The Briar Patch and Lady Clover

There is really no adequate introduction for drinks by master mixologist Toby Maloney. His cocktails have never failed us, whether at his thoroughly delightful bar in Chicago, The Violet Hour, or using his recipes at home.

And, most amazing, Mr. Maloney is a generous man who freely shares his knowledge and recipes online, all in the name of celebrating the craft. I was perusing the thread today and became excited by his instructions on making your own blackberry cordial, especially since it’s berry season. So after work, Josh and I headed to the market around the corner and bought two beautiful boxes of blackberries.

Mr. Maloney’s instructions were as follows:

Take 2 pints of blackberries, and 2 cups of simple, muddle the bejesus out of the berries, and add simple. Stir. Wait a while, stir. Repeat. Repeat until the liquid is very dark. Strain through a chinois. I like to add a dash or two of Angostura. If you think that it will be hanging around for awhile, add a splash of gin.

The instructions were straight-forward enough, and we seemed to survive the making process. But what to mix with it?

So tonight we tried two new recipes by Mr. Maloney, which use blackberry syrup: The Briar Patch and Lady Clover (both featured at one time at TVH).

Here are his instructions (we didn’t have any Plymouth, so we used what we had on hand—Tanqueray).

Lady Clover

2 oz Plymouth

.75 oz House Blackberry Syrup

.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Egg White

7 drops Peychaud’s Bitters

Top: Soda Water

Glass: Collins

Garnish: 5 drops Angostura Bitters

Ice: 3 KD cubes

Combine all, mime shake. Add ice, shake, strain over fresh ice, top with soda, garnish.

Briar Patch

1.5 oz Plymouth Gin

¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice

½ oz Simple Syrup

¼ oz Home made Blackberry Cordial

Glass: Collins

Garnish: Blackberry and Knotted Pigtail Lemon Twist

Ice: Crushed

Build in shaker. Shake hard 3 times with Kold Draft Ice. Strain into Collins Glass filled with Crushed Ice. The crushed ice will recede. Top with more crushed ice then lace with blackberry cordial.To make the Cordial take one pint of blackberries and muddle in a non reactive container.

Grand success!!! The Lady Clover was especially delicious. The egg white lent a special lightness to the cocktail. It’s smooth, but layered. Lots to entertain your tongue. The Briar Patch was also tasty, but I think our lemon is a bit tart, so it came out slightly sour. Since we made that one first we were able to adjust for the Lady Clover.

Hope you can enjoy these recipes as much as we did!