Fig harvest makes for tasty, late summer cocktails

Combining figs with thyme in cane syrup helps prolong their life and add both fruity and earthy notes to drinks

You may be seeing plump figs growing on trees in your neighborhood, or the special fig and gorgonzola pizza at Blind Lady Ale House this week, which can only mean one thing. It’s finally fig season. 

With their intriguing flavor that combines notes of honey, berry, caramel and flowers, figs are one of my favorite ingredients to use in cocktails. While I sometimes like to muddle them before shaking them in cocktails, their delicate nature means they can be difficult to keep on hand for more than a few days. 

Muddling figs into a cane syrup — the same tactic I used for my mulberry cocktails earlier this summer — helps to prolong their life. For this week’s cocktails, I included some fresh thyme from my herb garden to add some earthy undertones. 

The Figure of Speech combines this syrup with jasmine tea and Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic for a refreshing, end-of-summer cocktail.

In Eve’s Revenge, I combine the syrup with You & Yours Sunday Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and Lillet Blanc Aperitif for a smooth, gin-forward cocktail that allows the fig to step up to center stage.

This is an excerpt from my newest food writing project, San Diego Tides & Tacos. Visit this article on Substack to learn how to make these cocktails.