Photography picnic: easy gin cocktails

photograph by Karen Harvey

My talented friend Karen asked me to be her sidekick at a photography picnic she organised recently for Cambridge bloggers. As all I had to bring was myself and some cocktail recipes, I leapt at the chance to be Cocktail Girl to her Photography Woman. Like the superhero she is, Karen had organised a large supply of delicious Williams gin from Chase Distillery in addition to fabulous mason jar tumblers from Aladdin - the perfect picnic drinking receptacles. There was one for everybody in the audience.

 

photograph by Karen Harvey

I only managed to take a few photos. I was too busy making cocktails, chatting and generally having a lovely time. Sian and Alex from Bone White China brought many beautiful props and said very nice things about my cocktails so I enjoyed hanging out near them. Elisa from My Foodie Days made the most fantastic tart which was just as tasty as it was beautiful. I even remembered to take a photograph.

I kept the cocktail recipes simple so they could be assembled without fuss outdoors. I just had to spend some time juicing lemons and limes and preparing the cucumber puree before the picnic. Cocktail Girl loves her prep work!

lavender gin fizz (serves one in a large cup)

45mL gin
30mL lavender simple syrup
30mL freshly squeezed lemon juice
ice
sparkling water
lemon slice and lavender sprig (fresh or dried) to garnish 

Combine the gin, simple syrup and lemon juice in your glass or travel cup and stir well. Add plenty of ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a lavender sprig. Leave out the gin for a very respectable non-alcoholic version.

cucumber basil gin smash (serves one in a large cup)

30mL gin 
50mL (approx) pureed cucumber (I did this in advance at home)
30mL lemon balm infused simple syrup (or elderflower cordial)
30mL freshly squeezed lime juice
ice
sparkling water
basil leaves and cucumber slice to garnish 

In a shaker, combine the gin, cucumber puree, basil leaves, simple syrup and lime juice. Add plenty of ice and shake hard for 30 seconds. Strain into your glass or travel cup. Add plenty of ice and top with a little sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and some basil leaves. Again, you can leave out the gin for a tasty non-alcoholic version.

If you are making this at home with more equipment, I would recommend muddling the cucumber directly (not making a puree. In a shaker, muddle a cup full of cucumber chunks, basil and sugar using a pestle or large spoon until the cucumber offers no more resistance. Add the lime juice, gin and plenty of ice. Put the lid on your shaker and shake until thoroughly chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain the mixture into a glass. Top with a touch of sparkling water (or champagne if you are feeling decadent).  Garnish with cucumber and a basil leaf. 

Cocktail of the month: Midsummer potion

I took this dress to a fabulous party last weekend, although I'm starting to think it took me. It only gets out of the wardrobe for the best invitations and I am a mere vehicle for its wonder. The last time we ventured out together was to the opening of a sculpture exhibition in the garden of a beautiful inn overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

On that occasion the artist admired my dress and I planned to take one of the sculptures home before remembering the tyranny of the baggage allowance.

At the party last weekend, which was in The Fens rather than California, the artist (the wonderful Karen) also admired my dress. Apparently, we (my dress and I) had nailed the "Margot from the The Good Life" look. Happily this was the exactly the look we were going for.

I had promised to bring a cocktail. The party was to be a wondrous midsummer extravaganza focused on fire. I had to attempt a themed drink. Aperol seemed a suitable summery choice and the right colour for this fire festival. The addition of vodka (or gin) was essential to keep the booze hounds happy (a guest at this party invented The Sugar Wolf cocktail: I had some serious drinkers to impress). I added herbs and bitters to complete the potion and cast my spell. It is designed to be assembled in a jug in large quantities, then poured out into glasses as needed and topped with sparkling water. 

Photo by the amazing Karen Harvey

Midsummer potion

3 parts Aperol
3 parts gin or vodka
4 parts freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 parts herb infused simple syrup (I used a mixture of lemon balm, rosemary and lavender)
Several drops lavender bitters
Several drops rhubarb bitters
Several drops Angostura bitters
Herbs to garnish and soda water to finish

Combine all of the ingredients in a jug. Stir until combined. Add plenty of ice to a glass, fill 3/4 glass with cocktail mixture, top with soda water and garnish with fresh herbs. Prancing around in a flowery dress is optional.

You can hear me talking about this cocktail on Flavour on Cambridge 105 on Saturday 27th June at 12pm.

Photo by the amazing Karen Harvey

Cocktail of the month: rhubarb lavender daiquiri

Easter holidays call for a celebratory cocktail. I'm celebrating because I'm in Ireland spending time with my lovely family and hanging out with old friends. 

A daiquiri is a fine cocktail if you ignore anything frozen or strawberry flavoured (I don't approve of strawberry flavour - it's one of my things). It's a classic that follows the fail-safe cocktail formula I've talked about on many occasions. 

I couldn't resist infusing the rum with the first pink stalks of rhubarb I found in the market. I used exactly the same process as I use for rhubarb vodka, you can find the recipe here. 
I first tried ginger syrup in place of the simple syrup in a standard daiquiri. That was very nice indeed, ginger and rhubarb do go very well together. Then by chance I remembered my lavender syrup. I was feeling dangerous so I decided to experiment. It was a revelation. The combination of rhubarb and lavender are spring time expressed through the medium of the cocktail.

rhubarb lavender daiquiri (serves one)

60 mL rhubarb rum
30 mL freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)
15 mL lavender infused simple syrup (rough recipe below)
1 drop lavender bitters
1 drop rhubarb bitters
lime wedge to garnish

Combine all of the ingredients in a large glass or cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice. Stir or shake until chilled. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and a cocktail umbrella for extra spring in your step.

lavender infused simple syrup

Oh I how long to be pottering around my allotment, smelling my lavender hedge. Not too long to go now that spring is here.

This syrup was a great experiment. It all began with a bunch of lavender:

I picked off the individual flowers into a bowl:

And covered them with boiling water:

I let it infuse for twenty minutes, then strained out the lavender bits. I then measured how much liquid I had and added an equal amount of sugar. Once all the sugar was dissolved, I transferred it to a sterilized bottle.

See this post for more details on the method for making infused simple syrups. 
 
You can hear me talking about this cocktail on Flavour on Cambridge 105 on Saturday 4th April at 12pm.