The inspiration for this latest Bespoke Cocktail was the celebration of a Golden Wedding Anniversary. Fifty years of marriage deserves special recognition and quite possibly, a stiff drink, so what better gift than a tailor made cocktail.
The glasses were hand painted with a Lace design in ivory with a gold outline, incorporating the number '50' in the pattern and the wedding date, in gold, on the foot of the glass. The design on the accompanying bottle that contains the all important, alcoholic components echoed the Lace design of the glasses and had the name of the cocktail, 'Golden Years', painted on it, in gold script. The name is both a reference to the Golden Wedding Anniversary and to the precious years they have, together.
The Bespoke Cocktail was commissioned for the lucky couple, by their daughter, who provided all the necessary information via the online survey. From her, I learned that they were partial to a gin and tonic as well as champagne cocktails made with sloe gin, but for this drink, we were looking to create a martini style cocktail that could be served in their bespoke glasses. It seemed to me that a gin based cocktail would be ideal, but which gin to choose? Their 'go to' gin is Bombay Sapphire, but I had it on good authority that they would be open to trying something different, so, after much deliberation and trawling through my, frankly, worryingly large gin collection, I decided to plump for Bobbys Scheidam Dry Gin. I have written, at length, about this wonderful gin, in an earlier post, Bobby's Girl, but suffice to say, its fragrant, lemongrass aroma and soft, citrus flavour makes it stand out from the crowd.
From the beginning, I had wanted to create a drink with a golden colour, to mark the occasion, and the addition of Crème de Pêche (I used Cartron, but Giffard and Briottet are also good brands), lent, not only a rich tone, but another layer of fragrant, almost floral fruitiness to the cocktail. To this, I added Triple Sec and a pinch of edible gold powder, all of which I bottled, ready to be mixed with freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices.
Crème de Pêche is a peach liqueur made from the maceration of peaches with sugar and alcohol without the addition of any artificial flavourings and Triple Sec is an orange liqueur, such as Cointreau, made from the peel of both bitter and sweet oranges. The combination of the lemongrass, citrus and fragrant peach, makes for a fresh, zesty cocktail, that while, intense, is still very quaffable.
The Golden Years cocktail is served in the 'martini' style, stirred over ice and strained into a chilled, cocktail glass, but could also be served over ice and topped up with a dash of sparkling water, for a longer, refreshing, summer tipple. The recipe below, is for the original, martini-style drink and serves one.
Golden Years
40ml Bobbys Dry Gin
20ml Crème de Pêche
20ml Triple Sec
20ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
20ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Pinch of edible gold powder
Garnish - strip of orange zest
In advance of making the cocktail, I recommend popping your martini glass in the fridge to chill it. This will ensure that the drink stays chilled whilst drinking it.
Before squeezing the orange, use a sharp, paring knife to carefully remove a strip of zest from its peel, and set it aside to use as garnish.
Add all of the ingredients (apart from the garnish) to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice cubes. Ice is an essential part of any cocktail!
Stir briskly with a swizzle stick, for 50 seconds - one for every golden year...
Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any fruit pulp and maintain the cocktail's clarity.
Twist the zest over the cocktail to release a spray of orange oil and drop into the drink. This will enhance the aroma with a fresh, citrus scent.
All of the alcoholic ingredients, featured in this recipe are available to buy online from Amathus Drinks or Master of Malt.
If you would like more information about the Bespoke Cocktail Service, you can visit the Toasted Glass website.
