We have written a lot about tea on this blog. Getting into that space has been fun. It has led us to several books we plan to bring out and has allowed us to share what we learned. We do other things and read other books. The idea of publishing works we wanted the share started with a cocktail book. We do need to stick with the tea hobby stuff to set up this post. It leads to a great drink so bear with us.
Most of yesterday (Saturday) afternoon was spent digging holes into some pretty dense clay soil. We did that to prep an area for numerous tea plants we have growing from seeds gathered in South Carolina last fall. It was pretty hard work. Rain was predicted for last night and today. We wanted to get all the holes opened before the rain came. The thought was to get the deeper clay exposed so it could erode some when exposed to the weather. We worked up a good sweat digging. Our lower backs were aching. After some rest, some Gatorade, a shower and a light dinner it was time to end the day. Here is the drink that made that happen:
The Sunset Gimlet 
- 2 oz. (60 ml) Gin
- ½ oz. (15 ml) Lime Syrup
- 1 tsp. (5 ml) Campari
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. The red-orange color reminds us of the western sky around here as the sun goes down behind the mountains. Relaxation was obtained after two of these.
The Lime syrup is made using a slightly modified recipe from Imbibe magazine. Use 4 to 6 limes. Zest the limes. We use a Microplane grater for that step. Juice the limes, straining the juice to remove pulp. Measure the total amount of juice. Put the juice into a small pot on the stove. Add an equal amount of sugar (if you have one cup of juice, add one cup of sugar). Heat the juice and sugar until it just begins to simmer. Stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat. Add all the zest. Cover the pot and let it stand for 15 minutes. Strain the syrup to remove the zest. Store it a clean bottle or jar.
A re-purposed Patron 375 ml bottle
The syrup will last for two to three months in the refrigerator. We add 1 oz. of vodka to help it last longer. The Imbibe recipe called for sugar equal to twice the volume of juice. We found that too sweet for cocktails. The sweeter double sugar version would probably work better when mixed with club soda (making a lime soda) or as an addition to a gin and tonic. You could also add 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful of citric acid to punch up the zestiness of the syrup.
You can leave out the Campari and enjoy a simple Gimlet. Increase the gin to 2-1/2 oz. if you prefer a drier cocktail. A mint leaf of two for garnish would look nice.