Herb Cocktail Throwdown Round 2 - Tarragon Spritzer

Thank you to Jason from Ancient Fire Wines for guest blogging here  He's got a lot of great blogs.  Please go take a look!  (http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/)

Exchanging drink recipes with Kate and Connie was such a hoot we’re back for a second round, with guest posts and new drinks! We are continuing the theme of herb-infused cocktails this week. Something new is coming along shortly, don’t worry.



For today’s post I went with a white wine spritzer, a typical summertime refresher. I’ve had a few of these, and most often sweet, that didn’t have a nice balance of flavors allowing a nice wine or other ingredients to shine.



I chose tarragon this time for its subtle aroma. I will intertwine it with the drink in two ways. First I am going to rub the inside of the glass with a sprig of tarragon. This will leave some oils behind that will get into the drink. The second way is the sprig used for garnish. This will make the aromas available to your nose to bring it all together.

Ancient Fire 2010 Tarragon Spritzer





2 parts Ancient Fire 2008 Viognier

1/2 part Lillet Blanc

1 tsp simple syrup

1 part proseco

1 lemon slice

2 sprigs of fresh tarragon



Rub the inside of a wine glass with one sprig of tarragon. Add the wine, Lillet, syrup and proseco. Mix gently. Garnish with a lemon slice and a small part of the other tarragon sprig.

This drink is crisp and refreshing with a very subtle sweet fruitiness to it.



The wine we used is from the oldest batch of homemade Viognier we have left and our last really successful batch. There has been one since that was marginal and the one we have going now is too young to say. This wine has held up well for two years and has wonderful floral and fruit aromas and flavors.



The choice of Lillet Blanc was based on something Margot said last night when we were planning our drink. “I always see tarragon and lemon together.” Lillet is a fortified and flavored wine with herbs and citrus. It sounds like the cocktail version of having lemon with tarragon to me. The slight sweetness in the Lillet helps soften the drink a bit and make it fun to drink! You could use club soda instead of sparkling wine, it really depends on how much alcohol you want in the drink.


Cheers!

--Jason