Tangerine Celery Collins Food

COLLINS PRESERVE

Steps:

• Combine the whisky, orange liqueur, ginger, apricot preserves and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Muddle the ginger in the shaker, then cover and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with a lemon slice.

GINGER COLLINS

Steps:

• Add the gin, ginger liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup to an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge and a skewer of crystallized ginger.

SIMPLE SYRUP, 3 WAYS

Steps:

• For the ginger-tangerine simple syrup: Put the sugar, ginger, tangerine peel and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, lightly muddling the solids and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool completely, discarding the solids.
• For the gin simple syrup: Put the sugar, cucumber, juniper berries, coriander seeds and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, lightly muddling the solids and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool completely, discarding the solids.
• For the raspberry-vanilla simple syrup: Put the sugar, raspberries, vanilla bean and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, lightly muddling the solids and stirring until the sugar dissolves; simmer 3 minutes. Let cool completely, discarding the solids.

TOM COLLINS WITH BLACK PEPPER AND CHERRIES

Steps:

• Add the cherries, sugar, peppercorns and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then allow that to cook until syrupy and glazed, 10 to 15 minutes. Let come to room temperature. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
• Combine some ice, the gin, lemon juice, a couple dashes of bitters and 2 ounces of the cherry-pepper syrup in a large cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and pour over ice-filled Tom Collins glasses. Top each glass with some club soda. Garnish with the cherries and a crack of black pepper.

SANDY COLLINS

Steps:

• First make the mint simple syrup: Put 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat. Bruise the mint a little by rubbing it between your fingers. Add mint to the syrup and set aside until it cools, at least 1 hour. Strain into a clean jar and discard the mint. Cover the jar with a lid. Leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
• To make the drinks, fill 4 glasses with ice. Put 2 tablespoons of mint simple syrup into each glass. Top with about a cup of club soda and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir gently and garnish with a mint sprig. Add 1 1/2 ounces of gin to each glass, if desired.