Kumquat, gin, St. Germain, Pellegrino, simple syrup, & rosemary.
Our neighbor Ana has a beautiful kumquat tree in her yard. She recently gifted us a little bag of fruit, and the kumquats are so sweet that I’ve been eating them whole (peel and all) as a snack. I also slice them in half and toss them into salads and, most importantly, muddle them for cocktails. Her gift bag of fruit lead to our latest recipe, the Sparkling Kumquat Gin Cocktail.
Ironically, I first set out to create a tequila-based drink. Ana loves tequila, and I wanted to find a simple kumquat and tequila drink for her to enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn’t find one I love, but I did find inspo from several other recipes.
We’ve been on a gin kick since creating our copycat recipe of the Sundeck Lemonade from Hotel Del Coronado, so I grabbed gin and elderflower liqueur, hoping to concoct something for her to drink on an afternoon boat ride around our lake. I was fresh out of both tonic and club soda but had some Pellegrino left over from a party, and I figured bubble are bubbles, right? The elderflower liqueur isn’t quite sweet enough to balance out the citrus, so a bit of simple syrup is needed. Many recipes start with muddling kumquats with sugar, but I often find that to be too sweet.
We tried several different garnishes — mint, thyme, rosemary — and landed on the rosemary simply because mint + any orange citrus reminds me of the awful taste of orange juice after brushing my teeth. But I highly recommend trying whatever herb you love. Don’t let my insanity guide your choice of garnish.
If you’re looking for more kumquat inspo, check out this piece from Food&Wine.com. In the meantime, we’ll spending Spring Break on our boat, sipping these Kumquat Gin drinks.
INGREDIENTS
4 kumquats
3 oz Pellegrino
2 oz of your favorite gin
1 oz St. Germain
.5 oz simple syrup
rosemary or mint for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquats with the simple syrup.
Add ice, gin, and St. Germain. Shake for 15 seconds.
Pour into a glass over ice and top with Pellegrino.
Garnish with rosemary or mint.
Kumquat, gin, St. Germain, Pellegrino, simple syrup, & rosemary.
- 4 kumquats
- 3 oz Pellegrino
- 2 oz of your favorite gin
- 1 oz St. Germain
- .5 oz simple syrup
- rosemary or mint for garnish
-
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquats with the simple syrup.
-
Add ice, gin, and St. Germain. Shake for 15 seconds.
-
Pour into a glass over ice and top with Pellegrino.
-
Garnish with rosemary or mint.
