Cocktails with Rosemary fresh
Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen herb with needle leaves and a resinous, piney scent.
How it's used
Press a sprig lightly, smoke it for aroma, or steep it in syrup. Rosemary releases its oil slowly, so a sprig laid across the drink keeps scenting it. Gin and citrus drinks are its classic home, and grapefruit and honey sit well beside it.
Substitutes for Rosemary fresh
Rosemary syrup
A great option that delivers the flavor without the needles. It carries sugar, so it stands in for more than the herb: if there is sugar syrup in the mix, replace part of it with rosemary syrup. To make it, steep a sprig for 30 minutes in syrup of equal parts sugar and water by weight, then strain.
Dried rosemary
Works for muddling or making syrup, but not as a garnish. Use a third of the amount and strain carefully, since the hard needles never soften.
Storage
Wrapped and refrigerated it holds a couple of weeks. That is longer than a soft herb, because the oil sits inside the needles, not on the leaf surface. It dries well and loses very little doing so, which is unusual for a herb.
