A light, ethereal drink, effortlessly sophisticated and whose beauty is with you for the merest of moments – just like a butterfly.
INGREDIENTS
30ml lychee syrup (To make lychee syrup, blend a whole can of lychees, including the syrup, until smooth. Strain through a muslin-lined sieve, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much fruit and flavour as possible. Pour into a clean glass bottle and add an equal amount of sugar syrup. Store in the fridge – it will keep for about two weeks.)
30ml gin
15ml triple sec
2 drops peach bitters
GLASS
coupe
METHOD
Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into the glass.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
Making the lychee syrup is the hardest part, and that’s actually really easy. Stay tuned for more recipes that use lychee syrup, or just add about 50ml lychee syrup and a big squeeze of lime to a glass of ice, then top with soda and stir for a delicious mocktail.
RECIPE BY
The lychee syrup recipe is from Asian Cocktails – Creative Drinks Inspired by the East by Holly Jennings and Christine LeBlond (Tuttle, 2009). The cocktail recipe is 52 Cocktails’ own invention.
ARTWORK BY
The very lifelike butterfly you see here is actually a work of art by the talented Miranda La Fleur.
I’m making some lychee syrup this weekend but I’m all out of muslin. What else can I use in my sieve to get a similar result?
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Hello! Sorry for the late reply…I’ve been busy boozing. You can cheat and not use the muslin at all – you will end up with a slightly less refined/more chunky product. I’ve heard some people use a new, clean Chux cloth so I guess you could try that if you’re desperate…but I’d be scared that it would impart a Chux-y flavour into the mix, ugh.
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