Our wild strawberry cordial is actually somewhere between a fruit purée and a syrup. The idea was to create a high-octane strawberry flavor to blend in a French 75 cocktail (page 69). Much of the flavor comes from the wild strawberries we have imported frozen from France—they are tiny in size but big in flavor and vary from light yellow to deep red. You can use regular fresh strawberries, but make absolutely certain that they are ripe and fragrant.

Ingredients

　　4 pounds frozen or fresh strawberries, hulled

　　1 cup granulated sugar

　　1 cup water

　　Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

　　1 vanilla bean, scored and scraped

　　Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring, then decrease the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Strain out the lemon zest and vanilla bean and pour into a store-and-pour container. The cordial will keep for 7 days, refrigerated. Keep refrigerated until use. Fill a labeled squeeze bottle for easiest use.

　　Reprinted with permission from Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined by Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric, © 2010 Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.