Garden Variety

Ingredients

• Fig Gastrique:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugarcane rum, like Mount Gay
• 8 fresh figs, quartered
• Cocktail:
• 10 basil leaves, divided
• 3 strawberries, hulled and quartered, divided
• 1/4 cup fig gastrique
• 1/2 cup sugarcane rum, such as Mt. Gay
• 2 tablespoons Cointreau
• About 1/4 tsp. Angostura bitters
• Club soda to taste

Preparation

1. 1. Make gastrique: Bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until syrup starts to brown. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk vinegar into syrup. Add rum and figs; simmer 15 minutes and chill.
2. 2. Make cocktail: Muddle 8 basil leaves, 2 strawberries, gastrique, and ice in a cocktail shaker, until fruit is in small chunks. Add rum, Cointreau, and bitters and shake. Strain into 2 ice-filled glasses and top with a splash of soda. Garnish each glass with 2 strawberry quarters and a basil leaf.