In anticipation of Hallowe’en, I’ll be featuring a few frightening reads and recipes all this month—fantastically creepy novels that will keep you up at night...thinking about the recipes inspired by them!
I was at Mermaid Inn a few weeks ago where a Fig and Blackberry Bramble was the special cocktail of the evening. A traditional Bramble is also gin-based and rather summery, but this twist on a classic definitely signaled the promise of fall. I happened to spy a bottle of fig bitters behind the bar at Mermaid Inn and I regret not asking for the cocktail recipe, however I’m sure a few splashes figured into it.
I was at Mermaid Inn a few weeks ago where a Fig and Blackberry Bramble was the special cocktail of the evening. A traditional Bramble is also gin-based and rather summery, but this twist on a classic definitely signaled the promise of fall. I happened to spy a bottle of fig bitters behind the bar at Mermaid Inn and I regret not asking for the cocktail recipe, however I’m sure a few splashes figured into it.
I found another recipe (below) and perhaps instead of muddling the figs as the recipe suggests, I suspect you can boil some dried figs in equal parts sugar and water to make your own simple fig syrup. Then just add to your shaker as instructed.
Anyway, as I was compiling the list of my favorite crawl-under-your-skin books to share here, I had to put Barbara Comyns’s Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead among them. Her cunning little masterpiece is about an English village afflicted by a flood (with ducks swimming through the drawing-room windows) and the series of gruesome deaths that mysteriously follow.
Anyway, as I was compiling the list of my favorite crawl-under-your-skin books to share here, I had to put Barbara Comyns’s Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead among them. Her cunning little masterpiece is about an English village afflicted by a flood (with ducks swimming through the drawing-room windows) and the series of gruesome deaths that mysteriously follow.
And who do you imagine is the hero of the tale, with a long, sallow face? Why a young man named Fig, of course, pursued by a young lady named Norah who rather fancies him.
“When Fig returned for his tea, instead of the soggy bread that smelt of paraffin and the jar of fish paste with green mold on top which were usually arranged on a newspaper, there was a neatly laid table with a newly baked cake. All around there was a strong smell of soap and floor polish.
Fig drew down his long upper lip and scowled. Much as he disliked his mother’s filthy ways, he resented Norah’s interference even more. For some time he had suspected she was cleaning his mother’s cottage; now he knew...”
Sounds to me like Fig needs something stronger than tea—or something other than Norah’s interfering cake. Perhaps a Fig and Blackberry Bramble?
Do enjoy! My comments below are in italics.
Fig and Blackberry Bramble
Ingredients
Gin: 2 oz of your favorite dry gin. Such as Hendricks
Fresh Figs: 2 ripe figs (one quartered for muddling, one sliced for garnish). Try boiling dried figs for your simple fig syrup instead
Blackberries: 6–8 fresh blackberries, divided.
Lemon Juice: 0.75 oz freshly squeezed.
Simple Syrup: 0.5 oz (or honey syrup for a richer profile). Or the simple fig syrup you've made!
Liqueur (Optional): 0.5 oz crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur) to float on top
Ingredients
Gin: 2 oz of your favorite dry gin. Such as Hendricks
Fresh Figs: 2 ripe figs (one quartered for muddling, one sliced for garnish). Try boiling dried figs for your simple fig syrup instead
Blackberries: 6–8 fresh blackberries, divided.
Lemon Juice: 0.75 oz freshly squeezed.
Simple Syrup: 0.5 oz (or honey syrup for a richer profile). Or the simple fig syrup you've made!
Liqueur (Optional): 0.5 oz crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur) to float on top
Crushed Ice: To fill the glass.
Instructions
Muddle the quartered fig and 5 blackberries with the lemon juice and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add the gin and fill the shaker with ice, then shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds.
Strain the mixture over a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Drizzle the crème de mûre over the top so it bleeds into the drink (Ooooh! Spooky!) and garnish with an extra fresh fig half and the remaining blackberries.
Instructions
Muddle the quartered fig and 5 blackberries with the lemon juice and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add the gin and fill the shaker with ice, then shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds.
Strain the mixture over a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Drizzle the crème de mûre over the top so it bleeds into the drink (Ooooh! Spooky!) and garnish with an extra fresh fig half and the remaining blackberries.
Thanks to thinkginclub.com for the image!
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