I Dreamed a Dream
I recently received a bottle of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. I’ve been crazy about that sexy bottle since I saw it on a trip to Ireland a couple years ago. It’s simple mesmerizing. Gunpowder gin is copper pot distilled in Ireland with botanicals sourced locally and all throughout Europe and Asia. Including the countries of Germany, Romania, Macedonia, India and China to name a few. Their website has a map of where the botanicals come from with a description of each. They also include which botanicals are distilled directly and which are vapor infused as part of the process. Probably the most interesting botanical is the namesake, gunpowder tea. Gunpowder tea is a form of Chinese tea in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. Its English name comes from its resemblance to grains of gunpowder.
The gin is a London dry style gin with bright citrus and green tea notes balanced with juniper.
To make the cocktail, I complimented the gin with more botanicals. One of my favorite US based Amaro distilleries is Don Ciccio & Figli. They also make wonderful liqueurs. The Fico D’India is a prickly pear liqueur with delicate cactus fruit flavors. Made by hand, it never tastes fake like so many syrups you find in older Arizona bars & resorts.
There are a couple of the prickly pear fruits in the picture if you are curious about what they look like. They are abundant here in Arizona, but a bit tricky to harvest since they are covered in tiny needles that need to be burned off before processing. They easily pierce leather gloves so I usually pick them with tongs and use a lighter to burn off the needles.
I also added Royal Rose Saffron Syrup. Rose Rose syrups are certified organic and made in small batches in Newcastle, Maine. They have only a few ingredients and reliably taste as you would expect of a fresh made syrup. The Maine Blueberry flavor will make you believe you picked them yourself! I finished off the cocktail with a couple dashes grapefruit bitters to really punctuate the bright citrus notes found in the gin.
The cocktail name is a nod to the whimsy inherent in the the story of the gin. The mysterious jackalope on the package. “Conceived in a lightning storm, says the legend, the jackalope appears in Drumshanbo at will, as in a dream. And then: gone in a flurry of feet and antlers.”
I Dreamed a Dream
1 oz Don Ciccio & Figli Fico D’India Liqueur (prickly pear)
.25 oz Royal Rose Saffron Syrup
3 dashes Grapefruit Bitters
Stir over ice until chilled. Double strain into a coupe Garnish with a peeled slice of fresh prickly pear coated in sugar.
