1 cup natural cane sugar
1 cup water
3 sprigs of fresh tarragonsparkling water, seltzer water, or a non-sweetened carbonated drink like grapefruit or meyer lemon Spindrift
for serving: ice, and some fresh tarragon leaves
Stir the sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, five minutes or so, remove from heat, and add the tarragon sprigs to the pan. Cover and allow to steep for at least ten minutes. At that point, taste (careful, hot!), and see if you want your syrup stronger, if so, allow to steep another ten minutes or so. I like to make my syrup quite strong, knowing in most cases I'll be diluting or using a small amount.
Refrigerate. To serve, fill each glass with ice and a tarragon leaf or two. Add a splash of the tarragon syrup and top with seltzer water or something along those lines. Stir well and adjust with more syrup to taste.
Makes about 1 cup.
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