Sechuan Buttons, Part 4

BONUS: Here are two more original cocktail recipes that use sechuan buttons as an ingredient and received a hearty thumbs up from taste testers:

Electric Chartini
2 oz. Finlandia vodka
1 oz. Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup (recipe below)
1 sechuan button, separated into strands (quantity to suit individual taste)

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish by sprinkling sechuan button strands atop drink. Serve and enjoy.

Ginger Shocktini
1 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
1 oz. Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka *
1/2 oz. fresh orange juice
1/4 oz. rosemary simple syrup (recipe below)
1 sechuan button, separated into strands (quantity to suit individual taste)

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish by sprinkling sechuan button strands atop drink. Serve and enjoy.

Rosemary Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 fresh rosemary sprigs, washed and pat dry

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add rosemary sprigs and let stand 30 minutes. Pour liquid through a strainer into a glass container, discarding rosemary sprigs. Cover and chill. Syrup may be stored in refrigerator up to a month -- add 1 Tablespoon unflavored vodka when bottling the syrup to help extend its shelf life. (I use Finlandia vodka.)

* Ingredient Spotlight
Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka sniffs of grass, meadow and a field of hay. It has a viscous mouthfeel and a grassy taste that's a bit odd on its own, but is a match made in heaven when combined with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur.