Anise Hyssop Gin & Tonic

My suspicion was correct: anise hyssop tastes delicious muddled in a cocktail! And it happens to be my favorite cocktail, the gin & tonic! The herb doesn't impart a ton of flavor, but it does perfume the drink, so when you take a sip, you smell its anise, minty sweetness.

I would love to give you a recipe for this, but honestly, I have no idea how many ounces of ingredients I use. Let's consider the below more of a guideline.

Anise Hyssop Gin & Tonic
Serves 1

Ingredients

10 anise hyssop leaves
London dry gin of your choosing (I like Tanqueray)
St. Germain
Tonic (I like Q Tonic, but it can be hard to find)

1. Muddle the anise hyssop leaves in the bottom of your glass. I don't have a muddler, so I used the end of a wooden spoon. When muddling herbs, you only want to bruise them so they release their essential oils. You are not trying to break them or make them into a pulp. (For an interesting article on muddling, this one from Jason Wilson at the Washington Post is a good read.)

2. Add some gin, some St. Germain (I typically add about 1/3 the amount of gin), 4 or 5 ice cubes, some tonic and give it a stir. Relax and enjoy summer.