Mont Blanc

     Thumbing through my newest cocktail book, World's Best Cocktails, I can only feel dubious to it's self-proclaimed greatness.  After a few days and some quick re-referencing here and there I believe that I have found another great cocktail book to add to my collection.  " The Provencal" from Employees Only keeps tickling my fancy. Lavender-infused gin, herbs de Provence-infused dry vermouth, how could this not be amazing?

     I infused the lavender into a bottle of Tanqueray for the better part of a shift (about 5 hours) and did the same with the vermouth, choosing to use fresh herbs for the herbs de Provence blend.  Some basil, a little thyme and of course rosemary all together with a nice vermouth blanc.  After the blends were steeped and strained my senses were overwhelmed with the aromas of Italian foods.  I think that this will work nicely.  A quick 2:1 "martini" mix was concocted just to have a control taste.  Overpowering!, Wow those are intense flavors, and very much a soapy texture were all presented in this mix.  It's definitely going to be needed toned down.  I see now why EO used a bit of Cointreau.  Sounds good but I want to keep it herbaceous as much as possible and this is where I think St. Germain would come in nicely.  A good floral tone with a nice citrusy undertone.  Just enough to tame this beast. 

Mont Blanc

1.5 oz. Lavender-infused gin (Tanqueray)

1 oz. herbs de provence-infused vermouth (Dolin Blanc)

0.5 oz. St. Germain

1-2 dashes Celery bitters 

-stir and strain into chilled coupe

     lemon twist garnish (not shown)

     This cocktail, The Mont Blanc, had a good mouth feel, a decent amount of citrus "play", a nice herbal essence and was all together quite drinkable.