The Pear Opines
The Pear Opines is sweet and strong, and brings joy and light to many a Thanksgiving holiday. A pear and a pair of pines, intertwine, for the kind of holiday magic that lets you float through the day with grace and ease. The “pair of pines,” juniper and rosemary, bring a bright clean evergreen flavor to this delicious gin-based cocktail. It balances with anjou pear, fresh lime, and a dash of orange bitters.
Let the piney aroma and sweet pear whisk you away from awkward conversations about politics, or your love life. You’ll barely hear your children screaming and fighting as you sip, and sip, and melt away.
A pear is divine but does not opine. If, like me, Thanksgiving conjures both gratitude and grief, you’re likely to enjoy this cocktail and the accompanying lament… er… post: Thanksgiving-induced Gratitude & Greif
Recipe
Cocktail Ingredients (makes 1 cocktail)
2 oz gin
1 oz Pear Juniper Rosemary simple syrup
.5 oz lime juice (freshly squeezed is best)
2 dashes of orange bitters
Garnish: Rosemary sprig, smashed juniper berries, dehydrated orange slice
Cocktail Instructions
In a cocktail shaker, mix gin, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, ice, and shake!
Pour through a strainer, over ice (Note: I tried it without a strainer and it’s still good but there’s a lot of debris from the simple syrup and it’s very distracting when you’re trying to enjoy the cocktail. Highly recommend straining it out.)
Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, a slice of dehydrated orange, and smashed juniper berries
Add a few dashes of orange bitters
Enjoy!
Simple Syrup Ingredients
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 anjou pears
1 Tbsp juniper berries
2 healthy sprigs of rosemary
1 slice blood orange
1 dash of lemon juice
Pear Juniper Rosemary Simple Syrup Instructions
On low heat, add chopped pears to a medium saucepan
Pour 1/2 cup of sugar over the pears, add 1/4 cup of water so nothing will stick to the bottom as it warms, add a thick slice of blood orange and a splash of lemon juice
Smash 1Tbs of juniper berries and add them to the saucepan (I recommend equipping small children with tools to smash the berries)
Add 4 healthy sprigs of Rosemary
Cover and keep on low heat for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally
Add a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water
Keep on low heat for another half an hour or until everything is good and mushy
Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture
Let cool to room temperature
Pour into a jar, store in the refrigerator
My little helpers, happily smashing juniper berries. The smashed berries smell so good!
