Quince gimlet
I had poached some sliced quinces in water with only 2 1/4 c sugar for 1 1/2 lb quinces as an experiment, because I love quinces but dislike approaches that embalm them in thick syrup. The remaining poaching liquid was a light ruby-red syrup, wonderfully tart and fragrant.
So I had an idea to make a cocktail inspired by the Pomegranate Gimlet served at Danny Meyer's Indian-fusion restaurant Tabla in New York.
Quince gimlet
Ice
1 1/4 oz. Plymouth gin
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz light syrup leftover from poaching quinces
simple syrup (1:1 ratio of sugar to water)
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the gin, lime juice and quince poaching syrup, and stir to blend. Balance to taste with simple syrup.
It turned out very nicely: the rose/pineapple quince notes were a good counterpart to the straight-ahead juniper bite of the gin.
