• Yield: 2 drinks

  • Time: 5 minutes prep, 5 minutes total


Muddled sage leaves echo the herbaceous flavors of gin and the astringency of grapefruit in this elegant cocktail.


Ingredients

  • 6 medium sage leaves

  • 1/4 or one large lemon, cut into 2 wedges

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 4 ounces gin

  • 4 ounces fresh grapefruit juice

  • 2 twists of grapefruit peel for garnish

Instructions


1. Put the sage leaves, lemon wedges, and sugar in a cocktail shaker and crush them together with about a dozen determined strokes of a cocktail muddler or the end of a slender rolling pin or wooden spoon.


2. Add the gin, grapefruit juice, and a large scoop of ice cubes. Cap and shake vigorously.


3. Strain into 2 martini glasses and garnish with the grapefruit peel twists.


Excerpted from The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld (Morrow Cookbooks, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2005). © 2005 by Jerry Traunfeld. Used with permission.