August Drink of the Month - Green Hornet

This summer has proven one thing to me definitively: I am a terrible gardener. While my wife will happily try to get hanging plants to grow on our porch and water them religiously, even using plant food, I am usually content to forget that I ever purchased a plant and allow it to die an undignified death by dehydration. At one point this summer, I had a small herb garden filled with mint, cilantro, basil, rosemary, and lavender. All that is left at this point is a resilient stalk of rosemary and the sad husks that used to be other plants. However, before their untimely demise, I was able to harvest a few bunches of cilantro and mint. Normally, I would use these in tacos and mint juleps (respectively), but one day while I was bored at work, I stumbled across what seemed like an inventive use for both in a cocktail: a drink the Food Network dubbed the "Green Hornet."

There were a number of problematic issues with the drink as found on their website. First of all, there is already a fairly popular drink of the same name that in no way even remotely resembles the drink they describe. It features Midori (something I've promised to use as sparingly as possible, because gross) and coconut rum with pineapple juice, making it an overly-sweet, tropical concoction. The only connection between this drink and the one we will make today is that they are both green (though markedly different shades). The second problem is that the recipe was written by a cook and not a bartender. Half of the ingredients are listed without ounce pour proportions, which required just a wee bit of fine tuning to make the drink work well. Finally, it is light on the booze - only one ounce of tequila in a 12-16 ounce drink. Clearly we would need to bump this up a bit. However, the original concept of the drink - a mint/cilantro syrup with lime, tequila, and ginger beer, was enticing. Hence, our drink of the month was born. Made to the following specifications, this drink is spicy with a hint of mint to cool you down. It sips almost like spiced ice tea, with only a small, boozy punch at the end to remind you that you're having a cocktail. Here is the recipe that I settled upon:

In a cocktail shaker, combine:

1.5-2 oz tequila (to taste)

1 oz lime juice

1.5 oz mint-cilantro simple syrup*

Shake over ice for 10 seconds and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Do not fine strain the mixture - the floating bits of finely minced mint/cilantro add to the mouth feel.

Top with 3-4 oz of ginger beer, garnish with a lime wheel.

*For the mint/cilantro simple syrup: In a blender, combine 1/2 cup of simple syrup, 1 cup of mint leaves, and 1/2 cup of cilantro. Blend until herbs are finely minced. Bottle and keep for up to 2 weeks in refrigerator.

I hope you enjoy your Green Hornet!