Happy New Year from queer-owned Pink House Alchemy
It’s that time of year when we are tempted to play bartender at home but many of us have no idea where to start when creating a cocktail for New Year’s Eve.
Many of us are looking at what we drink — from coffee to cocktails — and realizing that we need to take a fresh look at the ingredients and consider what they are doing to us. Single origin, fair trade, organic, vegan…these are often phrases that we want on the tips of our tongues — figuratively and literally! To that extent, when it comes to adding juices and mixers to our cocktails, many of us are looking beyond the same old sodas or cranberry juice post-mix.
Tinctures, syrups and shrubs are more and more likely to be a part of a good bartender’s tools of trade. And if you don’t know what a shrub it, and think it’s just a bush, a shrub in drink terminology is a vinegar that’s been infused with fruits and herbs or any kind of botanical that may impart color, flavor, and properties such as antioxidants or even an analgesic. It’s not a completely foreign concept in mixology — think of the way the juniper berry has been used in gin; or bergamot in vermouth.
Increasingly, syrups and shrubs are coming onto the market, attractively packaged and produced to meet the demand for a healthier cocktail, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Pink House Alchemy is an LGBTQ+ run and owned company that makes delicious and versatile syrups, inspired by founder Emily Lawson’s love of food and flavor, which she picked up while working in food and beverage in North Carolina. She discovered how various flavors and properties in roots, barks, fruits, herbs, and other botanicals, could be tweaked to bring out the best in a drink. Pink House Alchemy seeks innovative flavor connections between ingredients—and produces simple syrups, bitters, and shrubs to showcase the results.
Pink House Alchemy products are available in a variety of flavors at local Fayetteville bars and restaurants, as well as nationally via Amazon, Walmart.com, and the Pink House website. Here are some popular and versatile products:
· Deconstructed cocktail kits and dehydrated fruit garnishes
For New Year’s Eve magic we have selected the flavorful and versatile Lavender Syrup, bursting with spice, citrus and mint aromas as the perfect key ingredient for alcohol and virgin cocktails.
Lavender has calming, de-stressing properties and so it’s the perfect choice of herbalicious sweetness to see in the New Year. Pink House Alchemy shared two cocktail recipes featuring the syrup — one is alcoholic and the other is non-alcoholic. Made from just a handful of natural ingredients — cane sugar, water, lavender flowers, lactic acid — the Lavender Syrup will give your party the right vibe.
Lavender French 75
2 oz gin
1 oz pH Lavender syrup
1 oz fresh lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into champagne flute
Float with Champagne or dry sparkling white wine of choice
Garnish with thick lemon twist
The Hummingbird
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce pH Lavender syrup
Soda water
Lemon slice for garnishing
Combine lemon juice and lavender syrup and top with soda water. Garnish with lemon slice.
Enjoy, drink responsibly, and Happy New Year!
