Atlanta Garden Party

Cocktail by Anastasia Cooper

1.5oz Deep Eddy Vodka

1.25oz fortified tomato water

.50oz lemon juice

.25oz rich lemon syrup

Basil leaves

Combine all ingredients in shaker tin. Dry shake without ice to incorporate and dump into chilled highball glass. Top with crushed and garnish.

Tomato water – blend chopped ripe tomatoes of your choice. Strain through sieve until water becomes clear then switch containers so initial pink color is gone.

Seasoned tomato water – For every 500g of tomato water, add 50g of a 2:1 rich simple syrup, 25g citric acid solution (25g citric acid dissolved in 125g filtered water), 10g salt solution (25g kosher salt dissolved in 125g filtered water), 15g of black pepper tincture (10g crushed black pepper steeped in 50g of everclear overnight then strained), and 150g of fino sherry. Whisk until integrated.

Rich lemon syrup – combine 2parts sugar to one part strained lemon juice. Mix until integrated.

Basil sprig, cherry tomato halves on a skewer with an olive in the middle

Collins or highball

I love the idea of being able to make cocktails based around vegetables grown in my own garden. When the abundance hits, it’s nice to have something to do with my excess vegetables. I want to throw a party with cocktails made from ingredients I grew.