[hendrick's lemongrass sour]

2 oz Hendrick's Gin
1 oz Lime Lemongrass Cordial (*)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
1/2 Egg White
3 dash Thai Basil/Kaffir Tincture (**)

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a short highball (or cocktail) glass.

In the first "Best of" post, I mentioned a drink that Ben Sandrof made for Corey Bunnewith and I; however, I did not inquire about the recipe since it was a busy night for the bartenders once the party got in full swing. After the fact, I did get in contact with Mr. Sandrof, and I am thankful that he sent me the recipe. Lucky that I did not inquire about the recipe then, because it was too lengthy and detailed to have been easily provided at that moment at Tales.

(*) Ben writes "if you aren't the DIY home bartender type, Belvoir Farms makes a decent one, but it isn't as fresh as what you'd get on your own." If you are the DiY type, I was able to find this one here which I have paraphrased below:

Lime Lemongrass Cordial (makes 2 cups)
• 16 oz Sugar
• 8 oz Water
• 1 stalk Lemongrass (roughly chopped)
• Zest of 1 Lime
• 6 oz lime juice
Heat lemongrass and lime zest in saucepan with sugar and water, bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar, and then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Let cool, and then add lime juice. Strain into bottle for storage.

I have no clue how similar this recipe is to what Ben used in his drink, but it should be a good starting point. Adding an ounce of vodka per pint of product will also help stabilize this syrup for longer term storage in the refrigerator (otherwise, microbial growth will eventually win out).

(**) Basil/Kaffir Tincture
• 20 oz Overproof Grain Neutral Spirit (Spirytus)
• 15 gram (1/2 oz) Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 10 gram (1/3 oz) Fresh Thai Basil
Infuse for 5 days and strain into a dasher bottle.