Verbena Cocktail

Verbena Cocktail

At The Chandelier bar at The Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas, chief mixologist Mariena Mercer has been experimenting with Szechuan buttons for years, and this cocktail is one of the bar’s most popular signature drinks.

Ingredients in The Verbena Cocktail

1 ¹⁄₂ oz Herradura blanco tequila

3 oz Yuzu-calamansi sour mix*

1 oz Ginger syrup*

6 Lemon verbena leaves

Garnish: 

Szechuan button

Glass: 

Double rocks

How to make The Verbena Cocktail

Combine the lemon verbena leaves and ginger syrup in a cocktail shaker and muddle.

Add the remaining ingredients and ice and shake until well-chilled.

Strain into a double rocks glass filled with fresh ice.

Garnish with a Szechuan button.

*Yuzu-calamansi sour mix: Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. Combine with 1 cup freshly squeezed yuzu juice and 1 cup freshly squeezed calamansi juice.

**Ginger syrup: Combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1/4 pound ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, in a saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and strain out solids.