strawberry smash cocktails with tarragon

Harness all the goodness of fresh summer fruit with this easygoing, totally simple strawberry smash cocktail recipe.

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Over the winter, I usually leave the plants in my ramshackle container garden to fend for themselves. Predictably, they become a brown and shriveled tangle of undifferentiated plants. It’s actually pretty unsightly, but I can never bring myself to accept the end of the growing season or rule out the remote possibility of fresh rosemary in December. As winter wanes and the days lengthen and warm, I’m always amazed by whatever it is that springs back to life. Chives, strawberries, and echinacea are tried-and-true, but the herbs are less predictable. This year’s surprise was tarragon. Small yet robust, it announced itself as a shock of green against a mass of dead brown something.

Since spring is not only the start of fresh produce season, but also the start of cocktail season, I cut a few sprigs for an herbaceous spring cocktail – in this case a strawberry tarragon smash. With a distinct flavor that’s not overwhelming, tarragon is an almost-savory complement to the sweet chunks of strawberry and wonderfully sour lime juice.

A smash is a casual cocktail filled with hunks of fresh fruit, so once you’ve enjoyed the liquid part of the drink, use your fingers or a fork to pull out boozy strawberry bits. Warm weather requires sticky fingers and mouths. That’s just how it is.

Print Recipe

Strawberry Smash Cocktails with Tarragon

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

15 mins

 

Harness all the goodness of fresh summer fruit with this easygoing, totally simple strawberry smash cocktail recipe.

Recipe Type: Cocktail

Makes: 2 cocktails

Author: Brooklyn Supper

Ingredients

Tarragon Simple Syrup

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves

Cocktails

• 10 large strawberries plus 4 for a garnish, sliced
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 3 tablespoons tarragon leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tarragon simple syrup

Instructions

1. To make tarragon simple syrup, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add tarragon leaves, off heat, and steep for 10 minutes or more. Strain, and store in a glass jar in the fridge.

2. To make cocktails, combine strawberries and all but 2 lime wedges in an ice-filled shaker. Use a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon to smash berries and limes into a chunky mixture. Fish out smashed limes, add a couple handfuls of ice, the lime juice, vodka, and tarragon simple syrup. Shake.

3. Pour into ice-filled highballs. Garnish with strawberry slices, a lime wedge, and a tarragon sprig.

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