We had a blast catching up with Bentley Gillman and talking about his new foraging cocktail book, "Cocktails in Bloom," which is available for pre-order. You can find ingredients to forage when heading into the woods or even your backyard. Bentley combines his love of the wilderness with his passion for distilling at Tattersall and making beautiful spirits, cocktails, and mocktails.
He shared a recipe with me for “Vermouth” that I tried with “Ground Ivy” or “Creeping Charlie.”
Gather 1 cup of “Creeping Charlie”
Add 1/4 cup sugar and macerate
Refrigerate overnight
Add a bottle of any variety of white wine and refrigerate for two more days
Taste for sweetness and strain
Use the “Vermouth” mixture for a martini or
Makeva Spritz with 1.5 oz “Vermouth” to 3-4 oz sparkling water
Another recipe he mentioned in the podcast is his “Dandelion and Spruce Tonic” Recipe from the book. Pre-order now and get a custom bandanna for your own foraging adventures!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Spruce Tips
5g dried (or 25g fresh) dandelion root
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 stalk chopped lemongrass
2 limes, zested and juiced
Instructions:
Simmer water, sugar, dandelion root, and lemongrass until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in lime zest, and allow to cool. Strain into a jar, add lime juice, and stir.
For a cocktail: Mix 1 ounce of tonic syrup with 1 1/2 ounces of gin. Pour over ice and add 4 ounces of soda water. Garnish with spruce tips and a squeeze of lime.
For a Mocktail: Mix 1 ounce of syrup with 3 ounces of cold brew. Pour over ice and add 2 ounces of soda water. Garnish with an orange.
Bentley Gillman, head Distiller at Tattersall Distilling, forager and cocktail book author