Signature · 20–35 minutes including chilling components · Serves 1
Pear Garden
Illustrative image generated with AI, not a photo of the cooked dish.
A pear sour: lemon verbena adds aroma without obscuring the fruit. The base is dry gin; serve cold and evaluate at actual dilution.
Fresh preparation concentrates the central ingredient; bar technique controls chill, texture and dilution. Initial documentary formula, with no physical tasting recorded; sweetness and acidity need an initial trial with specific products.
Special equipment: Jigger, strainer and chilled glassware
Ingredients
Mix
- 45 ml Dry gin, 40% ABV.
- 30 ml Fresh strained pear juice.
- 20 ml Fresh strained lemon juice.
- 15 ml Chilled 1:1 lemon verbena syrup.
- For the syrup: 2 g food-grade dried lemon verbena, 100 ml infusion water and 40 g sugar for 40 g strained infusion.
- 1 ripe pear for juice.
- Potable ice: plenty of cubes for shaking; no serving ice.
- 1 food-grade lemon verbena leaf for aroma.
Method
Mix
- Steep 2 g food-grade dried lemon verbena in 100 ml water at 80 °C for 5 minutes and strain. Weigh 40 g infusion and dissolve 40 g sugar in it. Chill promptly. Grate a ripe pear, press through a fine strainer and measure 30 ml; use immediately.
- Shake all liquids with ice cubes for about 10–12 seconds, until the shaker is very cold. Fine-strain into a chilled stemmed glass without ice. Nominal liquid volume is 110 ml; about 20 ml of preparation ice melt is assumed, except in a built highball. Measure actual dilution in the first trial; do not top up to a fixed volume.
The serve
Serve in a chilled stemmed glass, with plenty of cubes for shaking; no serving ice. Apply food-grade lemon verbena leaf set on the rim immediately before serving without blocking the sip. Expect pear, lemon and lemon verbena first; as ice melts, evaluate whether gin remains present and sweetness and acidity stay balanced.
Key points
- Measure every liquid; nominal volume is not an observed yield.
- Keep fresh ingredients cold and serve immediately.
- Record brand, composition and ABV to make the result repeatable.
- Adjust one variable per tasting; this formula has not been physically validated.
Notes
- Theoretical strength: 18 ml nominal absolute alcohol / (110 ml mix + 20 ml assumed dilution) = approximately 13.8% ABV. This excludes serving ice melt and volume contraction. Actual dilution depends on ice, time, temperature and technique. Measure extraction yields during preparation and discard fresh leftovers at the end of the session.
- Consume in the same session. Do not infer microbiological shelf life for juice, purée or cocktail from alcohol content. Do not bottle for another day.