Four I'm Under My Host

While my partner in cocktail crime was off hob-knobbing at the Polo Club Santa Barbara, I decided that the President’s Day weekend warranted some mixological experimentation (FDR would’ve wanted it that way).  I continue to find myself in a Lemon Drop frame of mind, but I also had this great new wooden muddler that I recently picked up (looks like a tiny baseball bat) and some fresh mint in the fridge–perfect conditions for creating a new drink!  So I figured maybe I could morph the Lemon Drop we’d been working on last time with the mint to create a new refreshing, lemony, minty sensation, mmmmm…  Based input from my dinner guests Joan and Kang, it worked like a charm!  Here’s the winning combination:

Lemon Mint (or Minty Lemon Drop)

• 3 parts Skyy Citrus Vodka
• 1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 part triple sec
• 1 dash Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters
• 1 handful fresh mint
• Superfine sugar to taste (~1/2 teaspoon for 2 drinks)

Tear up the mint leaves and place in a round bottomed glass, cover with superfine sugar and fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and muddle thoroughly until liquid is greenish.  Combine minty lemon juice, citrus vodka, triple sec, and bitters in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake vigorously.  Serve in martini glasses garnished with sugared lemon wheels and mint sprigs.  Mintalicious!

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