Perfect Thyming

This cocktail was created by Brian MacGregor at Wingtip in San Francisco and inspired by Herbert Quick’s Queen Elizabeth cocktail from the Café Royal Cocktail Book of 1937. Vermouth plays the starring role, so use the best dry vermouth you can find.

1½ oz. dry vermouth (Sanders uses Dolin)
½ oz. pear & thyme simple syrup
½ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. gin
Tools: shaker, strainer, fine strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: thyme sprig

Shake ingredients with ice, then double-strain into a chilled glass and garnish.

For the pear and thyme syrup: Roast quarters of one pear cut-side up at 400° F in the oven for about 30 minutes until they begin to brown. Allow to cool enough to handle, then cut into half-inch slices and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes—without boiling—in 1 cup simple syrup along with fresh thyme sprigs. Stir occasionally as it cooks, then remove from heat and let stand until cool. Double-strain and place in a clean glass jar. Add a 1/4 ounce of vodka per 1/2 cup of syrup as a preservative, stir, and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Brian MacGregor, Wingtip, San Francisco. Reprinted from The Art of the Shim, Sanders & Gratz, 2013, by Dinah Sanders