Well this is not my "food-pairing" for Bay leaves. But I really wanted to try a cocktail involving Bay Leaf. I made an infusion of ground leaves and simple syrup (pictured above, left glass used dried leaves, right used fresh). Bay doesn't develop a full aroma/flavour until it has been dried for a good few weeks.
The Dried leaf syrup was very aromatic, almost meaty smell with a pungent eucalyptus aroma. The Fresh leaf syrup didn't have much of an aroma at all, and almost tasteless, finishing with a grassy after taste.
I made two identical cocktails (apart from the syrup) 2 dry vermouth, 1 syrup, shaken, poured over ice and topped up with soda.
It's a bit hazy, too much "testing", but from what I recall the dried leaf cocktail was almost savoury/meaty in flavour with a sweet finish, it wasn't unpleasant. The fresh leaf cocktail, had a grassy finish, and seemed to kill the flavour of the vermouth more than the dried, but didn't impart it's own flavour much.
