TAURUS COCKTAIL: BURDOCK BUBBLY
The renowned astro-physician, Nicholas Culpepar, states that “Venus challengeth this herb for her own. The burdock leaves are cooling and moderately drying.” Mostly known for their clingy and very annoying prickly burrs, the burdock weed, or ahem, plant, enjoys a limited use in our western society. That is, apart from giving us a good work out to extricate the burrs from the dogs tail! The ingenious inventor of Velcro was inspired by this ambivalent plant to make his millions. I believe there are numerous medicinal uses for burdock, one of which is purifying the blood, as Anita from Married With Dinner kindly reports. But I only know of one cocktail, and I present you with that now:
BURDOCK BUBBLY:
- burdock syrup*
- drops Angostura bitters
- champagne (the drier the better as the syrup will make it sweet)
In champagne glass, pour 1/2 oz burdock syrup with four drops bitters. Top with champagne.*BURDOCK SYRUP:
Peel and chop a root of burdock. Place in saucepot with 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to boil and allow to simmer until liquid is thicker than when it started. Strain into final storage container, adding 1 oz vodka for preservative. Store in fridge.
Recipe created by Gwen Sutherland Kaiser
ALSO TRY: BURDOCK & CARROT KINPIRA
THANKS TO MARRIED WITH DINNER FOR HOSTING THIS MONTH’S MIXOLOGY MONDAY!
And here I thought *I* was the mistress of the bizarre cocktail ingredients.
How does the burdock syrup taste? Burdock is a thistle, yes…? Is it bitter like Cynar, the artichoke aperitif?
Comment by Anita — April 17, 2007 @ 12:13 am
burdock is not actually a thistle, but it is related. no it’s not bitter at all. it’s got a woodsy, earthy flavor to it. i’ve never tasted Cynar… you know in britain the burdock/dandelion cordial is a best seller!
Comment by Moi — April 17, 2007 @ 12:51 am
Excellent! Thank you for the lesson
Isn’t it great how something so popular on one side of the pond can still be a mystery on the other?
I see burdock in the Chinese grocery stores near my house… I may have to pick one up the next time and give this a whirl.
Comment by Anita — April 17, 2007 @ 1:51 am
[…] lone entrant featuring a home-brewed root infusion mixed with sparkling wine, Burdock Bubbly is Intoxicated Zodiac’s Taurus-inspired cocktail. Gwen tells us that burdock has “a […]
Pingback by Married …with dinner » Blog Archive » A toast to MxMo — April 17, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
Thank you so much for participating in MxMo XIV — the roundup is here: http://marriedwithdinner.com/archives/679
Comment by anita — April 17, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
Thanks for the comment on techgirly.com.
I love your blog! What a great idea!
Comment by Melanie — April 20, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
You are a mixing technician, American huh? ok I will chnage that - I suspect that your Budock Bubbly cocktail tastes similar to something called Burdock Blood Bitters.
RobC
Comment by Roberrific — June 13, 2007 @ 6:59 am
omigod, you are hilarious! i love it. woohoo… i’m famous!!!!!! ps though, i’m a girl : )
Comment by Gwen — June 14, 2007 @ 8:03 am