herbal for your taste, don’t fret. I added some simple syrup and lemon juice to round it out.
It really is the perfect cocktail for tax season. It’s green for the dollars you could be doling out, slightly sweet in the hopes of that refund and a little sour in case, like most of us, you may not be so lucky. But whether you’re in the money or out, a couple of these tipples and you probably won’t care.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 ounces Sipsmith gin
- 3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds or until chilled.
- Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a (fake) dollar bill and serve.
