fig julep
Fig season excites me, because that means autumn approaches, and autumn goodies. For now though, we’ll say hello to figs in this easy Fig Julep. Mint infused fig simple syrup, whiskey, a snip of bitters, and lots to look forward to now that you have a weekend cocktail to shake up.
Fun fact about me: in high school, I took 5 years of Spanish, including AP (I somehow passed that exam despite all three of us in the room chuckling at how incompetent we felt). I never really used it practically, however, except in conference calls with my remote teacher, so much of the knowledge is stored way far back in my brain waiting to be used.
Twice yesterday at work I tried to exercise my Spanish brain, and was fairly not successful. My issue is more discerning words through accents than the words themselves. With the right context and picking up most of a sentence, I can glean meaning pretty well. The roadblock is how quickly native speakers talk – not their fault, I’m sure I ramble to them as well – and as I mentioned the accents. Otherwise I probably would’ve done fine.
I think I made a giant fool of myself, but living in Florida and encountering many Spanish speakers at work is inspiring me to brush up on my language skills. I’ve a couple coworkers who speak it fluently and could probably ask them to practice with me. Why waste the knowledge when it’s largely in my head already?
It’s also fairly funny that I tend to splice Spanish with Swedish – not great in the latter, but I did use it a fair amount when I lived there so some of the words stuck – and I feel like that mashup will happen by accident one day.
What about you all – do you speak other languages? Which ones? My mom’s side of the family was quite diverse linguistically. My grandfather spoke Lithuanian fluently (never taught my mom, still pretty bitter about that), and a couple of others I don’t remember right now spoke Gaelic and Polish. Very unique, I think.
Bar chats, that was. Let’s switch to this Fig Julep. A traditional mint julep contains a few easy ingredients: mint, simple syrup, and whiskey. I molded a fun shape for this drink by adding a mint-infused fig syrup, a dash of orange juice and orange bitters, and some sparkling water. Maybe I shouldn’t call this a julep, but however technical you get, it’s a fun drink and a rich one and one you should definitely mix up this weekend.
The prep time in the recipe card is largely from making the fig syrup. Definitely not difficult, but you do need to practice some patience to let it cool.
In a saucepan, combine some halved and destemmed figs, fresh mint, sugar, and water. Heat gently for about 5 minutes to infuse the flavors, then strain well through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to cool. I allowed 10 minutes, and you can also refrigerate it to expedite the process.
After that? Just like any old cocktail. You can stir or shake the Fig Julep but I like to shake all of my drinks. Add some syrup, orange juice, whiskey, and orange bitters to a shaker with some ice and go to town on your mixologist shimmy. Pour into a glass filled with ice, stick some fig halves and mint leaves atop, and happy hour is served.
Easy, right? And so good. It’s lightly citrusy, with a refreshing mint wash over the tongue, and plenty of whiskey bite without the booze overpowering the rest of the drink. Want it stronger? Add 1/2 ounce more whiskey. Less sweet? Subtract 1/2 ounce of the syrup. You still get a wonderful profile with less of what you don’t want and more of what you do.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Ingredients
- 1 oz mint fig syrup (recipe below)
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1 1/2 oz whiskey
- dash orange bitters
- sparkling water, to top
mint fig simple syrup
- 6 figs, destemmed and halved
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- To make the mint fig syrup: add halved figs, mint leaves, sugar, and water to a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Strain thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve over a jar or glass. Let cool at least 10 minutes.
- Add ice to a cocktail glass. In a shaker, combined fig syrup, orange juice, whiskey, and bitters. Shake with ice until chilled and pour into prepared glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with fresh mint and figs, as desired.
