The air is heavy with anticipation.
We’re at that yearly crossroad of enjoying the last glorious days of summer yet secretly anticipating the arrival of fall and all of its delicious, comforting foods…Longer nights, cooler weather, home-cooked meals…But wait! We’re not quite there yet. The temps are still easily reaching the 80-degree mark these days. We’ll get to the mid-60’s in due time (sorry, had to rub that in for all my non-Californians out there.)
In the meantime, we need to go to our local Trader Joe’s or Farmer’s Market and stock up on as many fresh figs as we can possibly eat and then some because, well, we’ll figure out something to do with them (not like I’m speaking from experience or anything) Maybe we should make a Rosemary, Fig & Date Tequila Smash? I think that sounds like a great idea.
Surprisingly, the fresh figs in this cocktail should really only qualify for “Best Supporting Ingredient.” The REAL star of the show here is the date tequila. That’s right folks, I’ve stepped into the infused booze world and I’m not turning back. I was first introduced to the idea of date tequila when Matt Biancaniello held a little event here in Santa Barbara to promote his latest book, “Eat Your Drink” (which you should totally order if you like inventive and super tasty cocktails featuring farm-to-table ingredients.) He had made some and was kind enough to offer us a taste, even though it wasn’t an ingredient in any of the drinks we ordered. I was immediately hooked and knew that this was the fate of the huge Ziploc full of dates we had in the refrigerator from our last trip to Palm Springs.
So I knew I wanted to make date tequila and share the awesome combination with you all, but I couldn’t stop there. I wanted to show you how to turn said date tequila into an incredibly tasty, refreshing cocktail that’s perfect for this “It’s still summer but I secretly wish it was fall” thing we’ve got going on. Oh hey, flats on flats of fresh figs that I have sitting in my refrigerator, want to jump in a cocktail? How about you, fresh rosemary that I have sitting outside our front door? Our Rosemary, Fig & Date Tequila Smash was born.
This is how we do it…
We get our dates marinating in our tequila at least five days before we want to whip up said Rosemary, Fig & Date Tequila Smash. Since alcohol is shelf stable, no need to worry about our concoction taking up valuable real estate in the refrigerator.
We go to whatever store or Farmer’s Market has our city’s best selection of fresh figs at this time of year and stock up. We’ll figure out what to do with the other five flats later…
We quickly cook up some rosemary-infused simple syrup. We’re already infusing tequila, so why stop there? We let it cool just a bit before we add it to our cocktail (or just make the syrup a day in advance and store in the refrigerator.)
We grab a lemon and some club soda and then we’re ready to roll!
First step is to muddle the date tequila, figs, rosemary simple syrup and lemon juice in the bottom of our cocktail glass.
Next step is to add a substantial amount of ice.
Don’t forget to top off with the bubbly club soda!
Give the cocktail a stir and finish it off with a sprig of fresh rosemary for a little extra flavor, aroma and flourish.
Serve a Rosemary, Fig & Date Tequila Smash to all of your nearest and dearest and watch them come flocking to you for more.
Did we just figure out a way to get rid of the surplus of figs in our refrigerator?
- 2 ounces Date Tequila recipe below
- 2 fresh figs quartered
- ½ ounce Rosemary Simple Syrup recipe below
- 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
- Ice
- Top with club soda
- Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig
- Combine Date Tequila, figs, Rosemary Simple Syrup and lemon juice in the bottom of a rocks glass and muddle everything together.
- Fill rocks glass about ¾ of the way full with ice.
- Top with club soda.
- Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig.
To make the Date Tequila:
Cut 12 dates in half, removing the pit from each one, and add to large resealable glass jar (I used something like this.) Add one 750mL bottle of white tequila to jar, seal, and let sit for at least five days (up to 10 days) before enjoying.
To make the Rosemary Simple Syrup:
Combine one cup granulated sugar, one cup water and one large sprig of fresh rosemary in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool before using a funnel to pour syrup into a glass bottle with a stopper for storage. Refrigerate up to one week.
Did someone say cocktail?
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