“Gin & Tonics, on the surface, are not attention-grabbing,” says Kim Vo. “But I love to play around with drinks that people know and … find ways to improve on that experience.” Green tea brings an earthy, grassy quality to the expected gin botanicals, peach schnapps adds fruit flavor without tilting the axis of the drink too sweet, and Becherovka provides an underlying spiced quality for a layered take on the G&T. “This particular cocktail reads like a boozy, fruity green tea, but it’s actually semi-dry,” explains Vo. “I really enjoy subverting people’s expectations on how they think a cocktail will drink.”
Petals for Armor
Kim Vo | Baltimore, Maryland
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces gin, preferably Fords
- 1/2 ounce peach schnapps, preferably Faber
- 1/4 ounce Becherovka
- 1 ounce sencha green tea, brewed hot and allowed to cool
- 1 dash ginger bitters
- splash of tonic water, preferably Fever-Tree Indian Tonic, to top
Garnish: sliced peach, sprig of thyme
Directions
- Combine the first five ingredients in a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
- Top with tonic water.
- Garnish with 3 peach slivers in a pinwheel formation and a thyme sprig.