a cocktail with thyme?

That’s the question I asked myself! It’s the joke in my house that I thrive best when cooking ‘something from nothing’. That was the case when I first made this cocktail – I didn’t have much in the way of fun drink ingredients in the fridge. It was a Saturday night and some friends were over. I was busy that day and admittedly, wasn’t really prepared for entertaining. Regardless, I was feeling crafty and set to work with what I could find to make a special cocktail. I had gin, thyme (left over from cooking this quiche earlier that morning), a couple of limes, and some grapefruit Perrier. The result was so delicious that I made it again to share here! This drink is fresh, punchy, and herby.

Ingredients (for 4 cocktails):
– 5 sprigs of thyme
– 2 juicy limes
– 2 cups Grapefruit Perrier (amount varies depending on the size of your glass and how strong you would like your drink)
– 4 ounces of Gin ( I used the Dillon’s that I picked up in this post here)

For the simple syrup:
– 1/4 cup white sugar
– 1/4 cup water
– a large piece of lime rind
– 2 sprigs of thyme

For the salt rimmer (optional):
– 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
– finely grated rind from half a lime

Making Your Cocktail with Thyme

To make the simple syrup – boil the sugar and water together in a small pot until the mixture becomes syrupy – this should take about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and put a large piece of lime rind and a few sprigs of time in the syrup to flavour it, about 5-10 minutes will be sufficient.

I chose to put a salt rimmer on my glass but this is certainly optional. To make the mixture, use a muddle to combine the salt and the lime rind. Place the salt mixture on a small plate; wet the rim of your glass and place it in the salt mixture to coat the rim.

Add ice to your glasses before pouring the drinks. In a martini shaker, combine the gin, juice from 2 large limes (about 4 ounces in total), the simple syrup and a few sprigs of thyme. Add ice and shake until cold. Pour the mixture equally into 4 glasses. Top the glasses with grapefruit Perrier and garnish with a sprig of thyme. Serve up!

Shop: Anthropologie striped linen napkin (remember it from this post last week?! Different uses!)