Cocktail: Saffron and Cardamom Infused G&T

Both my wife and I have spent time in the middle east and have come to love the flavors that are present in middle-eastern cooking. Saffron in particular is significantly easier to find and buy, so we usually have a good amount on hand.  I decided to infuse some Conniption Navy Strength gin with saffron and tea and mix it up into a Gin and Tonic.  Here’s the recipe and how-to for infusing.

Ingredients:

• 1 pinch of saffron (and another pinch for garnish if you have enough on hand)
• 1 tea strainer worth of cardamom black tea (usually found in your middle eastern markets).
• Conniption Navy Strength gin
• Tonic water (or Tonic mix if you so prefer)
• Lemon and anise for garnish

-I started off by filling a small jar with about 4 oz of Conniption Navy Strength Gin.  I love the taste of Conniption, and it easily picks up the flavors with anything you mix it with while still staying a strong and delicious gin.

-I added a pinch of saffron and emptied one strainer of cardamom black tea in and let the mixture sit to allow for infusion to take place. If you can’t find loose cardamom tea, it will be same amount as one teabag, which you can empty into the gin.

-After a few hours I stirred the mixture to see how well it was infusing. The saffron gave it a deep ruddy orange color, and the tea darkened it quite a bit. I let it sit for about 4 hours before straining it into a mixing glass. You will have to be careful when transferring, since saffron can easily stain anything it touches.

 

-To make the cocktail I crushed ice in a lewis bag, and then added 2 oz of the infused gin and about 1 oz of tonic water.

-I garnished with a lemon slice to bring out the flavors in the gin, and anise to bring out the tea and cardamom flavors. If you have saffron in abundance you can add a pinch to the top as well.

The flavors of saffron and tea were not overwhelming, but also not overpowered by the gin or lemon. This was quite a delicious experiment!