Pear-Bourbon Cocktail

Jamie loves bourbon so we always have it around. Last weekend, I wanted to make a special cocktail and I love pears, so enter the pear bourbon cocktail. My grocery actually had Goya pear nectar, which is delicious, so I was in luck. I made a ginger-spiced simple syrup to go with it, and topped it off with a thin slice of pear and then for fun some tiny pear hearts speckling the bottom. Good for Valentine's Day!

Makes 2 Drinks

Ingredients:

2 tsp spiced simple syrup (recipe to follow)

3 shots bourbon (I used Knob Creek, but any bourbon is fine)

2-2 1/2 shots pear juice

Lots of ice

Three thin slices of pear, one used to punch out a few little shapes if desired - I made hearts

Directions:

Put first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously to get it really cold and to melt some of the ice to dilute it a bit. Pour into glasses and garnish with pear slices. 

Spiced Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar (mostly regular sugar, but with maybe 1/3 of it dark brown sugar)

1" fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

2 cloves

5 black pepper corns

1 crushed cardamom pod

1/3 cup water

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring, until sugar is melted. Turn down to very low and steep for 20 minutes or so until the flavors have mingled. Let cook and keep in the fridge.