Yes, the Better Heather Gin Cocktail is named after a person. A delightful friend, whose name is Heather. Heather is a fellow blogger, fellow horsewoman, and fellow gin aficionado. Which is why she absolutely deserves a drink of her own. And, as it turns out, this basic recipe is a great “formula” to mix and match different fruit juices and liqueurs.

Better Heather Gin Cocktail Ingredients – Pavan, lime, sweet vermouth, gin.

Heather has been a Pavan fan for a while, and I’m a bit new to this particular game. This gin cocktail is the culmintation of a series of texts about horses and gin, a horse shopping trip, and deciding what to name a new pony. It all came to be standing in the kitchen fiddling around with gin drinks and Pavan, and wondering what to name this deliciousness. Then Heather texts about her new pony, and the Better Heather is born.

And also, it sounds better than “The New Pony”.

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The Better Heather Gin Cocktail

A lovely and strong mix of citrus, Pavan, vermouth, and gin. Go easy – it's delicious and goes down fast!

Ingredients

1.5 Oz. Gin
.75 Oz. Pavan This is a must!
.75 Oz. Sweet Vermouth
.75 Oz. Lime juice Treat yourself with some fresh squeezed lime.
Dehydrated Lime To garnish

Instructions

Chill your coupe glass! Toss any ice you are using before you pour.
Toss your gin, Pavan, lime juice, and sweet vermouth into a shaker. With ice!
Mix it up, and strain.
Garnish with a dehydrated lime, and enjoy!

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What really is Pavan, anyway?

Pavan is light and sweet-ish liqueur from France. It’s made from the same grapes that make Moscato wine – the Muscat. Moscato is one of the sweetest wines ever to be made, so it stands to reason that Pavan is also sweet. But it’s more. The grapes are then fortified, which basically means “pumped up a notch” by adding a spirit.

Better Heather Gin Drink with Dehydrated Lime Garnish

Then oak barrels are involved, and the Pavan is mixed with orange blossoms. What you end up with is lightly sweet, lightly bold, and lightly floral. This can be a stark contrast to gin and it’s famous “pine tree” notes.

Vermouth is also made from grapes, so really, the Better Heather is a lot like getting a day’s supply of vitamins from fruit. IF ONLY. I also chose to use a dehydrated lime, which has lovely intense flavors and helps the overall aroma.

You can also try the Pavan Peacock if you decide that nothing is better than gin and Pavan.

Do enjoy!