LATE SUMMER SWEETNESS: MATILIJA MUSK COCKTAIL

There's nothing quite like the melting of one season to another, and late Summer/early Fall is definitely a magical time of year. It's a period of renewal, pink skies, regrouping, holding on to sandy feet and lazy Sundays . . . And cocktails on the porch. That's where this beauty comes in!

Roxanne Rosensteel, food stylist and recipe developer extraordinaire, and I collaborated to bring a story of late Summer desserts and sundries to you -- perfect for this end-of-season shift when you want to drink in these salad days. First up is Roxanne's enchanting Matilija Musk. Recipe below!

This cocktail tastes like Ojai high vibes straight up in a pretty glass. The combination of sage, myrh and honey is sultry and feels like yummy woo woo going down. This drink will get your crystals in order!! Ha! Seriously though, having a bit of honey and sage syrup on hand is not a bad thing, there's no splash of whisky, bowl of oatmeal, dollop of whip cream or Greek yogurt one of these cannot improve. Roxanne is a booze wizard, I can't thank her enough for dreaming this one up.


Matilija Musk 
makes 1 cocktail 

2 1/4 ounces bulleit rye
1/2 ounce honey syrup
1 ounce sage syrup
7 drops myrrh tincture

Sage syrup - steep 1/3 cup fresh chopped sage leaves in 1 cups of water for 15 minutes. Strain into a saucepan and add 3/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let it cool and store in the refrigerator.

Honey Syrup - bring 1/2 cup honey and 1 cup water to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the honey. Let cool and store in the refrigerator.

For cocktail, stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and garnish with sage leaves.

*Special Thanks to the Ojai Rancho Inn for letting us use their beautiful property to shoot this story! This is one of my favorite getaways in the area, the perfect day trip from Santa Barbara.