So I have to admit that I made this cocktail weeks ago and am just now getting around to blogging about it. This is important to know, because one component that I used is highly seasonally dependent. Fortunately, that one component is not absolutely necessary to enjoy this one glass gin sangria.
Let me back up for a minute. As you may know, if you follow me either here or on Instagram, we moved to coastal Southern Oregon about six weeks ago. One of the things I noticed during my first few weeks was that the evergreen trees were sprouting new growth. Many years of following various foraging oriented blogs has made me savvy enough to know that spruce, pine, and fir tree tips (the brand new growth in the spring) are edible. Trees + tips + desire to forage = a lunch break wandering around where I work, quietly slipping fir tree tips into my jacket. Mind you, this was my professional suit jacket, but who’s counting. Fortunately, I was able to get them transferred into a bag when I went back to my desk. From there, it was a logical step to toss the fir tips into some gin and let it steep for a few days.
From there, I stumbled onto this cocktail. I started out making a Spanish G&T with the fir tip infused gin. But then I still had the various bits from the Spanish G&T in my glass and tossed in a little fruity rose, plus some strawberries, and a mandarin orange. And then I tossed in a shot of the fir-tip gin. One glass gin sangria was born in that moment.
I’m pretty sure you could infuse the gin with other aromatics and get a similar result. I’ll definitely be trying this again with some lime basil a bit later in the season. I might even try out some of my ginger mint and infuse it with gin. In the meantime, I’ll just leave you with these pretty photos of infusing fir tips, plus my one glass gin sangria.
This was after the fir tips had infused for a few days -wish I’d gotten a photo when they were freshly harvested – they are so pretty!
Ingredients
- 1 ounce gin (infused with herbs of your choice, or fir tips, or just plain)
- 2 sliced strawberries
- 1 sectioned mandarin orange
- 3 - 4 juniper berries (optional)
- Fruit forward rose or white wine to top
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a glass and enjoy!
