I was inspired by the Camden Hike, a recipe from Maine bar manager Tom Laslavic, featured in Imbibe’s The American Cocktail. I’m not a huge vodka fan, but was intrigued by the use of blackberries and lemon. I took a few shortcuts on the original recipe- hence the name A Lazy Hike- but the result was still delicious. If I ever have the energy to puree blackberries again, I might try this with gin.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. blackberry puree (throw berries into a food processor, then use a fine mesh strainer. 1/2 c. blackberries yields roughly 1 oz. of puree)
• 0.75 oz. lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. honey
• 0.5 oz. creme de cassis

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with lemon peel and blackberry.