If I was to choose one boozy beverage to sip for the rest of my days it would be the classic “G & T”…gin & tonic, with a squeeze of lime.  It’s refreshing, lightly fizzy, lovingly sour, perfectly bitter, and just a smidge sweet.  Most people tend to sip it in the warm spring or summer months, but I indulge year ’round – although there is little else that’s better than an ice cold gin & tonic on a hot, sunny evening after a long day’s work.  And that’s about where we’re at right now – it’s officially G & T season!

As a gin-lover, I wanted to venture into other flavors; expand my gin horizon.  Citrus pairs so nicely with the juniper flavor of gin (gin is distilled with juniper berries which gives it it’s signature taste), and I had a bunch of fresh tarragon from the farmers market.  I thought the anise/licorice flavor of the tarragon would compliment the juniper and citrus flavors.  {it does!}  Rather than make a simple syrup with these ingredients, I decided to go the route of the mint julip…muddle time!

I put several tarragon leaves in the bottom of a jar, add a bit of sugar, a healthy squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice and mash it all together with a muddler or blunt end of a kitchen utensil.  (I bought the wooden muddler pictured on ebay for $2, or you could probably find them at thrift stores)  Muddling allows you to bruise the leaves so they release their essential oils.

Muddled tarragon below – you can see the leaves are well-bruised and the sugar has dissolved.  There’s loads of flavor down in that jar.

Then just add a handful of ice, a shot of gin, and shake!  With the lid on!

Fill the rest of the jar with a good quality tonic water – not the high fructose corn syrup kind.  Give it a stir with your straw and you’re ready to sip the night away!  It’s wonderfully citrusy and herby…herbal?…herbacious?  You get the picture.  Cheers!