HONEY BEE AND BUZZING MONK

Haberdish, Charlotte, North Carolina I NGREDIENTS

60 ml London dry gin (that doesn’t have an overwhelming juniper taste) 20 ml fresh lemon juice 20 ml honey syrup* 15 ml yellow chartreuse Szechuan-flower tincture†

* HONEY SYRUP 1 vanilla bean 1 pinch saffron threads 1 cup light-coloured honey 1 tsp white sugar ½ cup hot water

SZECHUAN TINCTURE 20 buzz buttons, roughly chopped (You can buy these on Amazon.) 1 ½ cup 100-proof vodka (or other neutral high-proof spirit, such as Technical Reserve, page 85) yellow chartreuse

I NSTRUCTIONS

1 / To make the honey syrup, cut the vanilla bean down the centre and scrape out the seeds. Combine bean and seeds, saffron and honey in a glass jar and allow to infuse at room temperature for 10 days. Remove the vanilla bean pod, add sugar and hot water and stir until combined. Store in the refrigerator. 2 / To make the Szechuan tincture, place chopped buzz buttons and vodka in a half litre isi whippedcream canister. Charge once with nitrous oxide, shake, then add a second charge and shake again. Allow to infuse for 1 hour at room temperature. 3 / To dispense the isi, hold the infuser upright and hold a plastic container over the top to catch any spray that might come out. Fully de-gas and then open the top and allow it to rest until you no longer hear the sounds of gas bubbles releasing, about 15 minutes. 4 / Strain all flower particles out of the tincture through a fine-mesh strainer. Combine equal parts Szechuan tincture with yellow chartreuse. Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to one year. 5 / To make the cocktail, shake the gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup until thoroughly chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve the Szechuan-infused yellow chartreuse on the side.