This is ideal as a summer refresher, but tastes great any time of year. I love combining lemon and thyme in savory dishes, and they taste great together in this sweet drink, too. Lemon thyme, which has a light citrus note, is available in specialty stores and is easy to grow in your garden. I prefer using brands of citrus vodka that have clean flavors, like Skyy and Grey Goose Le Citron. Other times, I leave the vodka out altogether—definitely when I’m serving this to kids!

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1 drink

　　3 lemon wedges

　　Sugar

　　1/4 cup Lemon-Thyme Syrup (recipe follows)

　　1/4 cup citrus vodka

　　1/4 cup club soda

　　1 sprig fresh thyme, preferably lemon thyme

　　

Lemon-Thyme Syrup

3/4 cup sugar

　　1 small bunch fresh thyme, preferably lemon thyme (1/2 ounce)

　　(makes 1 cup)

　　

Step 1

Run 1 lemon wedge over the rim of a highball glass; dip the rim into sugar. Reserve the lemon wedge.

　　

Step 2

Put the remaining 2 lemon wedges in a cocktail shaker along with the syrup and vodka. Muddle hard, breaking the lemon skins to release their oils. Cover and shake.

　　

Step 3

Carefully fill the rimmed glass with ice. Pour the syrup mixture into the glass, lemon wedges and all. Top off with the club soda, then squeeze the reserved lemon wedge over before dropping it into the glass. Garnish with the thyme sprig and serve immediately.

　　

Lemon-Thyme Syrup

Step 4

In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup water and the sugar to boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the thyme, remove from the heat, and let stand until cool. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.