South China Sea

• Lemon grass simple syrup
• 1 cup palm sugar, coconut sugar, or jaggery.
• 1 stalk of lemon grass
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vodka
• South China Sea cocktail
• 1 1/2 ounces vodka (I prefer the flavor of potato vodka but YMMV)
• 1 1/2 ounces Dolin dry vermouth
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon grass simple syrup (add more if a sweeter drink is desired)
• 2 slices of fresh ginger root, peeled and lightly bruised with a knife blade

1. Chop the lemon grass into small pieces.
2. Melt the sugar, water and lemon grass together over low heat. Simmer for ten minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the lemon grass to steep in the sugar syrup for an hour or more. The syrup will be dark brown in color.
3. Strain the syrup into a clean jar, discarding the solids. Add the vodka--this will prevent the syrup from becoming moldy. Refrigerate--it will keep for many weeks.
4. fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka, vermouth, lemon juice, and simple syrup and one of the two slices of ginger root.
5. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add a fresh slice of ginger to the glass as a garnish.

lemon grass simple syrup, palm sugar, stalk of lemon grass, water, vodka, south china, vodka, lemon juice, lemon grass simple syrup, ginger root

Taken from food52.com/recipes/31600-south-china-sea (may not work)