I know, today probably almost everybody expects a special Easter drink or something suitable for the festive occasion, but quite frankly I had no real desire for such things today. When I have a look around, I get the feeling that Easter specials are lurking almost everywhere and personally this has become a bit too much of the good. But if you really want to, you can of course also take one of the cocktails presented here on the blog to celebrate the Easter time, I am quite sure the Easter Bunny will for example like the Dr. K. Nickel’s Delight. Well, perhaps even today’s cocktail could be an Easter drink somehow.
The reason for that is that the Hay-Green Tea-Ginger Fizz comes with a little hay at the rim of the glass. And Easter eggs are often found in a hayloft… ok, I guess you are not really convinced. I have to admit, I’m not convinced either, so we better stop talking about that Easter garnish thing. But nonetheless I have already said the most important thing about today’s article: It is about a drink with hay. Made with the Hay spirit from the Sauerländer Edelbrennerei to be exact. And to create a drink with this particular distillate was both a challenge and great fun at the same time. I have never before been able to use the flavors of fresh hay in such a way and it was very exciting to think about aromatic combinations for this spirit.
Ultimately, I decided to create a rather refreshing cocktail most suitable for the spring season. Therefore I wanted to combine the flowery and grassy flavors of the hay spirit with more fresh, yet complex aromas, which then led to the idea for a Fizz. However, I have altered the classic way of mixing a fizz a little bit by replacing the classic soda with a green tea & ginger soda that I made in a soda siphon. The final drink is than fizzed up with this highly aromatic and refreshing soda. You can certainly try to do this with a conventional soda stream, but the finer carbonization of the siphon is ultimately the more beautiful variant. The result is a fresh and slightly spicy Fizz with a subtle, tart tea note but still with the hay spirit playing the leading role. You cannot describe it, you have to try it!
Recipe:
5 cl Sauerländer Edelbrennerei Heugeist (hay spirit)
3 cl lemon juice
2 cl of sugar syrup
Green tea & ginger soda (see below)
Green tea & ginger soda: Depending on the size of your soda siphon, bring a corresponding amount of water with small ginger slices in it to the boil (approx. 1 handful of ginger per liter) and make a green tea with that ginger water (preferably use a good loose green tea in the necessary amount). Leave the ginger slices in the tea and allow it to cool completely. Then pour the tea with the ginger slices through a fine sieve (so that the ginger slices will be filtered out) and fill in a soda siphon (alternatively you can of course try a soda stream, even if that leads to a different carbonization, see above). Load the siphon with a carbon dioxide capsule suitable for your siphon, shake and put in the fridge.
Preparation: Shake all ingredients except for the green tea & ginger soda in a shaker on ice and strain into your glass filled with ice cubes. Finally top off with the green tea & ginger soda from the siphon.
Glass: Highball / Fizz
Garnish: hay (attached to the rim of the glass with a small clip)
Buying sources: At specialized retailers or online.