Cocktail of the month: Christmas cocktails

I'm not going to lie to you. There is some effort involved this month. But once you've put in a bit of work making a versatile syrup, it's all easy. I have three (yes three!) cocktails for you based on the same syrup. You will be flouncing around looking fabulous and drinking cocktails in no time.

The syrup that ties this cocktails together is made from pomegranate and fresh orange juice. I decided it was a step too far to juice pomegranates myself so I bought pomegranate juice with no added sugar from the health food shop. The exact instructions are in the recipe below. Once reduced, the pomegranate syrup is the most fantastic deep purple colour and has an intriguing sweet but bitter, slightly spiced fragrance.

The first cocktail is based on my classic sour recipe. I hope you've memorized the formula by now. 4 parts alcohol: 2 parts sour: 1 part sweet. I spiced up the gin I'm using here by adding a cinnamon stick, a vanilla pod, a star anise and a cardamom pod to the gin bottle and leaving it to infuse for a week or two. The spices are still in there, infusing away until Christmas. The recipe below serves one but simply multiply the proportions and make in a jug if you have lots of cocktail drinking guests.

The second is a fizz based cocktail, extremely simple and perfect for when visitors call in. It's not too alcoholic either so you could have a good few of these without getting too messy.

The last cocktail is non-alcoholic. Perfect for children or anyone who has to drive. In fact it is also excellent when recovering from a Christmas hangover. It is extremely refreshing due to that slightly bitter tang from the pomegranate combined with the sweetness and the fresh citrus. It is actually quite addictive. This could also be made in a large jug ready to pour out.

In addition to the recipes given below you can find other Christmas cocktail recipes on my older blog: a Christmas pudding vodka cocktail, a Christmas apple punch and a spicy rosehip, rhubarb combination.

pomegranate and orange simple syrup

pomegranate juice (no added sugar) 500mL

freshly squeezed orange juice 500mL

sugar 500g

zest of one orange 

Combine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer until reduced by approximately half the volume. Allow to cool and then strain through a muslin (or clean J-cloth) lined sieve into a jug. Decant into a sterilized bottle and store in the fridge if not using immediately. I put mine in a conical flask for show because I have one and I'm a big chemistry nerd.

spiced pomegranate sour (serves one)

 

spiced Christmas gin (see above) 60mL

freshly squeezed lime juice 30mL

pomegranate and orange simple syrup  15mL

3-4 drops cranberry bitters (if you have them)

Combine all of the ingredients in a large glass or cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with lime zest.

pomegranate fizz (serves one)

pomegranate and orange simple syrup  20mL

cava/prosseco/champagne 

pomegranate seeds and orange twist to garnish

Add the syrup to a champagne flute. Carefully top up with your choice of sparkling wine. Add pomegranate seeds and a piece of orange zest to garnish.

pomegranate refresher (serves one)

pomegranate and orange simple syrup  40mL

juice of 1/2 a lime

sparkling water

pomegranate seeds and orange slices to garnish

Add the syrup and the fresh lime juice to a large glass. Fill the glass 3/4 full with ice. Add the pomegranate seeds and orange slices before filling with sparkling water. 

You can hear me talking about these Christmas cocktail on the Flavour programme (Cambridge 105) at 12 noon today (Saturday 13th December).

Cocktail of the month: cigarettes and alcohol

On a quiet day recently the strains of a song from my teenage life reached out across the years. "......'cause all I need are cigarettes and alcohol". Oasis; boy had it been a long time since we were acquainted. But, as is the way, I just couldn't get the damn song out of my head. I slowly realised it was in fact a cocktail vision. A challenge from the universe.

The alcohol component I  have covered, it's got to be bourbon. But cigarettes, in a cocktail? How was I going to pull that one off? I toyed with infusing my bourbon with tobacco but even my adventurous spirit draws the line at experimenting with ingredients likely to poison my drinkers. I turned instead to an ingredient I have had my eye on for a while, Jade Perique Tobacco Liqueur. This liqueur is flavoured with Louisiana Perique tobacco, apparently one of the rarest tobaccos in the world. It's delicious: smooth, woody and herbal. I didn't want to over complicate a cocktail called cigarettes and alcohol so I based my recipe on an old-fashioned.

cigarettes and alcohol (serves one)

30mL bourbon

30mL Jade Perique Tobacco Liqueur

10mL simple syrup (I used my Christmas spice syrup for additional spice notes)

3-4 dashes of orange bitters (you could use angostura instead)

large piece of orange zest

ice

cherry and orange wheel to serve 

Combine the bourbon, tobacco liqueur, simple syrup, bitters and orange zest in a large glass or cocktail shaker. Add ice and stir well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice and garnish with a cherry and an orange wheel.

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