26 Mar Sugar Your Rim

When customers order a certain cocktail, like a margarita, it’s traditional to serve it in a salt or sugar rimmed glass. But the presentation is always a bit more fun when the salt or sugar is brightly colored, right? What about if the granules on the rim were colored and flavored? Fresh Origins’ Mini Herb and Flower Crystals are both. The crystals are made of pure cane sugar combined with flavors from whole flower and herb leaves that vibrantly and flavorfully garnish a variety of cocktails.

Fresh Origins is a company of farmers. They have taken edible flowers, baby vegetables, and MicroGreens to a new level. Not only can you decorate your food with delicious visual additions, they have jumped off the table and onto your glassware with vibrantly inspired rimming sugars in both fine and rough grain textures. It’s always pleasing to see beautiful produce, but we were completely stopped in our tracks when David Sasuga was featuring attractive stemware among his darling edibles, all decorated in a week’s worth of tasty colors. You might uncaringly push fennel greens off your plate with your fork, but you’ll be on the edge of your seat to take another sip with this bright yellow blast on the edge of your cocktail. This is a product evolution of which to be proud.

Current herb and flower crystal flavors are basil, mint, cilantro, fennel, rose, cranberry, hibiscus, and pumpkin spice. The crystals are suggested for the rims of glasses or even tossed into the cocktail for a splash of color and flavor. The variety of available flavors gives bartenders the creative ability to invent countless concoctions of playful and distinguished drinks. Some proposed pairings are the Mini Mint Crystals with signature mojitos, or the Mini Cilantro Crystals with a margarita and other lime-based drinks. The Mini Rose Crystals are a fun idea for romantic or special occasion champagne cocktails. And though herb flavors like fennel and cilantro might give you pause, our tasters here actually found them pretty darn tasty. Here are some Fresh Origins recipes that might inspire some of your own.

Strawberry Fennel Ginger Margarita with Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel Rim

Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel

2 oz Tequila

1 oz Sambuca

3 Strawberries sliced + 1 for garnish

1 oz Fennel Juice

1 tsp Ginger sliced

2 oz Key Lime Juice (save 1 wedge for garnish)

2 tbsp Agave Nectar

Ice

Directions

Chill a margarita glass. In a shaker, combine lemon juice, ginger, strawberries and muddle. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake. Pour Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel on a small plate, lay out evenly. Add simple syrup (sugar & water mixture – heat to dissolve sugar) to a small bowl and dip the glass rim in it. Immediately dip the chilled glass in the Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel plate. Strain the shaker ingredients into the glass. Garnish with a strawberry & lime wedge.

Lemon-Rose Martini with Mini Flower Crystals® Rose Rim

Fresh Origins Mini Flower Crystals® Rose

1.5 oz Citrus Vodka

1 oz Rose Liqueur

1 oz Rose Syrup

2 oz Lemon Juice

1 Lemon wedge (garnish)

Ice

Directions

Chill a martini glass. In a shaker, combine all ingredients and shake. Pour Mini Flower Crystals® Rose on a small plate, lay out evenly. Add simple syrup (sugar & water mixture – heat to dissolve sugar) to a small bowl and dip the glass rim in it. Immediately dip the chilled glass in the Mini Flower Crystals® Rose plate. Strain the shaker ingredients into the glass. Add a tsp of Fresh Origins Mini Flower Crystals® Rose to the drink. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Rhubarb-Fennel Martini with Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel Rim

Ingredients (1 drink)

• Fresh Origins Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel
• 2 oz Fennel-infused Gin
• 3 oz Rhubarb Syrup
• 2 oz soda water
• 1 lime
• Ice

Rhubarb Syrup (4 drinks)

• 1 lb Rhubarb (chopped)
• 12 oz water
• 1/4 cup sugar

Fennel-Infused Gin (4 drinks)

• 1 small Fennel bulb (chopped)
• 12 oz Gin

Directions

Fennel-infused Gin: Add the fennel and 1/2 the gin to a large jar. Vigorously muddle the fennel for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining gin and stir. Let sit for at least an hour.

Rhubarb Syrup: Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, and cover, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and strain. Then, strain the gin.

Chill a martini glass. In a shaker, combine all ingredients and shake.Pour Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel on a small plate, lay out evenly. Add simple syrup (sugar & water mixture – heat to dissolve sugar) to a small bowl and dip the glass rim in it. Immediately dip the chilled glass in the Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel plate. Strain the shaker ingredients into the glass. Add a tsp of Fresh Origins Mini Flower Crystals® Fennel to the drink. Garnish with a lime wedge and lime twist.

Whether your menu is full of eclectic drink choices or the classics, Fresh Origins’ crystals offer an original touch or a flavored twist to your cocktails.  For more information on Fresh Origins’ Mini Crystals and other products, check out their site at http://www.freshorigins.com/