What inspired you to create this cocktail? “Thyme is one of my favorite herbs to work with and it brings out the spice of Rittenhouse Rye. The vinegar in the shrub pops out the Pama making this a tart little sipper.”

When would you serve this drink? “I made it low-alcohol, so this is a good day drinking drink. A patio pounder, a porch sipper, a poolside potion...We have many names for day drinking in New Orleans, like the Inuits have for snow.”

What music would you pair it with? “I kind of want relaxing classical music for soft summer breezes, but I also love bluegrass...Chris Thile bridges that! The host of Live from Here is a bluegrass mandolin whizz and he also did an album of Bach! He is a huge cocktail nerd and rye whiskey fan. So, I would play some Chris Thile for sure. He would love this cocktail. It’s in the same family of my Charbonneau Way cocktail that I always make for him and the band when they play my town.”

What food would you pair it with? “Currently, enjoying this with a tuna fish sandwich with spicy pickle potato chips smushed on top. Is that too weird? Pair it with your favorite comfort food, I guess.”

Name the person (dead or alive) you’d like to make this cocktail for. “My grandpa. Made with the fresh wild mountain thyme from his backyard.”

By Abigail Gullo

INGREDIENTS

• 1 oz Rittenhouse Rye (Order on Drizly)
• .75 oz Domaine de Canton (Order on Drizly)
• .5 oz Pama Pomegranate Liqueur 
• 1 oz Lemon juice
• .75 oz Lemon Thyme Shrub*
• Glass: Cocktail
• Garnish: Sprig of fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS

Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

INGREDIENTS

• Peels from 3 lemons
• 1 cup Sugar
• 10 Thyme sprigs
• .5 cup Vinegar
• .25 cup Hot water

DIRECTIONS

Peel three lemons with a vegetable peeler. Try to avoid taking off the white pith. Add the lemon peels and the sugar to a mason jar. Muddle the lemon peels in the sugar. In a separate non-reactive (not metal) container submerge the thyme in vinegar. Let both containers rest for at least two hours, but no more than two days. Add both mixtures to a pitcher or bowl, plus the hot water. Stir, and strain into a clean jar and cap it. Shake it well to incorporate any undissolved sugar. Store in the refrigerator and it will only get better with age. 

Abigail Gullo is a talented Seattle bartender. In 2016, she won Heaven Hill’s Bartender of the Year competition.

Thank you Heaven Hill Bartender of the Year for partnering with Half Full on the Bartenders At Home cocktail video series.

You can find more Bartenders At Home cocktail tutorials here!

Interview has been condensed and edited.