Daniel, a man of many culinary talents and the twisted genius behind the Daniel’s Special sandwich (ask us!), came up with a delightful summer drink. With the forecast in the 80s for the weekend, we thought it would be perfect to post today. We posted a cocktail recipe on Wednesday but this has been one of those “make mine a double” weeks.

Daniel’s drink is an herbal riff on a mojito with collins-style elements and a great summery presentation. We added lime juice, which is completely optional. (We are fond of extras, like the e in Greene).

The Greene Grape Cocktail

4 leaves of fresh mint
1 oz green grape simple syrup (follow the directions for simple syrup but add 1 cup of halved green grapes for every cup of water/sugar used so that the ratio of grapes to sugar to water is 1:1:1)
3 oz Hendrick’s gin (we used 2 oz plus one ounce of fresh squeezed lime – DH Krahn gin would also work well)
4 halved green grapes
4 blackberries
1 oz soda water

Add mint and green grape simple syrup to Collins glass (or any tall glass). Muddle to release essential oils in the mint. Add halved grapes and blackberries. Fill glass with crushed ice (cubed will do in a pinch) and add gin and soda (& lime, if using). Stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.