Rain in Spain
This drink was specifically crafted for the the Walton Arts Center’s Broadway run of My Fair Lady.
I wanted something great for summer that, in my opinion, would perfectly represent the vibe of a high-society garden party. So I decided to do an EXTREME variation of a Bee’s Knee’s.
I started with the standard gin base and honey syrup typical of a Bee’s Knees, but from there I started to play around a bit. For starters, I added a floral element by adding St. Germaine. The sweet, Elderflower flavor in this liqueur helps to balance the bitter and piney quality of the gin.
Next, I wanted intense citrus flavor without making the drink super tart. To accomplish this I used lemon super juice and grapefruit liqueur. The citrus helps the drink to feel light and refreshing; something that you would be enjoying in the summer heat, out in the garden.
Finally, I needed the drink to have a really cool color. I wanted something that was going to fit the color scheme of the show. It needed to match an old lady’s dress. Since the drink already had a tone of citric acid in it, the choice seemed obvious. I used butterfly pea flower tea.
Butterfly pea flower tea is a beautiful and vegetal product with a deep earthy taste that mostly disappears when added to other liquids. What remains is the remarkable color that results when the deep indigo colored tea undergoes a pH shift. When exposed to acid, it turns a brilliant purple. By using a cloudier citrus product like lemon super juice, the light suspends in the drink, making the color appear absolutely brilliant.
Top this with just a splash of soda water to lighten the body and cut the sweetness, and you have an incredible summer sipper for your next garden party. Since normal people have those all the time, right?
Rain In Spain
Ingredients
1 oz Tanqueray Gin
.5 oz St. Germaine
.5 oz Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse Liqueur
.75 oz Honey Syrup
.5 oz Lemon Super Juice
.5 oz brewed and chilled butterfly pea flower tea
Top with soda water
Instructions
Combine all ingredients aside from the soda water to a cocktail shaker.
Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
Strain into rocks glass full of ice or a coupe glass without ice.
Top with soda water and garnish with a lemon slice or float a dehydrated lemon wheel on top
Enjoy!!