Apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) is often seen as a weed, most likely because of its aggressive growing but I find the flavour to be incredible compared to its perennial cousins.
It has a more pronounced flavour and because of its large woolly leaves, you need to use a lot less than normal mint. Interestingly, mint works perfectly well alongside strong flavours such as rich meats and dark chocolate.
Remember to take care of the delicate leaves. Damaging the leaf too much can cause the colour pigment chlorophyll to create a bitter taste and turns the leaves black.
A gentle spank between your hands will do the trick in releasing the essential oils!
We’ve used an ‘Old Tom’ for our apple mint gin recipe, due to the increased sweetness and liquorice notes found in this style.
We feel this combination works better but that decision is ultimately up to you!
This is a great alcohol infusion but if you have any apple mint leftover why not think about making a syrup?
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