Mel's Gibson

Nostalgic for "a time when people mixed up martinis in the living room and it was superclassy," bartender Gui Jaroschy was determined to create a drink in an elegant pitcher. The result is this Gibson riff that's extra-savory with pickled onion–infused vermouth and pleasantly herbal with rosemary syrup.

Mel's Gibson Cocktail
Photo: © Lucas Allen
Total Time:
20 mins
Yield:
8

Recipe from Food & Wine <em>Cocktails 2015</em> 

Ingredients

PICKLED-ONION VERMOUTH

  • 9 ounces French dry vermouth, preferably Dolin

  • 8 cocktail onions plus 2 ounces of their pickling liquid

ROSEMARY SYRUP

PUNCH

  • 12 ounces Plymouth gin

  • 20 dashes of lemon bitters, preferably The Bitter Truth

  • Ice

  • 24 cocktail onions skewered on 8 picks, for garnish

Directions

Make the pickled-onion vermouth

  1. In a jar, combine the vermouth and cocktail onions with their pickling liquid. Refrigerate for 4 days; shake the jar once a day. Pour the infused vermouth through a fine strainer into a jar, pressing down on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible. Reserve the onions for another use.

Make the rosemary syrup

  1. In a small saucepan, blanch the rosemary in boiling water for 30 seconds. Transfer to ice water to cool. Remove the leaves and transfer to a blender; discard the stems. Add the Simple Syrup and puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain the syrup through cheesecloth into a jar.

Make the punch

  1. In a large pitcher, combine the gin, 10 ounces of the pickled-onion vermouth, 2 ounces of the rosemary syrup and the lemon bitters; refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Fill the pitcher with ice and stir well. Strain into 8 chilled martini glasses and garnish each drink with the skewered cocktail onions.

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