A Muddled Thought

Pimms, the classic gin based liquor has it’s origins dating back to the 1800’s in a London bar. Invented by James Pimm as a digestif , it features a citrus and spicy herb taste. Today, Pimms is most commonly associated with the cocktail known as Pimms Cup.
We at A Muddled Thought decided in addition to trying out the Pimms Cup to also have some fun and see what other recipes we could invent using Pimms.

The Classic Pimms Cup Recipe-

2 oz Pimms No.1
Fill Highball Glass with Ice
½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Top with 7up, Sprite or Ginger Ale
Note: There are many variations of this recipe. Some use fresh lemonade instead of soda, and add other ingredients including cucumber.

Thinking the Pimms might balance with a Blanco Tequila and the sweetness of some Velvet Falernum, we came up with Rosa Pimms.

The Rosa Pimms. A Combination of Pimms No.1, Blanco Tequila, and Velvet Falernum.

Rosa Pimms

2 Oz- Pimms No .1
1 oz Partida Blanco Tequila
½ oz Velvet Falernum
Fresh Lime Juice(Half a Lime)
2 Dashes Whiskey Barrel Bitters

And to follow the Rosa up, here’s a drink that might help quench your summer thirsts. A new take on punch using Pimms and adding bourbon, Licor 43, and some mint leaves.

A Pimms Splash. A combination of Pimms No.1, Bourbon, Licor 43, Orange Juice and Grapefruit Bitters.

The Pimms Splash-

Pimms Splash
1 oz Pimms No. 1
2 Oz Makers Mark Bourbon
Bar Spoon of Licor 43
¼ Oz Orange Juice
2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters
3 Mint Leaves in bottom of glass(Do not muddle, rather clap them)
Shake with Ice
Fill Old Fashioned Glass with Crushed Ice

Domain De Canton begins with the finest baby Vietnamese ginger that is peeled and cut by hand, then combined with a blend of herbs including Tahitian vanilla beans, and grand champagne cognacs. As it picks up all the flavors of these ingredients, Domain De Canton becomes a near perfect spirit. Domaine De Canton’s unique chemistry allow it to be enjoyed simply over ice while allowing it the freedom to make a great ingredient to inspire new recipes.

A few recipes taking advantage of the ginger taste of Domaine De Canton.

The Mellow Q-

1 oz Canton Ginger Liquor
2 oz Partida Blanco tequila
1 oz Agave nectar
3 Dashes Grapefruit bitters
Splash of pineapple juice
Serve in a High Ball Glass that’s been filled with crushed ice
Top with Q-Tonic

The Mellow Q. A combination of Blanco Tequila, Canton Ginger, Agave Nectar, Grapefruit Bitters, topped with Q-Tonic.

Strawberry Ginger Martini

1 oz Gin
2 oz Domaine de Canton Liqueur
Muddle 3 medium strawberries
Squeeze one fresh lime wedge

Serve in chilled martini glass

Strawberry Ginger Martini. A Combination of Gin, Canton Ginger Liquor and Strawberries.

French Ginger Snap

2 oz Domaine De Canton
½ Oz Citrus Vodka
½ Oz Triple Sec
½ Oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Shake and Serve on the Rock in a double old fashioned glass.

A recipe created by Simon Ford of Plymouth Gin incorporating Plymouth Gin, Zipang Sake and Canton.

Cocktail 203

6-8 Blueberries Muddled
2 parts Plymouth Gin
1 Part Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Part Canton Ginger Liqueur
1/2 Part Simple Syrup
1 Part Zipang Sparkling Sake

Shake all ingredients except Zipang and strain over fresh ice into a collins glass…top with Zipang Sparkling Sake and garnish with a 2 fresh blueberries and a lemon slice.

The Components of the Cocktail 203

And to round things out, a perfect passion cocktail that Dale Degroff created to take advantage of Canton’s unique flavor profile.

1 1/2 ounces Belvedere Cytrus Vodka
1 ounce strawberry Lychee syrup
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur
Lemon peel Garnish
Assemble all the ingredients except the lemon peel garnish in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish by twisting the lemon peel over the top and dropping it into the drink

A Perfect Passion-Created by Dale DeGroff

Editors Note:Several of these recipes were published in other articles on A Muddled Thought and have been included to provide the most range of recipes using Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur.

Q Tonic in it's purest form..

I recently received a sample of Q-Tonic to try out. In recent weeks I’d heard some very interesting things about how Q-Tonic was the next revolution of tonic, with its natural ingredients including Agave, Peruvian Quinine, lemon juice and bitters. The ingredients remind me of the beginnings of a summer beverage.

The story of Q-Tonic can be traced back to a summer night in Brooklyn when Q-Tonic’s founder, Jordan Silbert discovered that the tonic water he and his friends were using was essentially just fructose corn syrup, something that just didn’t seem right to mix with a good gin.

Jordan believed that fresh ingredients and quality spirits should be paired with a tonic water that is capable of standing both alongside as well as on Its own paired with just a lime slice and some ice.

Flash forward a few years later and after having scoured the world from the Peruvian Andes to the Mexican countryside, Jordan emerged with the recipe for Q-Tonic.

As with all items reviewed at A Muddled Thought, I had to try Q-Tonic without any other ingredients. What I discovered is that Q-Tonic by itself has a mildly sweet yet bitter taste, but pairs well with a dash of fresh lemon juice and ice for a quick summer refresher.

After the stand-alone taste test, I decided to try a few recipes. Some classic and some newly created for this review.

First up a Gin and Q-Tonic-

2 oz of your favorite Gin(We used G’Vine Florision for it’s floral and refreshing flavor)
High Ball Glass filled with Ice
Fill with Q-Tonic
Garnish with Lime Wedge

Between the lightness of the Q-Tonic and the Floral Tone to the G’Vine, this would make for a very refreshing version of a Gin and Tonic for those soon to come summer nights.

Next up is a recipe created to take advantage of the agave that’s used in the Q-Tonic.

Entitled the Mellow Q as it’s refreshing and from the few people who tested this drink seemed to be relaxing as well.(Note this drink was tasted by 2 tasters independent of A Muddled Thought)

The Mellow Q-

1 oz Canton Ginger Liquor
2 oz Partida Blanco tequila
1 oz Agave nectar
3 Dashes Grapefruit bitters
Splash of pineapple juice
Serve in a High Ball Glass that’s been filled with crushed ice
Top with Q-Tonic

The Mellow Q. A combination of Blanco Tequila, Canton Ginger, Agave Nectar, Grapefruit Bitters, topped with Q-Tonic.

Inspired by how well the G’Vine and the Q-Tonic worked with each other, I decided to try something a bit different, adding Absinthe, Mint and Averna. This has been dubbed the “Prohibition T”.

The Prohibition T-

The Prohibition “T”
2oz G’Vine Floraision Gin
1 oz Lucid Absinthe
3 Dashes Averna
Four muddled mint leaves
Shake with Ice
Serve in 4.5 oz Coupe Glass

The Prohibition T. A Combination of G'Vine Florasion Gin, Absinthe, Averna, Mint Leaves topped with Q-Tonic.

One final cocktail, a modified Pimms Cup No.1 replacing the Soda with Q-Tonic.

“Mind your P’s and Q’s” (Pimms and Q-Tonic)

2 ½ Pimms
½ Oz Fresh Lime Juice
3 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters
Fill Highball Glass with Ice
Top with Q-Tonic

Mind your P's and Q's- Pimms No.1 , Fresh Lime Juice, Grapefruit Bitters, and Q-Tonic.