Cynar Julep

Adapted from Session Cocktails by Drew Lazor and the Editors of PUNCH

photo: Lizzie Munro
low proof julep recipe

Parched one hot July day, Employees Only owner Dushan Zaric started messing around with some Ruby Red grapefruits he had on the bar, determined to refresh himself. “I wanted a long drink that I could enjoy with food,” he says. He ended up going the julep route, building on Cynar instead of bourbon. Still missing one note, Zaric raided chef Julia Jaksic’s spice rack, “started sniffing around,” and landed on the savory Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout, whose flavor Zaric loved as a stark complement to the mint.

Reprinted with permission from Session Cocktails by Drew Lazor and the Editors of PUNCH, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House.

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 4 mint leaves
  • 4 mint leaves
  • 1 1/2 ounces Cynar
  • 1 1/2 ounces Cynar
  • 1 1/2 ounces soda water
  • 1 1/2 ounces soda water
  • 1 ounce grapefruit juice
  • 1 ounce grapefruit juice
  • 1/4 ounce rich simple syrup (2:1, sugar:water)
  • 1/4 ounce rich simple syrup (2:1, sugar:water)
  • 1/4 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce lemon juice

Garnish: mint, ras el hanout

Directions
  1. Put the mint leaves in a julep tin and use a muddler to gently crush them.
  2. Add the Cynar, soda water, grapefruit juice, simple syrup, and lemon juice, then fill the tin with crushed ice.
  3. Swizzle to mix, then garnish with the mint sprig and a sprinkle of ras el hanout.

Tagged: Cynar, session cocktails

Drink with us.

Get our freshest features and recipes weekly.