Shake and double-strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Add gin, dry vermouth, lemon and simple syrup. Lightly muddle dill, basil and coriander at the bottom of a shaker tin. Incidentally, the drink is named for the English charter that granted land west of Jersey, known then as Sylvania (latin for “woods”), to William Penn and the Quakers in 1681. Try it in a Penn’s Woods, which takes advantage of the season’s garden herbs. The hand-hammered, copper pot still in which this gin is produced is a proud feature of Philadelphia Distilling, which debuted this product in 2005 at the forefront of the craft spirits revolution. It’s also a departure from the typical London Dry style, made entirely with organic botanicals and American citrus peels, which come out in its very citrus-forward flavor profile. This July 4th holiday is a good time to celebrate some of those traditions and spirits, and provide some cocktail recipes to showcase them.īluecoat Gin: From Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Declaration, comes this gin, named for the color of the patriot uniforms worn in the Revolutionary War. Among them, we have preserved the right to produce some excellent spirits on our home turf, using methods passed on through generations of immigrant ancestors mixed with modern technological advances and access to quality, seasonal ingredients. We have still managed to retain certain inalienable rights. 241 years later, some of this is hitting home right about now, isn’t it? When’s the last time you read the transcript of the Declaration of Independence? Have a look. I could also completely ignore the fact this is a holiday that is supposed to celebrate the anniversary of declaring our nation’s freedom from an oppressive ruler and just list a random bunch of summery drinks with base ingredients that come from everywhere and have no apparent theme at all. I could use this space to list red, white and blue drinks or sparkling ones to match the fireworks. As the editor of an American drinks publication, it’s become part of my civic duty to present a list of things to drink over the holiday weekend. In a world in which we’re constantly dodging fake news, here are some self-evident truths we take with us into Independence Day 2017: it’s a long weekend, it’s hot, we need to relax and we’re thirsty.

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