Hot Figgety Fig

When people we meet find out we wrote a book that includes lots of cocktail recipes, the questions start:

"So you had to test a lot of drinks, huh?" (Picture eyebrows wagging suggestively here.) "How often did you end up with a hangover?"

Answer: Um, well, not that often....

But not never.

And then there's: "How do you come up with a new cocktail, anyway?"

That one's more fun to answer because creating cocktails is definitely one of the best parts of the job. We spend a lot of time experimenting with ingredients that intrigue us, of course, and we eagerly read every restaurant cocktail menu we come across, looking for drinks that pass our taste tests. Not all of them do—a recent blueberry mojito was more blah than berry—but when we discover a drink we adore, we either request the recipe or repair to the Tiny Test Kitchen to recreate it.

This time, a libation-loving friend (hi, Meg!) happened to mention that a fig cocktail she’d tried at Aureole in Manhattan had blown her away. We went, we sipped, we ordered another round. And later that same weekend, we laid in a supply of figs and mixed up our own version. Behold, the Big Fig!

Big Fig

Ingredients for pineapple sage daiquiri recipe

1 1/2 ounces vodka
1 ounce pureed fig
1 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce thyme syrup (for this you need water, sugar and fresh thyme)
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

Directions for pineapple sage daiquiri recipe
Ahead of time, make the thyme syrup. (It will keep in the fridge for weeks.) Combine ½ cup of sugar with ½ cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and submerge 5 sprigs of fresh thyme in the liquid. Let it sit for an hour. Remove thyme sprigs.

The best way to puree figs is to peel them with a paring knife (don’t worry about being precise—leaving a little of the skin on adds flavor and a nice color to the drink), cut them in half and pulse them in a food processor. Note: Do not be tempted to try to strain out the figs’ tiny seeds. They’re actually part of the fun of the drink, giving it a sort of subtle Pop Rocks effect.

Now mix your drink: Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and strain into a martini glass. If you feel like getting fancy, garnish by floating a very thin round of fresh fig on the surface of the drink.

Cheers!