The Last Days of Summer Cocktail (cocktail recipe).

Summer officially ended less than a week ago, but here in Los Angeles, it doesn’t feel that way. Today, September 26th, it reached 103 degrees, and I prepared for it! How? Since I’ve been checking the weather reports regularly, I knew the late heatwave was coming and decided to make the most of it and create a super refreshing cocktail!

Sure, I should be brainstorming for fall-inspired recipes, but not today…

What am I drinking on the hottest day of the year? I’m sipping on my new cocktail: The Last Days of Summer.

A new friend in my culinary school class, Debbie, brought in fresh lemon verbena, jalepenos and rosemary the other day and let us take as much as we wanted home. I was particularly excited about the lemon verbena since I love anything "citrusy". She mentioned to me that it would be great in tea, but of course, I had cocktails on my mind!

Lemon Verbena is a flowering shrub (perfect for a garnish) that smells delicious. It’s a great flavoring agent for dishes and beverages but its texture can be slightly fibrous, so I decided to use it to make a simple syrup.

Right as I was about to add the sugar and water to my tiny pot the other day, I realized that my vanilla extract had fell down from my spice shelf and leaked into my pot. Instead of tossing the vanilla, I decided to use it and make a lemon verbena-vanilla syrup. Boy was I happy about that vanilla leak...because the syrup turned out amazing! If you like to add sweetner to your hot tea or iced tea, this lemon verbena-vanilla simple syrup will be a great addition to your drink, too. Oh, how I love happy accidents ☺

I’m going to wrap things up, but if it happens to get really hot in your neck of the woods or city, I urge you to make my Last Days of Summer cocktail with Limoncello, strawberry, mint, lemon verbena-vanilla syrup, lemon juice and soda - it’s awesomely refreshing.

The Last Days of Summer Cocktail

Ingredients:

2 oz limoncello

1 ripe strawberry

3 mint sprigs

*1/2 oz lemon verbena-vanilla simple syrup

3/4 fresh lemon juice

6 oz sparkling soda water

ice

Garnish:

lemon verbena

strawberry

mint sprig

*Lemon Verbena-Vanilla Simple Syrup:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lemon verbena (chopped)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Bring a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 cup of sugar to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Add 1/2 cup of torn or lightly chopped lemon verbena leaves and vanilla extract. Let steep for 30 minutes. Strain out leaves. Refrigerate simple syrup for up to a week in an airtight container.

Directions:

Muddle 1 strawberry and 3 mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add limoncello, lemon verbena-vanilla simple syrup, lemon juice and fresh ice to the shaker. Secure shaker top and shake until tin turns frosty cold. Strain liquid into a tall Collins or highball glass of fresh ice and garnish.