We discovered French Pearl cocktails at a restaurant in Paris. One sip and I knew that we’d found our summer cocktail. It’s a delicious combination of lime juice and mint, with a hint of anise.
French Pearl cocktails are similar to Mojitos, except that they use gin instead of rum and include pastis, an anise-flavored French spirit. Lime, mint, and herbal gin flavors make a refreshing summer combination. The addition of pastis makes the cocktail a bit more complex.
We’ve adjusted the cocktail to our tastes, by muddling the mint to bring out the mint flavor. A splash of club soda or seltzer tones down the drink a touch.
Tips
- For a lighter, less alcoholic drink, reduce the amount of alcohol and add more club soda. For example, make half a cocktail and fill the glass with club soda.
- Use your favorite cocktail glasses for the drinks, such as martini or Nick and Nora glasses. If you want, chill the glasses in the freezer or by adding ice cubes that you dump out before pouring the cocktails.
Special Equipment
You’ll want a muddler to crush the mint. A muddler is a wooden or metal long-handled bartender’s tool that has a ridged bottom for crushing the mint or fruit.
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients to make two French Pearl cocktails.
- 12 – 16 mint leaves, plus two mint stems for garnish
- 4 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce pastis (such as Ricard or Pernod)
- 1 1/2 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce chilled club soda to top off the glasses (1/2 ounce each)
- 2 lime slices for garnish
Directions
Put the mint leaves and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Muddle the leaves by crushing them with a muddler.
Add the gin, pastis, lime juice, and simple syrup to the shaker. Add ice. Shake the cocktails to chill them.
Strain the cocktails into two glasses.
Top the glasses with club soda. Garnish with mint and a lime wheel.
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