I mucked around with this and finally went back to the original Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s version.  He has a new version that uses a tincture of the cinchona bark.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds like a good idea.  I have tried it and prefer it to this recipe.  Check out the new version here, but this original isn’t bad at all!  I probably don’t use quite as much lemongrass.  This with 209 Gin is unbelievable!

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup chopped lemongrass (roughly one large stalk)
• ¼ cup powdered cinchona bark
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. whole allspice berries
• ¼ cup citric acid
• ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
• ¾ cup of agave syrup for each cup of liquid

1. Combine ingredients, except agave, in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Once mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine sieve, coffee filter, cheese cloth, Pur Filter or all of these until your liquid is as clear and free of sediment as possible.
4. Once you’re satisfied with the clarity of your mix, heat it back up on the stove top or microwave, and then add ¾ cup of agave syrup to each cup of your hot mix.
5. Stir until combined, and store in the attractive bottle of your choice.

You now have a syrup that you can carbonate with seltzer water. Tonic water is ¾ oz. Quinine Syrup to 2 oz. soda water.

To assemble a gin and tonic, use ¾ ounce of syrup, 2 ounces of gin and 2 ounces of soda water over ice.

• 3 egg whites, 9 Tbl or 4 ½ oz. pasteurized egg whites (see note)
• 3 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 dash lemon bitters

1. Lightly whip egg whites
2. Add all ingredients to whipped cream charger
3. Secure top and shake a few times to further break up the egg whites and combine ingredients.
4. Double charge with N₂O, shaking 4-5 times between charges.  Over shaking can cause ingredients to clump and clog charger.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour before use.
6. Keeps a few days refrigerated.

This really works, or at least usually!  I can’t explain why sometimes it does not work.  I made a really good raspberry liqueur with vodka and simple syrup, but then tried to make a raspberry infused tequila which failed completely.  I have found that, just as infusions require different times for different agents, nitrogen cavitation will bring out some flavors better than others.  When it works, you have instant gratification.  When it doesn’t, nothing is lost.  Just dump the ingredients into a mason jar and let it infuse for a few days.

iSi Whipper on Amazon

You are going to put your ingredients in an iSi Whipper, charge it with nitrous oxide and then release the pressure.  The concept is based on physical chemistry.  In the lab, reactants are combined in a chamber filled with nitrogen.  A vacuum is drawn in the chamber which causes the nitrogen to cavitate or bubble.  This speeds up the reaction.  With this technique, nitrogen in the form of nitrous oxide is pumped under pressure into the chamber, (the iSi Whipper).  When the pressure is released, the liquid cavitates.

Your concoction will get better, and stronger, the longer you wait after bottling.  If you don’t have an iSi Whipper or some other brand of nitrous powered whip cream maker, see note below.

• 0.6 oz. (18 gm. or 1 1/2 Tbls) Dry spice or 1/3 cup fruit
• 8 oz. liquid

1. Add all ingredients to iSi Whipper.
2. Seal the whipper, as you would if making whipped cream.
3. Charge the whipper with one N₂O cartridge.
4. Gently swirl the contents of the iSi whipper for 1 minute.
5. Let the whipper stand for 30 seconds.
6. Hold the whipper upright and gently vent the gas.  You want to release the gas as quickly as possible to create cavitation. If you get some liquid spewed out at this point, you are releasing the pressure too quickly.  You might want to hold your hand over the whipper to avoid spraying the ceiling.  Warning – the hissing noise will scare your cat!
7. Open the iSi whipper and allow the mixture to stand until it stops fizzing – about 5 minutes
8. Strain the contents through a cheese cloth or paper towel lining a mesh strainer.
9. Decant into an attractive bottle.

Note:  You can obtain similar results by combining your ingredients in a lidded glass jar, such as a mason jar, and letting it set for a day or two.  Shake the jar daily and taste the liquid.  When it is as strong as you want, strain off the solids and bottle your concoction.

• 1 ½ Tbls. Cardamom pods – crushed
• 8 oz. 100 Proof Vodka
• 8 oz. Simple Syrup

1. Add the cardamom pods and vodka to whipper and follow instructions for nitrogen cavitation
2. Strain the vodka and combine with the simple syrup

Hendrick’s Gin has more of an herbal flavor and less on the juniper.  There is a hint of cucumber.  It’s one of those subtle nuances that I would never have picked up on if not told it was there.  But this “hint of cucumber” has brought forth a plethora of “Cucumber and Hendrick’s” drinks.  They all taste a lot like cucumber to me, which is fine in a salad, but one that I find less than appealing in a cocktail.  I came up with this drink that combines the herbal flavors of Hendrick’s, St. Germaine and Chartreuse with cardamom and cucumber.  The cucumber is muddled just enough by the ice cubes.

• 1 ½ oz. Hendrick’s Gin
• ¾ oz. Chartreuse
• ¾ oz. St Germaine Elderflower Liqueur
• ½ oz. Cardamom Syrup
• 2 slices of cucumber
• 1 oz. Lemon Sour
• Dash of rhubarb bitters

1. Chill an old fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice cubes
3. Shake well with ice 10 – 15 sec.
4. Strain into chilled glass over fresh ice
5. Garnish with cucumber slice

This is  my personal favorite drink.  I doubled down on the bitterness by adding bitters and the flamed orange zest.  I serve it in a double old fashioned with an ice sphere.

• 1 1/2 oz. Plymouth Gin
• 1 1/2 oz. Campari
• 1 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 2 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
• 2 Dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
• Fat Orange Zest

1. Chill an old fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except the zest, in a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain over fresh ice in chilled glass
4. Flame the fat orange zest over the drink and drop it in.