The Fat Caterpillar
Start with your base which is the liquor that you are playing with. Today I will be using a local gin that has a citrus and spice forward botanical structure. Then highlight that base with both a sweetening agent and a souring agent. Today that sweetening agent is a honey syrup infused with fennel seed. My souring agent will be lemon juice, which has a little pineapple, to play on the tropical aspect of the original inspiration, the Singapore Sling. You end up with a lovely balance of sweet, sour, and tangy. Once you have that base created, what you want to do is build the next layer of flavors. You do that by adding a modifier, which in this case is a French liquor infused with spices and cherries. To tie everything together and add a visual interest I’m topping it all with an Orgeat foam and fennel pollen and finally a sprig of candied fennel frond which incorporates all aspects of the fennel into the drink.
