Sizzurp

Y'all heard about Rickey Month, right? This inspired mixology marathon--and the surrounding buzz--propelled me to Hotel Tabard Inn last week, where my head basically fell off after trying Chantal Tseng's sprightly, floral Rive Gauche Rickey. (Kathryn Bangs' Haymaker incarnation of the drink is no longer officially on the menu--but only for the time being, she said.)

Rive Gauche Rickey

1 1/4 oz. Aviation gin
3/4 oz. St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
Charles de Fere Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine
dash absinthe
juice of 1/3 medium-sized lime, rind reserved
one sprig lavender
ice

Combine gin, liqueur, absinthe, lime juice, rind and ice in cocktail shaker. Pour into glass. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with lavender and serve.

Haymaker Rickey

2 0z. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. brown sugar-balsamic syrup*
juice of 1/2 lime, rind reserved
ginger ale
ice

Combine whiskey, syrup, lime juice, rind and ice in cocktail shaker. Pour into glass and top with ginger ale. Serve.

*You can make this mixture yourself by combining 3/4 cup packed brown sugar with 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar.

(The Haymaker was inspired by an eponymous 19th-century punch which Kat calls "the gatorade of the time": a (technically) non-alcoholic energy drink of brown sugar, vinegar, and ginger ale enjoyed by Midwestern laborers. Coincidentally, the first printed mention of this concoction appeared in Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter, which was written in Kat's home state of South Dakota. I like how she is simultaneously repping DC and South Dakota with this recipe!)