Christmas rescue cocktail

I love Christmas. At all times of the year I am very set on what is right and what I definitely don't approve of (I'm looking at you Rod Stewart). Christmas is a time of tradition for everyone so my obsession with having everything just so doesn't seem quite so strange. However all my self-imposed festive rules and regulations became overwhelming recently. On the floor, surrounded by cards, wrapping paper and many, many lists I thought to myself "I need help". Then I realised I just needed a cocktail. A rescue cocktail.

There is likely to be many occasions over Christmas when just such a potion will be required. Between making sure we have the right sort of tree (real, particular type of needle) and the correct Christmas cards (has to be charity ones), making sure there is no chocolate in the advent calendar (the excitement of counting down to Christmas should be enough) and stressing about where I am going to get a supply of Irish crisps in England, it is an exhausting time. Cocktail!

This is a selfish cocktail, for one or two people. Not for making in large amounts, not for parties. Just for me and you if you need it. If you would like some Christmas party cocktail ideas I have plenty on this blog and my older blog. There is last year's pomegranate cocktail (3 variations on a theme),a Christmas pudding vodka cocktail, a Christmas apple punch and a spicy rosehip, rhubarb combination.

But leave the party planning for the moment; put down your notebook and pen. Let the Christmas clementine, the fresh lime and passion fruit, not to mention the alcohol, refresh and revitalise you.

I've used Kamm & Sons here as it has lots of botanicals including ginseng roots, freshly peeled grapefruit and Manuka honey.  Basically it's a health drink. You could just use gin which is also a health drink in my book.

Christmas rescue cocktail (serves two)

clementine juice  100mL
lime juice  40mL

Kamm & Sons 30mL

vodka 30mL

simple syrup  30mL

3-4 drops rhubarb bitters

2 passion fruit 

ice

lime and clementine zest to garnish

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice. Shake until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a prepared cocktail glass. Use a fine strainer if you don't want the passion fruit seeds but I quite like them in there. Garnish with lime and clementine zest. 

You can hear me talking about this Christmas cocktail on the Flavour programme (Cambridge 105) at 12 noon today (Saturday 12th December).

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: 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.

Simple cocktail: flat peaches, elderflower and lime

I had just polished off a cocktail I call "cigarettes and alcohol" recipe coming soon). I felt it was time to redress the balance a little. 

I was inspired by a bag of overripe flat peaches, given to me free by a lovely Cambridge market trader at the end of the day. I pureed the peaches, added a dash of agave nectar (the health freak's choice of sweetener) along with lime zest and lime juice. Delicious just by itself, I had to stop myself eating it there and then. Loosened by a glug of elderflower gin (approx 30mL), it still looks healthy even if it does have a little kick. Served over ice and garnished with slices of peach and lime it is extremely pretty and would work equally well with rum, gin, vodka or even (whisper it) as a non-alcoholic drink.

You can here me talking about this cocktail on the Flavour, Cambridge 105 podcast here.

Cocktail of the month: gooseberry margarita

I'm seventeen years old and Sarah and I are doing our best to get through a bottle of cheap tequilla in one night, armed only with table salt and some disappointingly dry limes. Those first experiences with tequila will certainly not be filed in the classy section of my cocktail memoirs. 

Oh but the youthful abandon, the joy, the hope for the future. The alcohol snob I fear I have become would secretly trade the vintage glasses, the bitters collection and the library of cocktail books to spend one night in a sweaty, youthful, worry-free and crap tequila-fueled fervour.

But then I pull myself together and get right back to the alcohol snobbery. The tequila we drank was horrific. I wish I had known then that the only tequila to drink should be clearly labelled 100% agave. If it doesn't say that on the label it will contain 51% agave and then rest will be made up with added sugars. Now, I'm not going to claim that tequila is some kind of health food but surely it makes sense to begin with the best ingredients we can. I'm a big fan of the Aqua Riva brand: fantastic taste, understated but pleasing labeling and available at a great price. 

I do love tequila and I was reminded of this at a fabulous brunch "supper club" I went to hosted by the lovely Ivana and Jenna. A Bloody Maria was served up alongside the brunch and as the warm tequila glow began to spread through me I knew I was going to have revisit tequila myself. I couldn't hold my head up if I didn't make it somewhat local and seasonal. Luckily for my cocktail cred the universe intervened and sent me a box of gooseberries in my veg box.

So it had to be a gooseberry margarita. Let's revisit how to make a standard margarita first. It's really not hard.

margarita (serves one)

45mL 100% agave tequila

30mL triple sec

15mL freshly squeezed lime juice

ice

salt for the rim

First prepare your glass. Run a spent lime wedge around the rim and then rotate the wet lip through a dish of salt to create your salt rim. Fill the glass with ice. Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice, shake or stir for about 30 seconds. Strain into your prepared glass. Drink and feel tequila happy.

If you have some gooseberries and fancy something a bit more exotic then I highly recommend this variation. First cook down your gooseberries with a little sugar and a tiny bit of water. Once your gooseberries have disintegrated, push them through a fine sieve to create a smooth puree. The resulting cocktail doesn't look pretty but it tastes fabulous.

gooseberry margarita (serves one)

45mL 100% agave tequila

30mL gooseberry puree

10mL triple sec

15mL freshly squeezed lime juice

ice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice, shake or stir for about 30 seconds. Strain into a glass full of ice. Drink and feel tequila happy.

Hear me talk more about this on Flavour tomorrow (Saturday 12th July) at 12pm.