Rhubarbubbly
HER VALENTINE COCKTAIL
The recipes we create at Thyme are shaped by the seasons, ingredients that are delicious at that particular moment in the garden. With rhubarb, at this time of year, we are prepared to cheat a little. ‘Forced rhubarb’, a process discovered by happenstance in The Chelsea Physic Garden in 1817, is the process whereby rhubarb plants are covered, forcing the plant to search for light; the resulting stalks are thin, delicate and delightfully pink. Forced rhubarb is tart and needs very little preparation to bring out its flavour, just the magical addition of sugar. Look out for rhubarb from the 'Yorkshire Triangle', simply because it is traditionally the best quality British rhubarb you can buy. This bubbly pink cocktail is perfect for a Valentine’s toast alongside your loved one's 'Call me Old Fashioned'.
For the syrup:
Ingredients
1 kg of forced rhubarb (this should give you around 500 ml of juice)
250 g caster sugar
Method
Chop the rhubarb and feed it through a juicer until you have 500 ml.
Pour the juice into a saucepan, combine with the sugar and bring to simmer. Be careful not to boil.
Hold the temperature around 80°C for 15 minutes to pasteurize the syrup.
Strain into clean bottles using cheesecloth or muslin.
The syrup should keep for 4 weeks in the refrigerator.
For her cocktail:
Ingredients
15 ml forced rhubarb syrup
15 ml lemon juice
25 ml H by Hine VSOP
10 ml Lanique rose petal liqueur
5 ml Pernod absinthe
1 dash Bittermens burlesque bitters
Top up with Nyetimber classic cuvee
Garnish rhubarb spiral
Method
Shake all ingredients (except the Nyetimber and garnish) in a shaker
Double strain into a champagne flute.
Top up with Nyetimber.
