I have a guilty pleasure of admiring the glamorous lives of others from afar, via Instagram. No, I don’t even HAVE an Instagram account, but I’ve managed to find plenty of profiles, and be jealous of their beautiful lives.
God, I’m creepy.
Anyway, one of the bloggers I follow (and stalk on Instagram) posts all kinds of delicious recipes that I’m mentally marking for future use. One of them was a handcrafted cocktail she created, and named it after her street, Cecil Place.
It looked delicious.
So, when my friend and co-worker, Ashley, wanted to do a happy hour, I snatched the chance to host it and make a pitcher of Cecil Place Sours. Because when else am I going to whip up a fancy drink of bourbon and citrus?
To make the Cecil Place Sour, you will need:
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3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice (about one juicy grapefruit)
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2/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 juicy lemons)
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Bourbon (I used Bulleit Bourbon)
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Egg whites (a splash per drink)
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1 cup sugar
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1 cup water
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4 sprigs of fresh thyme
First, get your simple syrup made. In a small sauce pan combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and toss in your thyme. Let simmer on medium for about 3 minutes until sugar dissolves; turn off heat and let steep. Remove thyme and transfer syrup to an airtight container. Refrigerate whatever you don’t use.
Next, squeeze all of your citrus.
In a cocktail shaker add a few cubes of ice, but not too many or you will not end up with the beautiful texture these drinks are known for. Pour in 1 part Bourbon, 1 part citrus juice, 1/2 part thyme simple syrup (I don’t like mine sweet, if you prefer sweet do 1 part), and a splash of egg whites. Shake vigorously for about 2 min to achieve a frothy consistency and pour over ice. There is enough citrus juice in this recipe to make about 5 cocktails.
I made mine by the pitcher, and Ashley and I sat on my terrace with hummus, cheese, meats, and crackers. It was a glorious spring evening with great food, drink, and company!
PS. Don’t forget to check out Lauren’s blog!
The Bitter Lemon 