Flower Bomb

Iris Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

This cocktail is not for the faint hearted, but if you or your mother is partial to gin and floral cocktails, this will provide the perfect Mother's Day bouquet. Be warned though, this is pretty potent, both in alcohol content and flower power. There are floral notes of rose, elderflower, violet and lavender, so if you have some left over in the shaker, perhaps mum could dab it behind her ears... Perfume, a bunch of flowers and booze, all in one glass - that's Mother's Day sorted then!

Flower Bomb

2oz Hendricks Gin
3/4oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur
1/4oz Creme de Violette
1oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
dash of simple syrup
1 drop of Ferdinand's Winerose and Lavender Bitters
1oz prosecco

Add all of the ingredients, apart from the prosecco, to a shaker with ice and with the lid, firmly on, shake hard until the outside of the shaker frosts over.
Open the shaker and add the prosecco and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Summer Pastels

Bespoke Cocktail - Toasted Glass

Obviously, the number one priority when choosing your cocktail should be taste, but there's a lot to be said for looks as well, particularly if you are creating a cocktail for an event such as a wedding where the colour scheme is all important. Colour plays a large role in my business of creating Bespoke Cocktails as often, I am making a drink to represent a brand or a special occasion. So this week, for no other reason than I think they are as pretty as they are delicious, I've put together some martini-style drinks in pastel shades that might just be the perfect match for you.

The Just Peachy cocktail is fragrant with peach, hints of raspberry and spicy undertones. It's sweet enough to to slip down all too easily, but if you like your liquor hard, you can always double up on the gin. Remember, with a martini-style drink, there's no non-alcoholic element to water it down so the dilution comes, solely from shaking it over ice. Likewise, the drink is always best, enjoyed cold, hence the need for a stemmed glass to drink it from - this will prevent the heat of your hand, warming the contents of the glass and keep it icy cold from start to finish.

Just Peachy

1 oz Whitely Neil Gin
1 oz extra dry vermouth
1 oz martini rosato
1/2 oz Cartron Crème de Pêche de Vigne

Add everything to a shaker with ice and shake hard for about 20 secs.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Just Peachy - glass by Toasted Glass

The Elderflower and Violet Cocktail is a floral treat with just enough sharp lemon to cut through the sweetness. The pale violet colour is a joy to behold and the flavour is a must for those who like their cocktails flowery.

Elderflower and Violet Cocktail

1 oz Martin Miller Gin

3/4 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

1/4 oz Bitter Truth Crème de Violette

2 oz dry vermouth

dash of lemon juice

Add everything to a shaker with ice and shake hard for about 20 secs.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Elderflower and Violet Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

The Flamooga is a Bespoke Cocktail I created for a customer recently that I hope they won't mind me sharing. It's a delicate shade of flamingo pink and a sophisticated blend of Gin Mare, Chase Elderflower Liqueur, a dash of Campari and ruby grapefruit. The herbal botanicals of Gin Mare (rosemary, thyme, basil and olive) and the citrus zing of ruby grapefruit are balanced with a little bittersweet from the Campari and fragrant floral of elderflower - something to reach all the tastebuds. It's not too sweet and works really well, shaken and served straight up, as shown here, or topped up with a little champagne and served in a champagne glass.

Flamooga

1 1/2 oz Gin Mare

1/2 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

tsp Campari

dash of Angostura Orange Bitters

2 oz freshly squeezed ruby grapefruit 

Add everything to a shaker with ice and shake hard for about 20 secs.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Flamooga Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

Pop goes Christmas

Angelic cocktail-glass by Toasted Glass

There doesn't need to be much of an excuse to crack open the fizz in the TG household, but I know that I won't be alone in popping a cork or two this Christmas. For many, Christmas morning will start with a Bucks Fizz, which is fairly innocuous as Champagne cocktails go, being comprised in half from freshly squeezed orange, but all the same, a step too far far me. Much as I love a tipple, breakfast, (even on Christmas morning), is too early for Mr TG and I who will be sticking to a nice pot of tea until midday, when the bacchanalia begins in earnest. Whilst I've had little to do with the festive preparations this year, having been too busy, painting glass, I have found time to road test a few, new Champagne Cocktails that might just take your fancy this Christmas, although I suggest that unless you want to wake up, face down in a plate of turkey, you join me in holding off until midday…

This first cocktail is a nice alternative to the classic Buck's Fizz and has a gorgeously, festive hue that makes it perfect for a Christmas Day tipple.

Melba Fizz

Ingredients
1 oz Gin (Pinkster would be perfect)
1 oz Catron Creme de Pêche de Vigne
6 fresh raspberries
Champagne or Cava

Muddle (squish) the raspberries in the bottom of your cocktail shaker, along with the Creme de Pêche de Vigne.
Add the gin, a little ice and give it a quick shake just to cool the liquid.
Double strain the cocktail into a chilled glass and then transfer to a chilled champagne flute. This will avoid spilling the cocktail down the side of the glass if your champagne flutes are narrow at the top.
Carefully top up with fizz, avoiding overspill and then briefly stir with a swizzle stick to mix the drink.

Melba Fizz-glass by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail is a very delicate shade of green with an equally delicate flavour. The trick is not to overdo the Blue Curaçao, thus lending the drink a hint of orange and a beautiful sea green shade.

Hummingbird

Ingredients
1 oz Gin
1/2 oz Blue Curaçao
1 tsp fresh lime juice
Champagne or Cava
Twist of lime zest to garnish

Add the Gin, Blue Curaçao and lime to a large mixing glass, with ice and stir briefly to mix the liquids.
Strain the mixture into a chilled champagne flute and top with fizz.
Twist the strip of lime zest over the cocktail to release the citrus aroma and garnish the drink.

Hummingbird-glass by Toasted Glass

Now tequila may not be a drink you immediately associate with Christmas or with Champagne for that matter, but dispel those preconceptions and open your mind and your tastebuds to this delicious concoction that combines these two elements in a surprisingly light and pleasant quaff.

Angelic

Ingredients
1 oz tequila resposado
1 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur
6 grapes (skins removed)
Champagne or Cava to top up
2 slices of grape to garnish

The easiest way to remove the grapes from their skins is to cut them in half and then hold the halved grape between your forefinger and thumb and pinch them together. The grape should just pop out. If not you can remove any little bits of skin by double straining the drink at the end.

Muddle (squish) the grapes with the tequila in the bottom of a shaker.
Add the Chase Elderflower Liqueur, a little ice and shake briefly to chill the liquids.
Double strain the cocktail into a chilled champagne flute and pop in the sliced grape.
Top up with chilled Champagne or Cava.

Angelic cocktail-glass by Toasted Glass

This final cocktail uses just a taste of Creme de Violette to give a floral note without straying into parma violet territory. The combination of Absolut Raspberri vodka and fresh raspberries keep the flavour fresh and light and a couple of dashes of simple syrup are all this needs to sweeten it.

Raspberri Royale

Ingredients
1 oz Absolut Raspberri
1 tsp Creme de Violette
2 tsp simple syrup
4 raspberries
1 raspberry for garnish

Muddle (squish) the raspberries with the vodka and add everything else except the garnish in the bottom of the shaker.
Add a handful of ice and shake  to cool the liquids.
Double strain the cocktail into a chilled champagne glass and pop a raspberry in the bottom of the flute.
Top up very slowly with Champagne or Cava to avoid the cocktail fizzing over.
Gently stir with a swizzle stick.

Raspberri Royale-glass by Toasted Glass

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and remember; a Champagne cocktail is not just for Christmas….

Champagne Cocktails

Flamingo Flutes by Toasted Glass

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to hear that I am partial to a glass of bubbly (as demonstated in my Champagne post) and even more partial to a 'champagne' cocktail - I use the term 'champagne', loosely, as actually, this week's cocktails were all made with a decent bottle of Cava. In my opinion, there is nothing much to be gained from using actual Champagne in cocktails as a nice Cava or Prosecco will do the job just fine, but make sure that your chosen fizz is suitably dry as most Champagne cocktails tend to sweeten the bubbles anyway.

This first cocktail is a variation of my favourite Chase Elderflower liqueur, topped up with Champagne - you can see the original recipe in my Mother's Day Cocktails post. In this version I added a raspberry which I allowed to macerate in the  liqueur for about 3 hours until it took on a pinkish tinge, but still remained intact. The subtle raspberry flavour added another layer to the cocktail and the raspberry itself was a delicious sweet treat at the bottom of the glass.

Raspberry and Elderflower Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients
3/4 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur
1 raspberry
Champagne or Fizz to top up

Pour the liqueur into a champagne flute and pop the raspberry in the bottom of the glass
Cover the top of the glass and leave to macerate for upwards of 3 hours (if you can wait)
Top up with Fizz and stir gently to ensure the liqueur doesn't just sit at the bottom

White Lace Flutes by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail is a classic and to really enjoy it, you should use a fresh ripe peach and make the peach puree, fresh, but at a push, bottled will do.

Bellini Cocktail

Ingredients
Peach Puree
Champagne or Fizz

To make peach puree, you must first score the skin of the peach and blanch in boiling water for about 20 secs, then remove with a slotted spoon and immediately run under very cold water
The skin of the peach should now peel off fairly simply, starting at the score marks
Cut the peach in half and remove the stone
Using the back of a spoon or a pestle, squish the flesh of the peach through a small sieve and collect the puree in a bowl underneath

The quantities for a Bellini are approximately 1/3 peach puree to 2/3 fizz, so 1 peach should be just about right to make 1 Bellini

Pour the peach puree into the bottom of a champagne flute and carefully top up with fizz, adding just a little at a time to avoid it fizzing over the top

Flamingo Flutes by Toasted Glass

You may have heard me sing the praise of Honey and Ginger Syrup before. It is delicious and fiery addition to cocktails, baked apples and salmon and now I have discovered that it is rather fantastic in Champagne too!

Queen Bee

Ingredients
3/4 oz honey ginger syrup
Champagne or fizz to top up

miniature bottle by Toasted Glass

Pour the syrup in first and top up with fizz
Give a gentle stir to ensure the liqueur and fizz are properly mixed

White Bee Flutes available on Etsy

I think this next cocktail was possibly my favourite of them all. I took a classic gin cocktail, the Southside, and added champagne. It's fresh, it's quaffable and probably very dangerous as it's not short on alcohol, but hey, just one won't hurt....

King of the Southside

Ingredients
2 oz gin
1 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
5-7 mint leaves

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well
Double strain to remove any traces of mint leaf, into a champagne flute
Top up with fixx and stir gently to mix

Lily Flutes by Toasted Glass

This final cocktail is also a take on a classic and for me, taste all the better for it. I really wanted to love the Aviation when I made it for my Gin Cocktails post. It seemed to sum up that wonderful era of Aviation, a true classic, but in truth, it wasn't a favourite. I loved the idea of it more than I loved the actual drink This version, for me, is far more palatable and although the alcohol content is actually more, it tastes far less innocuous - again, quite dangerous...

Night Flight

Ingredients
2 oz gin
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz creme de violette
1/2 oz lemon juice
Fizz to top up
1 raspberry to decorate

Add all of the ingredients, bar the fizz, to a shaker with ice and shake well
Strain into a champagne flute and top up with fizz
Stir gently to mix the drink

Black Lace Flutes by Toasted Glass

Well this was how Mr TG and I spent our evening, last Saturday and very pleasant it was too. What's more, there was not a trace of a hangover the next day which is nothing short of miraculous. Please don't sue if you aren't quite so lucky. Have a wonderful week and pop back soon to see what's new x

The Grey Fox Cocktail

Go to Bespoke Cocktail Service by Toasted Glass

Last week, I put my mixology skills to good use and created a bespoke cocktail for style blogger and twitter friend, Grey Fox.

Mr GF writes a most excellent blog, Grey Fox Blog aimed at the older gentleman and by that, I  mean, over forty, providing style inspiration and challenging the fashion industry's obsession with youth. As he quite rightly points out, there is a large, affluent market of middle aged men that the fashion industry fails to address by aiming their advertisting at the younger generation. Large fashion houses and high street retailers alike, are wont to use young models to advertise to a market that is made up, in part of men over forty. Grey Fox uses his blog to highlight these issues and his growing reputation has given him the opportunity to ask those in the fashion industry, why they are blind to such a large demographic.

His blog provides a wealth of style inspiration for the older man, with the emphasis on quality and where possible, championing exceptionally well made, British goods from new UK companies.

So what kind of cocktail do you make for a very stylish man with a penchant for Harris tweed, a colourful sock and expertly polished brogues?

Well, the first step, obviously, was to ask him what spirits and flavours he liked and having established that his preference was for gin and lime, I went from there. I wanted to create something with a British heritage, a traditional feel and preferably, a grey colour. Luckily for me, gin already has a great British background and Hendricks fitted the bill perfectly.

 It is distilled in Britain and bottled in very stylish but very traditional, black, stoneware bottles. I added to the mix, King's Ginger, a warming, sweet, but spicy liqueur with a very British heritage.

 The final touch was a few drops of Creme de Violette, not terribly British, I'll grant you, but essential for that all important grey hue. In the bottle, it is deep violet colour, but in moderation it produces a wonderful silver grey.

 It can be quite tricky to get hold of in this country, but you can buy all of the ingredients you require from Amathus Drinks (there is a permanent link to their online store on the left of the page) or similarly high quality alcohol retailers.

This was the basis for the cocktail which I bottled and sent out with instructions on how to make a martini style cocktail by adding lime and shaking over ice. This could then be adapted to a  long drink, by serving over ice and topping up with Fever Tree tonic water.

This week, I has the pleasure of meeting up with Mr Grey Fox and assured me that the cocktail had got the GF family seal of approval, having been rigorously tested by himself and his his wife and son. In fact, he had been inspired to buy a bottle of Kings Ginger so he could make more and having tested it myself, I can vouch for it wholeheartedly.

If you would like to have a bespoke cocktail created for you or as a gift for someone else, click here for details.

Go to Bespoke Cocktail Service

The Grey Fox Cocktail

Ingredients

1oz Hendricks gin
3/4oz Kings Ginger
1/4oz Creme de Violette
1oz fresh lime juice

Martini Method

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Highball Method

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker
Shake vigorously and strain into a highball glass or large tumbler filled with ice and top up with Fever Tree tonic water

Please do try this delicious cocktail and if you are wondering what to do with the rest of the Kings Ginger, should you buy a whole bottle, why not try a Knock Down Ginger or a King's Chase from my Alfresco Cocktails post. 

Mother's Ruin

After veering seriously off piste with last weeks selection of Alpine Inspired, Genepi cocktails, I thought I'd bring it back closer to home and what can be more British than gin?

 Well, quite a lot apparently, as gin actually originated in Europe in the middle ages, as a kind of moonshine liquor, flavoured with juniper berries, distilled by monks, no doubt looking for a little entertainment to relieve the tedium of endless chanting and scratchy robes. In fact, gin didn't appear in England until the early 17th century, but it's popularity soon took hold when, due to the heavy duty imposed on imported spirits, gin shops sprang up all over London. Cheap gin was considered to be the root cause of many the social problems facing the poor and was famously depicted by Hogarth in his series' of engravings, including, Gin Lane (seen below).

These days, gin has become a drink for the discerning tippler, with a vast array of wonderful distillations to choose from. The wonderful Hendricks gin has a distinctive flavour, due to the botanicals used in it's distillation and the infusion of rose and cucumber which may well make it a wonderful facial toner too, although, perhaps best not to try that out.. Other notable gins include Tanqueray and of course, Gordons; a bottle of which is always in my drinks arsenal, as it is the favoured beverage of the in laws. So, for the purposes of this week's blog, I am using, the eternally popular, Gordons, although should anyone (ahem, take note Mr TG) wish to gift me a bottle of Hendricks, I would love to try out some other fabulous gin cocktails.

For a mind boggling selection of gins, including Hendricks (pictured), Tanqueray and the amusingly named range from Van Wees. visit Amathus Drinks , either online or at one of their London stores.

The first cocktail I tested, was the Earl Grey Martini, a drink that sounded like my perfect cocktail, combining the flavours of Earl Grey tea, lemon and gin - what's not to love? And sure enough, it was a triumph - a delicious and refreshing marriage of flavours that left me wishing I had infused more gin so I could 'test' another one! The infusing bit does require a little forethought, but is in no way complicated. 

Earl Grey Martini

Ingredients

2 oz gin

1 level tsp good quality earl grey tea

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz sugar syrup

3/4 oz egg white

Ahead of mixing, pour the gin into a glass and sprinkle over the loose tea.

Allow to infuse for 2 hours and then strain, discarding the tea leaves.

Separate the egg white from the yolk and set aside the white 

Place the egg white, lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker

Whisk until frothy, then fill the shaker with ice and add the strained gin

Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass

Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

Next up was the Aviation cocktail. My decision to include this was mostly led by last week's purchase of Creme de Violette and Luxardo's Maraschino liqueur from Just Miniatures, two unusual ingredients, that happily, both feature in this classic cocktail.

The Aviation first appeared in print in a book by New York barman, Hugo Ensslin in 1916. The drink called for London Dry Gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and Creme de Violette. The drink's name was in reference to the emerging era of flight, a truly monumental advance for mankind that was initiated only a few years previously by the Wright brothers. The addition of Creme de Violette gives a sky blue tinge to the drink and it's association with flight, gave it a modernity that it made it a popular choice. Today it is a classic cocktail that is enjoyed by cocktail aficionados, in part, due to the inclusion of two, rather more unusual ingredients. 

The Aviation Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz gin

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

1/2 oz creme de violette

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker

Fill with ice and shake vigorously

Strain into a chilled martini glass

Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

This week's final cocktail is a Gin and Elderflower Martini and if you follow this blog, you'll know I am a huge fan of the Chase Elderflower Liqueur, made in Briitain at the Chase Vodka Distillery. Not only is it delicious, but it comes in a divine bottle.

Cocktail Glasses by Toasted Glass

For other delicious cocktail recipes using Chase Elderflower liqueur, do take a look through some older posts.

Easter Cocktails

Mojitos

Mothers Day Cocktails

Butterfly Cocktails

Gin and Elderflower Martini

Ingredients

1 oz gin

1 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

1 oz dry vermouth

1/2 oz lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker

Fill with ice and shake vigorously

Strain into a chilled martini glass

Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

With a bit of sunshine on the horizon, I enjoyed this week's cocktails immensely. The flavours were fresh and zingy, just right for sipping in the garden (or anywhere else for that matter). The Aviation Cocktail is one I will definitely ask for when out as I think it deserves to be enjoyed in a glamorous, old fashioned cocktail bar and the Gin and Elderflower Martini was always going to resonate well with me, but this week's clear winner, is the Earl Grey Martini. A heavenly marriage of flavours that really works perfectly with gin.

Enjoy trying them for yourself and as always, drink responsibly. Have a fabulous weekend x