Like I have said before, and will say again, cocktails are social; they are something to create and share with friends, something to share laughs over, and something to sip while spending time with those you love.  When a dear friend purchased her first beautiful condo with her boyfriend, we got a happy hour date on the books!

 

For this occasion, I picked a gin cocktail, the Sage Advice, from shake; simple, citrusy and classy.  Whenever I make drinks at someone else’s house, I always make sure to pack my bag of tricks.  I bring everything I am going to need, from the shaker and the liquor to the garnish and the measuring cups.  I also do some pre-happy hour prep.

First, when a recipe calls for fresh squeezed juice, always, always, always juice everything before hand.  It’s messy and sticky, and depending on how many drinks you are making, it can take awhile.  Plus juicing the grapefruit a few hours before hand, makes the mixing process much more efficient.  It’s also important to make the simple syrup a few hours before you need to make the drinks, because the syrup needs time to cool.  Simple syrup is one of the easiest cocktail components to whip up, hence the name.  All you have to do is mix equal parts sugar and water (I usually do 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water) in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Heat the syrup until the sugar is just dissolved, then pull from the heat and pour into a container to cool.  I like to use mason jars because then I can put the syrup in the freezer to speed up the cooling process.

 

After the tour of the new place, I got to work making the Sage Advice!

Sage Advice | makes 2 drinks

• 1 1/2 oz Sage Liquor or Gin
• 3 oz of fresh squeezed grapefruit and lemon juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 2 stripes of grapefruit zest
• 2 sage leaves, plus 2 more for garnish
• Spanish Cava

First, crush 2 of the sage leaves and grapefruit zest and put in the bottom of the shaker.  Then add the Sage Liquor or gin, the grapefruit/lemon juice combo, and simple syrup to the shaker.   Fill the shaker to the top, and shake vigorously for a few seconds, and the outside of the shaker gets cold.  Strain the mixture into 2 coupe glass (I brought my grandmother’s old coupe glasses, but any cocktail class will do) and top with a slash of Cava.  Garnish by floating a sage leaf on top and enjoy!

 

Tips and Suggestions

• I could not find Sage Liquor at my local store, so I substituted gin.  I love gin, and normally I say the more juniper the better, but for this recipe I selected a more mild flavored gin, because I wanted the citrus notes fro the grapefruit and lemon to come through.  I tried a new gin, called St. George Spirits:  Botanivore.  It worked great!  Very smooth and not overwhelmingly junipery; I was pleasantly surprised.
• For this recipe, I juiced 2 grapefruits, as well as a lemon.  I love lemon, and it complements the flavor of gin nicely.

 

The Sage Advice was light, simple, and definitely not too sweet.  We loved our cocktails and little happy hour and I can’t wait for the next one!