The winner of the Colonial Summer Cocktail Contest, Thaddeus James, shares his innovative spin on a traditional cocktail – fusing refreshing lemon + spicy cardamom.
This summertime stunner is a household favorite and party pleaser – a true twist on the traditional Tom Collins!
Cardamom Collins
- 2oz Hayman’s Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin
- 1.5oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1oz Homemade Cardamom simple syrup
- 3oz (approx) carbonated water
- Add gin, lemon juice and cardamom simple syrup (recipe below) into a shaker with lots of ice
- Shake lightly until well chilled
- Strain into a collins glass filled with crushed ice
- Fill remaining space in glass with carbonated water (about 3oz)
- Stir gently
- Garnish with lemon wheel and brandied cherry.
- Enjoy!
Makes one serving
Cardamom Simple Syrup Recipe: lightly crush cardamom pods, add to pan and heat on medium-high until fragrant (not long, about 1 – 2 minutes – don’t scorch them!). Immediately add 1 cup water to pan and turn heat up to achieve a boil. Once water has boiled for a minute (you want to really pull the flavor out of the pods), add 1 cup of sugar (I like my syrup thick and sweet). Stir until sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to medium, stir for another minute, then take off heat and let cool. Once cool, strain through a fine mesh strainer into a container (preferably something easy to seal and pour from and that looks cool.)
A note from Thaddeus: These are a huge hit at our house. It has quickly become a favorite drink of several friends, and they request it by name when they come over – they even bring their own bag of lemons and squeeze them themselves so I won’t have an excuse not to make them. It’s a beautiful sight to see your friends in the kitchen hand squeezing lemons so you can make their favorite cocktail for them!
