DIY BOOZE TIME

These are the days my future Wikipedia page will refer to as my "Early Career"; the dark days when I wrote about expensive shirts and the shittiness of jorts, before I became a wealthy industrialist and/or international playboy, known for his exquisite taste in raw denim and Italian amari. With any luck I'll also have "Legacy" and "Controversy" sections, because those are what separate you from the regulars. All of this from putting liquor and plant stuff in a blender, and bottling the result. That's right: it's DIY booze time, fam.  

Turns out making your own (very basic) herb-infused booze is pretty simple. You will need:

• a fistful of herbs 
• 375 ml vodka
• a couple stems of rosemary
• 375 ml Campari

Grab your herbs and your vodka (I used a few stalks of mint and a stick of lemongrass, and Smirnoff respectively). Destem the herbs and toss them in a blender with the vodka. Blend with fury. Strain into a mason jar. Take the rosemary (no need to destem) and put it in another mason jar. Fill the jar with Campari. Set both concoctions aside for a few hours. Strain both drinks and they're ready to go (I funneled mine into little glass bottles from Ikea, for ease of use). Then make this cocktail, riffing on the classic negroni:

DIY HERBY-BOOZEGRONI

• 1.5 oz DIY herbal liquor
• 1 oz rosemary-infused Campari
• 1 oz sweet vermouth

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice, stir, and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a strip of lemon peel to express the oils onto the surface of the cocktail, then garnish. Drink it, enjoy it, and consider a sizeable investment in my soon-to-exist herbal liquor company, Rhys Juice™, because I'm bout to blow like Violet Beauregarde.