It’s the season for bubbly cocktails, and if there’s ever a night that demanded a cocktail with a bit of sparkle – it’s New Year’s Eve. This year, we took inspiration from one of our favorite classic cocktails and some fresh seasonal ingredients to create something that all your friends and loved ones will enjoy: the Rosemary-Pear French 75. – Andrew

Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Rosemary-Pear French 75

2 oz Chamomile-Infused Dry Gin*
1 oz Lemon
1 oz Rosemary-Pear Syrup*
Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Combine the first three ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with sparkling wine and enjoy!

*Chamomile Gin:

Add a tea bag of chamomile to a bottle of dry gin and let stand for a day or two to infuse. Remove the tea bag and discard.

*Rosemary-Pear Syrup:

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1 Red Anjou Pear
1 sprig Rosemary

Thinly slice the pear and strip the leaves from the sprig of rosemary. Combine the sugar, water, pear, and rosemary in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover. Let it sit for another hour, then strain and bottle.

Sparkling wine adds, of course, bubbles to your drink. The French 75 is basically a pepped up Gin Sour – not a bad drink, but one that becomes wonderfully effervescent when you add that sparkling wine. Many sparkling wines, especially most champagnes these days, are also very dry and acidic, so don’t feel bad about adding a dash or two of extra syrup.

And that syrup! The rosemary is a wonderful complement to the earthy sweetness of the pear. And, if you make it using a red Anjou pear, skin and all, the resulting syrup will have a gorgeous pink hue.

Oh, and why chamomile? Why not! Liquors are fantastically easy to infuse, and herbal teas offer an easy way to add interesting new flavors to your spirits. Chamomile is earthy and floral, a nice addition to the complex botanicals of a dry gin. Along with the rosemary-pear syrup, it helps give this drink a solid, mellow base that fits my mood this winter.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper