Lately, I've had an infatuation with fresh fruit cocktails. Last October I played bartender for my roommate's birthday, creating a 4-cocktail menu which included fresh muddled tomatoes with basil, gin, and lemon; a tequila, lemon, honey creation; cucumber, vodka, mint; and finally I mixed Audrey Saunders' (Pegu Club) Pisco Punch.

This past weekend for Memorial Day, I rented a house in Palm Springs with a brunch of friends. Naturally, I played bartender all weekend. Palm Springs has TONS of citrus so we picked (literally) about 30 pounds of grapefruit, as well as fresh lemons (unfortunately oranges are now out of season). From that I served a muddled raspberry, grapefruit, gin creation, as well as the tomato, basil, lemon, gin cocktail. I also threw together a take on the Gershwin which called for ginger, lemon, honey, gin; plus a muddled strawberry, balsamic vinegar, gin drink-- all proved winners. 

Another super simple cocktail I look forward to trying is a seasonal rhubarb, gin, lime libation from newbie Elements Kitchen in Pasadena. All you need to do is make a really basic rhubarb simple syrup, then mix in gin, juice, and cardamom. I just love the addition of cardamom. Muddle, shake, serve!

Rhube-Card

2 oz. CapRock Gin (or other gin)

1 oz. fresh lime juice

1/4 oz. rhubarb syrup*

1 in. piece fresh rhubarb - cut into 4 pieces

4 cardamom seeds

In a mixing glass, muddle the lime juice, fresh rhubarb, preserve and cardamom. Add gin, ice and shake well. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over rock ice.

*For the rhubarb syrup combine equal parts sugar and water (1 cup sugar to 1 cup water) plus 5 ounces chopped rhubarb. Bring mixture to boil, cook 25 minutes, strain mixture discarding rhubarb.