Remember our last savory gartending recipe, the Green Gargoyle? That left me drooling for more from Greg Henry, author of Savory Cocktails and this Salad Bowl Gin and Tonic. It’s just the thing to quench summer thirst.

This drink feels like summer. Make it with the very best summer tomatoes or don’t make it at all. Backyard beauties are best, but farmers’ markets and even some grocery stores carry excellent heirloom tomatoes these days. Choose carefully; you’ll want a bright tomato taste to stand up to the fearless herbaceousness in this cocktail, which drinks like a meal.

• 1⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, basil, and tarragon leaves)
• 1⁄4 cup roughly chopped heirloom tomato
• 1 (1-inch) piece unpeeled English cucumber, roughly chopped (about 1⁄4 cup)
• 2 pony shots / 60 ml / 2 fl oz dry gin
• Tonic water, as needed
• 2 sprigs parsley, basil, or other herb, as garnish (optional)

Choose a traditional pint or similar sturdy, thick-bottomed 16-ounce glass. If any of the herbs (such as thyme) have woody stems, remove and discard them. Place the herbs, tomato, and cucumber in the glass and use a long-handled bar muddler to crush them into a fragrant, pulpy mush. Fill the glass with medium ice cubes, stir, add the gin, and stir again. Top with tonic water. Garnish with the herb sprigs (if using).

Makes 1

Move over sweet, Greg Henry’s recipes are anything but. Check out all the spicy, herbal, umami, bitter, smoky, rich, and strong recipes in his book, Savory Cocktails.

Reprinted with permission from Savory Cocktails by Greg Henry © 2013. Published by Ulysses Press. Photography courtesy of Ulysses Press.