pokey crocus

2 oz Gin (Knockabout)
1/2 oz Green Tea Syrup (1:1)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 barspoon Crème de Violette (Rothman & Winter)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
For Mixoloseum's Thursday Drink Night last week, the theme was "Spring." I found it rather amusing for it had already started snowing for our April Fool's Day surprise. When I mentioned the theme to Andrea, she came up with a possible drink name, the Pokey Crocus, after the inhabitants of our tardy flower patch next to our drive way. From there, I came up with a drink to match it. Using an Aviation as a starting point, I did two ingredient swaps to create my take on the season with perhaps Todd Maul's Spring in the Afternoon in mind. Beside switching the lemon juice for dry vermouth to counter the other ingredients' sweetness, I exchanged the Aviation's Maraschino liqueur for a green tea syrup. The syrup was rather flavorful as an equal part of Houji-Cha Roasted Green Tea combined with an equal part of sugar. Here, the tea syrup would represent the large amount of green in the crocus plant and the mere barspoon of crème de violette would add the hint of flowers attempting to peek through. Once mixed, the Pokey Crocus provided a hint of floral scent on top of a sweet aroma. With the tea syrup, the sip was sweet and grassy and preceded the floral and herbal swallow.

Update April 4, 2012:
The Pokey Crocus won Drinking in America's spring-themed Cabin Fever Cocktail Challenge! Judge Michael Cerretani, a bartender at Boulder, Colorado's Bitter Bar, described the drink as, "Nicely balanced between sweet and dry, hints of mint and chamomile, with a nice light floral finish. A great springtime cocktail in the sense that it's refreshing and at the same time has multiple layers of flavor. Additionally it's a nice transition from winter in the sense that it’s still spirit forward and intense. I think this cocktail would hold up well at the Bitter Bar because it is unique, well balanced, and nicely reminiscent of the classics."