Imereti · 90 min · Vegan · Drink · For beginners
Tarkhuna
Original name: Tarkhunas Limonati · In German: Tarkhuna – georgische Estragonlimonade · In English: Tarkhuna (Georgian Tarragon Lemonade)
For 4 servings · US units
Georgian tarragon lemonade: tarragon syrup, lemon and fizz, served ice-cold
Tarkhuna is the Georgian tarragon soda, and on a hot summer afternoon it does exactly what you want it to: cools you down and wakes you up. The tarragon steeps with aniseed and lemon zest into a syrup that gets topped with ice-cold sparkling water — herby, sweet-sour and pleasantly unfamiliar. Once you've made it yourself, the bottled green stuff loses its appeal.
Ingredients
- 1 bunchleaves picked, about 15–20 sprigsA fresh herb with narrow leaves and a distinct anise note, often used by the bunch in Georgian cooking.Substitute: Where tarragon goes in fresh and in quantity, there is no good substitute, since dried tarragon tastes flat and hay-like. Chervil or fennel fronds come closest to the anise note but are milder and less pungent.Read more
- 5¼ ozsugarfor the syrup
- ⅔ cupwaterfor the syrup
- ¼ cuplemon juicefreshly squeezed
- 1 tsplemon zestfrom unwaxed lemons
- 1 tspfennel seeds as substituteSmall grey-green seeds of the anise plant with a sweetish, liquorice-like aroma.Substitute: Fennel seed comes closest but is milder and less sweet, so use a little more; ground star anise matches the liquorice note but is much stronger and should be used sparingly.Read more
- 4¼ cupssparkling waterice-cold, for topping up
- ice cubesfor serving
- 1 pinchbaking sodastabilises the green colour (optional)
- 1 pinchsaltlifts the aroma (optional)
- 1limejuice and zest, in addition to the lemon (optional)
Method
- Prepare the tarragonWash the tarragon, pat it dry and pick the leaves from the stems; set a few good-looking sprigs aside for garnish.
- Zest and juice the citrusZest and juice the unwaxed lemon (and the lime, if you're using it).
- Dissolve the sugarHeat the sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Infuse the syrupAdd the tarragon leaves, aniseed and lemon zest, bring briefly to a boil and let it simmer gently for a few minutes so the flavours move into the syrup.
- Let the syrup coolTake the pan off the heat and let the syrup cool completely — it keeps infusing as it goes.
- Strain and chillStrain the cooled syrup through a fine sieve, pressing the herbs well to get everything out, then chill it.
- Add lemon juice and tasteStir the lemon juice into the cold syrup and taste for how sweet or sharp you want the lemonade to be.
- Pour over ice and top upFill glasses or a carafe generously with ice cubes, pour in the syrup mixture and top up with ice-cold sparkling water.
- Garnish and serveGive it a quick stir, garnish with a sprig of tarragon and serve straight away.
Tips and variations
For more flavour, bruise the tarragon in a mortar first, or blitz it with the sugar into a paste instead of simply simmering the leaves. Another approach: blend the hot syrup with ice in a jug blender, let it infuse for at least an hour, and only strain it then. A pinch of baking soda and a pinch of salt support the colour and the aroma, while extra lime juice and zest bring more freshness. Sweetness is yours to judge — about 60 ml of syrup per glass is a good place to start, and you can pour less if you like it sharper. For grown-ups it mixes into a cocktail with gin; either way serve it as cold as you can manage, with plenty of ice and a tarragon sprig in the glass.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
