On a recent trip to
Sonoma, Donna
detoured through
San Francisco
just long enough to indulge at The Slanted Door, a Vietnamese restaurant venture led by Chef Charles Phan. The Phantasm cocktail — a lemongrass vodka with lime and falernum (a
Caribbean
lime liqueur) — was so delicious, offering up endless fullness in the mouth and an infusion of tasteful aromas, that she promptly created her own version upon returning home.
Ingredients
1 750 ml bottle vodka (use a clean, pure tasting vodka, such as Rain)
3 stalks lemongrass, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 whole cloves
Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice
Preparation
Place the coarsely chopped lemongrass and cloves into the vodka. Allow to infuse overnight.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour equal parts of infused vodka and sweetened lime juice over the ice. Taste. Adjust flavors by adding more vodka or lime juice. Shake. Pour cocktail into a chilled martini glass. Serve.
Recipe and photo by Donna Marie Zotter
