We made up some drinks to celebrate(?) the boat getting stuck in the Suez canal.
Tasting Notes
Rory: Mine’s a little bright, overly lemon. Maybe overly sweet, too, but just a touch too far. The lemon boat is a surprising pain to work around, which I didn’t see coming.
The Suze and Zirbenz go together surprisingly well, I think, but it’s hard to get at them. I wonder that this might’ve been better as a stirred drink, dropping the lemon juice altogether and the simple down to more like 1⁄4oz… which isn’t
I’m generally pretty mixed on Zirbenz. I’ve gone through a few bottles, but mostly due to the novelty; up until today I’ve only been fond of one cocktail using it (Maximillian).
Ryan’s drink works better, I think; it’s neat using the Suze as a flavoring rather than the base, and it comes together with the gin and Zirbenz really nicely.
Ryan: We wanted to honor the occassion and invent a drink. We couldn’t decide which, so we made two. The gin-based drink just works, quite well. It’s pleasantly herbal and bitter, with just enough sweet, and the lemon wedge works well to give a sense of citrus and brightness without there being anything there.
The other drink is also on its way to something good, but it’s slightly unbalanced–too much lemon. However, the zirbenz and suze do go together very well, which is a little surprising given that they’re both so herbal and forward–you might expect them to clash, but they don’t.
Recipe
Left (Ryan’s):
- 1 1⁄2 oz Spirit Works Gin
- 1⁄2 oz Suze
- 1⁄4 oz Zirbenz
- 1⁄4 oz rich simple syrp
- 1 dash angostura bitters
Right (Rory’s):
- 1 1⁄2 oz Suze
- 1⁄2 oz Zirbenz
- 1⁄2 oz lemon juice
- 1⁄2 oz rich simple syrup
Source: Original