The boy and his poison: Country Thyme

Easter is so nearly here you can hear the crinkle of the creme egg foil. It’s like Christmas' easier going cousin, but the for this barhound, the problem with this cheeky spring bank-holiday is its chocolate focus. As much as I like inhaling a bar of Green & Black it’s not the easiest ingredient to shake with, so the first of my Easter drinks instead celebrates the fresh flavours and aromas of the season. The Country Thyme smells like a spring morning and has an understated pastel tone that would make it a perfect Easter sun-downer.

I first stumbled on it during one of my dedicated work-avoidance breaks on liquor.com. The original recipe came from Joseph Ehrmann but his suggestion of muddling the entire lemon and relying on the thyme in the glass to pass on the flavour to the drink left my first attempt seeming bitter and a bit anti-climatic. My version puts the thyme in the drink and avoids the taste of the lemon peel but you still get the cute thyme garnish.

You'll need:

• 50ml vodka
• 25ml lemon juice
• 15 blueberries (a small handful)
• 1 dessert spoon of agave syrup
• 2 sprigs of thyme

Make it:

• Slap one of the thyme sprigs to release the oils 
• Bend the base and place in the bottom of a tumbler along with some ice
• Meanwhile muddle the blueberries, lemon juice, remaining sprig of thyme and agave in the bottom of a shaker
• Pour in the vodka, add the ice and shake for 10 seconds 
• Strain into the tumbler and serve