Savory Brown Derby
I love a Brown Derby cocktail. It tastes yummy with a good balance between tart (grapefruit) and sweet (honey simple syrup). Added bonus: a good one is usually in a coupe glass, which is a favorite of mine.
I’m always looking at classic cocktails and adding a “Melanin Twist’ to them, so I decided to play with a favorite. I usually experiment with the Old Fashioned and have come up with some new favorites – like my Pollinator’s Old Fashioned, Brown Butter Old Fashioned, or my New Old Fashioned for Juliet. I’m not sure why I decided to play with a Brown Derby, but I did; and the results, tasty.
I started with a traditional simple syrup and added sage. I usually think of sage as more of a winter flavor, but why not. My first attempt at sage simple syrup was too strong and overpowered the cocktail. With some fine tuning, I got the mix just right. And by fine tuning I mean, I added the leaves to the cocktail shaker along with the other ingredients. Ha!
Sometimes I’m a purist. This is one of those times. The Savory Brown Derby is good. Not great. Tasty but not something I could drink all night like I’ve done with the classic. I did find that when I added grapefruit bitters to the cocktail it punched up the drink considerably and added another layer. Final assessment: if you love sage, you’ll love this drink. Otherwise perfect the classic and stick with it.
Try it and let me know what you think.
Cheers!
~Kimberly Elise
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