The Purple Haze at South Front Tavern
Sometimes you don’t have to chase a gin and tonic. Wilmington is filled with distilleries making gin—some make more than one—and Canada Dry works just fine for the tonic. A little wedge of lime, and you’ve got a cocktail fit for sitting outside when the weather is starting to get warm.
But sometimes a gin and tonic is worth a trip. Mark Zecher, who recently opened the South Front Tavern in the South Front District, has been thinking about how to make one that’s worth getting in your car.
He calls it the Purple Haze.
“I started as a chef,” he says. “So I’m able to translate the skills I have with flavor profiles into a balanced beverage.
“I find a gin and tonic so refreshing; I wanted to elevate it, but still make it comfortable for my customers.”
That starts with recognizing your gin’s botanicals and working backwards to find what will complement it. For the Purple Haze, Zecher uses Maritime gin from the Cape Fear Distillery, a bottle he says his customers often ask for. For this drink he thought fresh basil would add some herbaceousness while just a hint of lavender would give it a floral accent to run under the radar.
Of course, presentation matters; anything we drink or eat has to look good or we wouldn’t put it in our mouths. The lightly tinted Purple Haze evokes lavender but its color comes from butterfly pea flowers native to Southeast Asia. Once dried, the flowers make a tea that’s an alarmingly deep dimensional blue. But its secret power lies in how it reacts to acid. Add some citrus and the color blooms to a bright purple/pink.
Zecher puts this all together starting with the first building block of many cocktails: simple syrup. It’s simple because, well, because it starts with two ingredients, if you consider water an ingredient. Put equal amounts of water and sugar in a pot and simmer it down until it’s syrupy. (Syrupy is a word! Thought spell check was going to hit me with that red zigzag underscore.)
A cook or bartender has license to add whatever they want while the syrup is simmering to flavor it. For this drink, Zecher adds a pinch of lavender and a pinch of the dried pea flowers. The finished syrup goes into a small bottle with a pourer, which is kept behind the bar.
Now all the ingredients are ready: gin, tonic, basil, some sliced citrus and lavender-butterfly pea tea syrup. From there, it’s all about proportions and the dramatic color change that comes when the acid hits the drink. At South Front Tavern, Zecher uses pink grapefruit. Do this in front of your guests.
Having opened on August 1 of last year, spring 2025 will be the tavern’s first chance to serve its enhanced gin and tonic to customers outside—when the weather is just starting to get warm.
40 S. 2nd Street, #110, Wilmington
