Cocktail Hour: The Beekeeper

[SallyLightfoot]

As the weather improves here in the Northeastern US, here's a nice drink which is popular at my house:

[b]The Beekeeper[/b]
1 bottle of Pale Ale
lemon-zest infused gin
honey
kosher salt or margarita salt
ice

This drink is essentially a spiked beer on the rocks. You want to be able to taste the gin infusion, so use a mellow Pale Ale that is not overly hoppy. For example, I would not recommend an India Pale Ale, but that's your call. A bold weissbier (hefeweizen) does make a good substitute, though.

The gin infusion is pretty simple, but here's a tip: Try to use a gin that goes light on the juniper flavor. <a href="http://www.bulldoggin.com/" target="_new">Bulldog gin</a> is a very good and affordable choice for all gin drinks. Beefeater is a crappy choice. If your gin options are limited, you can cut the astringent juniper taste by mixing it with vodka (in essence, gin [i]is[/i] juniper-flavored vodka anyway).

Ok, so wash a fresh lemon and then grate it. Get plenty of zesty shavings collected in a small glass or ramekin. Now cut the lemon into halves or quarters and squeeze out the juice. Add that to the lemon zest. To this mixture add a healthy amount of gin (I usually add about a cup). Set the mixture aside for a while and let the gin become infused with the lemony botanicals.

Time to make the drink. <ol><li>Get a tall <a href="http://www.google.com/images?client=opera&rls=en&q=pilsner%20beer%20glass&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi" target="_new2">pilsner-style beer glass</a></li><li>Take the honey and smear a good third of the glass rim with it (I buy honey in a squeeze bottle for this reason). Don't go crazy, just put a thin spread. The honey will slowly ooze down the glass, so the more you add the messier it will get</li><li>Sprinkle some kosher salt on the honey. This puts the sweet/salty thing into play.</li><li>Fill the beer glass with ice</li><li>Pour some gin mix into the glass so that it is filled up about a third of the way</li><li>Top off the glass with the beer</li><li>Garnish with a wedge of orange, if you're so inclined</li></ol>That's it. Makes a refreshing cocktail that packs a zesty gin zing, but masks it with citrus aromas.

[zill]

I'm starting to think you're not a liberal so much as you are a drunk. [:D]

Sounds good!