“Indian summer” arrived fairly late this year and it is making one last appearance here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Temperatures have hit higher than 80 F (27 C) this week.

We were also craving some of the jalapeño and Gin-based drinks we drank in Hawaii recently. Since that trend hasn’t hit the Bay Area yet, we thought we would come up with our own citrus-based cocktail to say goodbye to summer with. Adding some spice with ginger and jalapeño makes this a perfect transition to fall cocktail.

The basic ingredients are Gin, Ginger Simple Syrup, jalapeño and meyer lemon juice:

Summer’s End Transition
2.25 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Ginger Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
3/4 oz. Meyer Lemon Juice (or a mixture of lemon and lime juices)
2-3 jalapeño slices (with seeds)

Muddle the pepper slices with all of the liquid ingredients and some ice. Add more ice, stir, then strain into a chilled cocktail or Martini glass and garnish with a jalapeño slice or a lemon twist.

Ginger Simple Syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar (I use raw sugar which is why the syrup is brown)
1 inch peeled ginger root, sliced into coins or slivered

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Lower heat and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved (2-3 minutes). Remove from the heat, add ginger, let it steep and cool completely (about 20-30 minutes). The strained syrup can be kept in the refrigerator up to a month. Dispose of the ginger slices or use as garnish if desired (we personally like to eat the candied ginger pieces).

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