One way or another, it’s the apocalypse.

Whether it’s lava in Hawaii, nuclear war with Iran, or civil war here in the good ‘ol U.S.of A, it seems like the end is nigh.

But meanwhile, here in Baltimore, the city is spring blooming with new life that temporarily hides the trash and rats and decay and hopelessness that normally decorates Charm City. For this one week or even possibly this one month before the whispering gloom of humidity descends, Baltimore on the eve of the apocalypse is beautiful.

Either way – hopeful and blooming or despondent and withering under the heat of the certain destruction – you need a [seasonal] drink.

Enter the Sugar Snap Pea Spring Cocktail.

Leave me alone about the name. I’m bad at drink names and blog post titles. It’s about the drink.

Start with a sugar snap pea simple syrup and go from there. My particular friend and I tested it three ways; below are all of them. Seriously? You can’t go wrong with any of them.

Sugar Snap Pea Spring Cocktail

Start with the sugar snap pea simple syrup, then proceed to the variations below. 

Sugar Snap Pea Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup rough chopped fresh sugar snap peas

Method

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add snap peas and let boil for one minute. Turn off heat and let cool completely. Use a mesh strainer to remove the sugar snap pea bits.  Keeps in the ‘fridge for a week.

Variations

For all of these, fill a highball glass with ice (we used whole cubes but crushed would be fine). Add ingredients in order and use a barspoon to combine. Squeeze that fruit in the cocktail. It’s not just for decoration. Jeez.

Prettiest of All

1.5 oz. Empress Hotel PURPLE GIN*

1 oz. sugar snap pea simple syrup

Tonic of your choice (we used good old Seagram’s but you could surely get fancy AF with artisanal bullshit if you must. That makes it more about your tonic water than the syrup, but hey. That’s on you.)

Lemon wedge

Prettiest of All, Variation

1.5 oz Empress Hotel PURPLE GIN*

1 oz. sugar snap pea simple syrup

Lemon seltzer

Lemon wedge

Most Sugar Snap Pea Flavor (my personal favorite, even though it’s not the prettiest)

2 oz. Tito’s vodka

1.5 oz. sugar snap pea simple syrup

Lemon seltzer

*Be very, very jealous that you do not have a good artist friend in Vancouver, Corey Hardeman, who is not only incredibly talented but is also incredibly generous and thoughtful and who sends you beautiful paintings of grumpy owls and paint-thumbprinted bottles of purple gin that just are not available anywhere else so you can drink elegant and beautiful cocktails whenever you like.