Liguria cocktail recipe

The dry, tangy Liguria was created by Ian Sheldrake, beverage director at Sparrow Italia in London’s Mayfair.

Named after the north-western Italian region, the cocktail pairs a variety of herbal elements in the form of vermouth with rosemary and bay leaf brine alongside gin’s citrus notes for a zesty result.

Ingredients

For the cocktail

• 80ml Beefeater gin
• 20ml dry vermouth
• 20ml herb-infused brine (see below)

For the brine

• 350ml olive brine
• 15ml sherry vinegar
• 14g Maldon salt
• 2 pieces of lemon peel
• 28g whole black peppercorn
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves

Method

For the brine

Combine in a container and leave in the fridge overnight. Strain out solids with a sieve and bottle the liquid. Store in the fridge.

For the cocktail

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice.

Strain half into a martini glass and the other half into a small carafe to be served on ice.

Garnish with two black truffle shavings and four drops of truffle-infused olive oil (the Sparrow Italia team blitzes up and infuses the ends of any leftover truffles in quality olive oil to make this, but shop-bought will also work as long as it is good quality).