Max Smirnoff, from Craft Cocktail Club on fb

I saw Max had posted this drink the other day, and the strawberry infused Aperol kind of hooked me. So I set about infusing some Aperol with aromatic Dutch strawberries. I already had a black pepper tincture I had made for a previous drink.

I used a cup of chopped strawberries to a cup of Aperol, (for easy conversion) and soaked them for a day, in the fridge. Then strained off the solids ( which I recycled into my stomach 😉)
Keep this in the fridge. It should last a week or 2, maybe.

I tested the tincture to taste, as I went. So it depends on your level of spice. Go easy if you use a tincture, as you could ruin it fast.

Ingredients
52ml Reposado Tequila- Teremana used
22.5ml Aperol infusion
22.5ml Manzanilla Sherry
22.5ml Honey Syrup 1:1
22.5ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Black Pepper (I used a 1/4tsp for 2 drinks)

Directions
Shake all with ice, and strain into a pre chilled coupe. Max says to double strain, but I know he used cracked pepper on his first attempt.

Max also says he tried infusing the pepper with the Tequila, and also the honey. He also suggested you just shake them. Crack them first, to get the maximum flavour.

For my tincture, I used 200ml of high proof Vodka (50% ABV) and 3 teaspoons of fresh coarse ground pepper. I let this sit for a couple of days then strained it through a coffee filter. I morphed this recipe from a Szechuan Pepper tincture originally posted by Andy, or proofcocktails.nl, for a great cocktail he had created.