Fun With Marshmallows

Love Potion Iced Tea

These days, my time for mixing cocktails has become very scarce as I am pretty much a permanent fixture at the studio table, painting glass from dawn 'til dusk. This is good news, of course, as my work as a glass artist is my business as well as my passion, but I do miss being able to devote a lot of time to the business of mixology, which is an art in itself. That isn't to say that I have given up drinking cocktails - not at all, but the planning, the preparation and the photography of creating new cocktails and then blogging about them, is a full time occupation in itself and sadly, I just can't fit it all in...

However, in serendipitous fashion, just as I completed a large batch of orders, I was sent a packet of rather intriguing, Earl Grey Marshmallows by my lovely friend and leader of the Secret Tea Society, Claire Worral. The amusingly named, EAT TOAST DUNK ME natural, gourmet marshmallows are made by Copper and Cane Ltd and are a cut far above your average mallow, using organic ingredients and stocked in both artisan and prestigious establishments, including Selfridges. The Secret Tea Society was testing their tea-dunking capabilities (apparently) and thought I might like to experiment with them in my capacity as the Society's official cocktail expert (or 'in house drunk'), particularly as I absolutely love Earl Grey tea and these superior mallows are made with best organically produced bergamot.

Delicious Earl Grey Marshmallows

The main challenge in creating a cocktail, involving these, frankly irresistible marshmallows was to not scoff the lot before I'd done anything with them! However, I managed to restrain myself after I had sampled one or two (just to get a measure of them, you understand) and put my metaphorical, thinking cap on. I think if it were a real thinking cap for creating cocktails, it would have to be something rather fabulous, probably involving feathers and possibly beading, but I digress...

My first thought was to dissolve the mallows in alcohol which would imbue it with the delicious flavour of bergamot and sweeten it too. The only hitch is that this is rather time consuming and they will take a day or two to fully dissolve, so my advice would be to make up a small batch of it as it will store well; adding one marshmallow for every 2oz of alcohol, to a clean glass receptacle with a lid and giving it a bit of a swirl, twice a day. I, on the other hand, just popped a marshmallow in a cocktail glass with 2 oz of Hendricks Gin and stared at it, plaintively, willing it to dissolve. Finally, after 48 hours and some very stern looks, the ebullient marshmallow finally succumbed to the gin and I was left with a lightly sweetened and delicately fragranced spirit that combined the flavours of rose and bergamot without one overpowering the other. As a bonus, the natural food colouring in the marshmallow left a faint pink tinge to the drink that was rather pretty and should you decide to make a decent amount of the stuff, I highly recommend making a Gin and Tonic with it, using a superior tonic, such as Fever Tree Naturally Light Tonic Water and adding a strawberry, halved and hulled and a wedge of fresh lime.

Patiently waiting for my marshmallow to dissolve...cocktail glass by Toasted Glass

If you are feeling a little more adventurous, then this next cocktail will not disappoint. It combines the fragrant flavours of rose and bergamot with strawberry, lime and a little triple sec for a zesty and fresh cocktail, served in the Martini style. I have named it The Secret Martini in honour of the Secret Tea Society and it's unseen but essential addition of the EAT TOAST DUNK ME marshmallow.

The Secret Martini

2oz Hendricks Gin, infused with 1 Earl Grey Marshmallow
2 fresh strawberries, halved and hulled
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz triple sec liqueur

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and muddle the strawberry until it has partially broken down.
Pop in a handful of ice and shake hard until the outside of the shaker frosts over.
Double strain the contents into a chilled martini glass

Secret Martini - cocktail glass by Toasted Glass

Having established that the bergamot in the marshmallows paired well with the Rose infused flavour of Hendricks, I thought it would be equally harmonious when added to Pinkster Gin, adding another dimension to their lightly raspberry infused gin with lavender notes. This time however, I decided to short cut the dissolving process by making an iced tea cocktail and popping the mallow into the tea whilst it was still hot and then allowing it cool - genius! The tea in question was no ordinary blend, but the Kent and Sussex Tea Co. 'Rose Congou', a superior loose leaf black tea mixed with beautiful, scented rose petals and another gift from the Secret Tea Society as part of my annual membership pack. It really is a lovely tea that makes a wonderfully fragrant infusion without any hint of bitterness.

To make this next cocktail, you will need a high quality, loose leaf, rose infused tea - Rose Congou is ideal.
Allow the tea to infuse for between 3-5 minutes and then pour 100ml into a clean receptacle.
Pop in 2 Earl Grey marshmallows and stir until dissolved.
Allow to cool.
Now you are ready to begin...

Love Potion Iced Tea

2oz Pinkster Gin
3.5oz (100ml) Chilled, Rose Congou tea, sweetened with Earl Grey marshmallows (see above)
1/2oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add everything to the bottom of a shaker with ice and stir to chill.
Strain into an ice filled glass and add a wheel of freshly cut lemon.

Love Potion-drinking jar by Toasted Glass

This final cocktail requires a little more patience again, whilst you wait for the marshmallows to break down, but the surprisingly delicious combination of bergamot, tequila, ginger and lime is well worth the wait.

As before, allow the marshmallows to dissolve in the tequila at a ratio of 1 mallow to every ounce of tequila (you will need 2oz for this next drink)

Sugar and Spice

2oz silver tequila infused with 2 Earl Grey marshmallows (as above)
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Fever Tree naturally light ginger beer to top up

Pour the mallow infused tequila and lime juice into an ice filled hi ball or large tumbler.
Top up with ginger beer and stir with a swizzle stick.
Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Sugar and Spice-glass by Toasted Glass

So thrilled was I with the cocktail possibilities, not to mention the out and out deliciousness of this divine confectionary, that I will be trying out their Rosewater and Cardamom mallows next! Stay posted for 'Fun With Marshmallows Part 2'....

An apple a day...

Apple Julep

Apparently the old adage of, 'an apple an day...' is no longer sufficient to keep the doctor away. In fact, if recent press is to be believed, then your 'five a day' needs to be at least seven, and ideally, should be twelve. It's enough to drive anyone to drink, particularly if your idea of fruit and veg includes the slice of lemon in your gin and tonic (that does count, right?) Mr TG and I are tireless in our quest to up our vitamin intake through the medium of cocktails and we calculate that if you drink all of these, you should be at least two portions of fruit closer to your daily goal. The naysayers among you may spot the potential flaws in this plan, but if you actually manage to drink them all, the chances are, you won't care too much...

The inspiration for this week's post came from my friends at Pinkster whose deliciously pink gin recently crossed the ocean, popping up in New York City by the Empire State building (click here to see the picture). Pinkster Gin in the Big Apple immediately suggested a cocktail opportunity and the Big Pink was conceived - a fresh and simple combination of Pinkster Gin, raspberry, fresh mint and cloudy apple juice. 

The Big Pink

2oz Pinkster Gin

4 fresh raspberries

6 mint leaves

Cloudy apple juice

Sprig of mint to garnish

Add the gin, raspberries and mint to the bottom of a tall glass and gently muddle together - the object is not to really squish them together but just to slightly bruise the mint and fruit to release the flavours.

Add a handful of ice and top up with cloudy apple juice.

Stir with a swizzle to mix and garnish with a sprig of mint.

The Big Pink - glass by Toasted Glass

My inspiration for the next cocktail came from a little further down south in the US of A, from the state of Kentucky - home to the world renowned Kentucky Derby where the drink of choice is the Julep. Derby day falls on May the 10th of this year and I always like to mark the occasion with a Julep or two, although this time, I am playing pretty fast and loose with the traditional Julep formula (click here for the traditional Mint Julep and the alternative, Lavender Julep recipes). I like this apple version as it is a little less alcoholic and fruitier than the traditional Mint Julep.

Apple Julep

2oz bourbon (I used my favourite Buffalo Trace)
10 - 15 mint leaves
2oz cloudy apple juice
Sprig of mint to garnish

Muddle the mint and bourbon in the bottom of a Julep tin or tall glass.
Fill with crushed ice and pour over the cloudy apple juice.
Use a swizzle stick to mix the drink thoroughly and garnish with a sprig of mint (gently slapping the mint between your palms beforehand, will release the minty aroma).

Apple Julep - Julep Tin by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail combines the sharp, sweet flavour of apples with the fiery kick of ginger. Here we get a double shot of fresh apple flavour from both cloudy apple juice and the exceptional, Chase Sharp Bramley Apple Vodka. This vodka was distilled in a small, limited edition batch and is nigh on impossible to get hold of. However, I live in hope that with enough demand, the clever people at Chase Distillery will decide to create another batch, so please feel free to make enquiries at their website and perhaps we can collectively make it happen...

Chase Apple and Ginger 

2oz Chase Sharp Bramley Apple Vodka
5 mint leaves
1 strawberry (quartered)
1oz cloudy apple juice
2oz Fever Tree Naturally Light Ginger Beer

Gently muddle the mint, strawberry and vodka in the bottom of a glass, taking care not to overly bruise the fruit.
Add a handful of ice, the ginger beer and juice and stir with a swizzle stick to mix the drink.

Chase Apple and Ginger - glass by Toasted Glass

Finally, we come full circle and back to Pinkster Gin who inspired the post in the first place with their appearance in The Big Apple. This cocktail, The Big Pink Martini isn't a martini in the traditional sense, but is served in the martini style. In place of dry vermouth, we are using Sauvignon Blanc and cloudy apple juice with just a dash of simple syrup to approximate the intensity. The result is much lighter and of course, fruitier...

The Big Pink Martini

2oz Pinkster Gin

1oz Sauvignon Blanc

1oz cloudy apple juice

3 raspberries

Dash of simple syrup

Muddle the raspberries with the gin in the bottom of a shaker.

Add the remaining ingredients with a handful of ice and shake hard to mix.

Double strain the contents into a chilled martini glass.

Beer Cocktails

Mr TG's Weissbier in more effervescent days - glasses by Toasted Glass

There has been a bit of a theme running through the posts of late, albeit, unintentional, and this week is no exception. Firstly, couple of weeks ago, we had a surfeit of pears, so I made pear nectar. Next, it was peaches, so I made peach nectar and this week, it's Weissbier so we are making Beer Cocktails, as close to 'beer nectar' as you can get.

You see, Mr TG has developed a bit of a taste for German Weissbier and actually, although beer is generally not my thing, I have to concede that it is quite tasty. So tasty in fact, that I thought it a jolly good idea when he discovered you could buy a 5 litre keg at a considerably more reasonable price than by the bottle. However, what we didn't realise is that it immediately starts to go flat as I believe these little barrels are designed for serving at parties and not intended to be stored in the fridge for a cheeky glass of beer of an evening. So what do you do with a couple of litres of rather lifeless Weissbier? Why you make some cocktails, of course...

All of the following cocktails are actually delicious and worth buying a bottle or two of fresh Weissbier to enjoy them at their best. When buying weissbier for this purpose, I recommend you buy a German brand such as Erdinger or Paulaner as oppose to a Belgian Witbier, which has very different tasting notes due to the tradition of brewing it with orange peel and coriander. I tried making Mr TG's beloved 'Flintoff' cocktail with a Belgian Witbier and the result was not up to par. No doubt there are some great cocktails to be made with it, but that's for another time.

Today we are all about the Bavarian Weissbier which is generally cloudy, naturally sweet with an often, quite distinctive, banana note, not to mention, clove and vanilla - basically, very delicious. It is actually quite a highly carbonated beer, hence the big frothy head you associate with German beers, which helps counterbalance the malty sweetness of it. However, for the purpose of making cocktails, it is best to pour out what you need and allow it to settle, before adding it to the mix. Otherwise, you may have a few frothy overspills to clear up. Of course, there were no such worries for Mr TG and I, given that the fizz had long since departed from our brew, but even so, the use of a shaker is not recommended, except as static, mixing receptacle.

The first cocktail is not one I can claim to have invented and there are many variations on the theme. Basically, it's a Mojito, but instead of topping up with sparkling water, you are using beer. If you are using a Rhum Agricole like Clements, which is a very young, white rum, with almost citrus notes to it, I recommend a less hoppy, lighter, more citrus tasting beer, like Corona, but with the Weissbier, I found  a mix of white rum and dark rum worked better.

Beer-jito

Ingredients
1 oz Clements Rhum Agricole
1 oz Havana Club Añejo 7 años
1 oz lime juice
8 mint leaves
1 oz sugar syrup
3 oz Weissbier
Sprig of mint to garnish

Muddle (squish) the mint in the bottom of a cocktail shaker or large glass with the lime juice.
Add the rest of the ingredients, plus a handful of ice and stir with a bar spoon (long handled like a sundae spoon) for about 20 secs.
Strain into an ice filled tumbler or hi ball glass and garnish with the sprig of mint.
Tip - if you slap the mint very gently between your palms, it will release the essential oils and enhance the minty aroma of your creation.

Beer-jito - glass available from Toasted Glass

I'm not sure what exactly inspired me to make this next drink, but I think it will be a moment of inspiration, I'll be eternally grateful for. It's very simple to make and would be a great one to scale up the quantities and serve as a punch at parties.

Ruby in the Weiss

Ingredients
1 oz Ruby Port (I used Cockburns)
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
4 oz Weissbier

Add all of the ingredients to a the bottom of a shaker or large glass, with ice.
Stir with a long handled spoon for about 20 secs, then strain into an ice filled tumbler.

Ruby in the Weiss - glass by Toasted Glass

This final cocktail is loosely based on one of my favourite tequila drinks, El Diablo and is such a fabulously spooky colour, it's just crying out to be a Halloween party special.

Devil's Brew

Ingredients
2 oz tequila resposado
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
2/3 oz creme de cassis
1/3 oz blue curaçao
2 oz Weissbier
2 oz ginger beer
Strip of lime zest to garnish

Firstly take a sharp paring knife and cut a strip of zest from your lime before you squeeze the juice out.
Next, add all of the ingredients, apart from the zest, to a cocktail shake or large glass with ice.
Stir for 20 secs and then strain into an ice filled tumbler.
Twist the strip of zest over the rim of the glass, to release the essential oils and garnish the drink.

Devil's Brew - glass by Toasted Glass

Just Peachy...

Sweet Rosemary cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

This week's post has been brought to you, courtesy of Lockets, Olbas Oil and Kleenex Balsam Tissues, without which, none of this would have been possible. I am currently in the midst of Lady Flu and viewing the world as though I had a vaseline smeared fish bowl on my head - none of which is conducive to good mixology, taste being an integral part of the process. Luckily however, the week began in less snot-centric circumstances and I was able to create a few peachy numbers before the flu fairy descended upon me, sprinkling me with her germ-laden, fairy dust. 

Why peaches, I hear you ask? Well, the truth is that Mr TG returned from a hard day's foraging in the supermarket, laden with multiple punnets of white peaches which had been reduced in price. They were a tad on the hard side, so we left them to ripen in the bowl, but after two days of waiting patiently, they were still looking more useful as cricket balls, than a fruity treat. Not wishing to admit defeat, I decided to turn them into peach purée - worst case, we'd drinking Bellinis all week...

So, should you find yourself in similarly saddled with a bowl of hard peaches, this is what to do to make them into peach nectar.

Peach Nectar

Firstly, score the skin of the peaches with a sharp knife, to make several crosses over the surface - this will allow the skin to loosen when you blanche them.

Place the peaches in a pan of water so that they are covered and bring quickly to the boil - if the peaches are really hard, allow to boil for minute or two.

Remove from heat and run immediately under the cold tap - this should loosen the peach skin and make it easy to peel off.

Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones.

If the peaches are still very hard, place all the cut pieces into a saucepan with just enough water to cover the bottom and simmer for a few minutes until soft, ensuring the pan doesn't boil dry.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Push through a sieve with the back of a spoon and store in an airtight container. 

Add a little water and or sugar, if necessary.

As this peach nectar has no preservatives, you should aim to guzzle it within a day or two, which means lots of cocktailing opportunities, or you could just drink it as juice, but where's the fun in that?

This first cocktail brought a touch of summer sun to an autumnal evening. It plays the sweetness of peach against the tang of grapefruit and tops it off with a touch of fiery ginger beer. The combination of sweet and spicy Añejo 7 Años Havana Club, dark rum with the citrus notes of Clement Rhum Blanc Agricole give the drink lots of flavour layers in the tradition of a Tiki style cocktail.

Peach Tiki

Ingredients

1oz Añejo 7 Años Havana Club

1oz Clement Rhum Blanc Agricole

1oz peach nectar

1oz freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice

A little ginger beer to top up

Strip of pink grapefruit zest to garnish

Using a sharp paring knife, cut a strip of zest from the peel of the grapefruit and set to one side.

Add everything, but the ginger beer to a cocktail shaker and shake hard for about 20 secs.

Strain into a large tumbler or highball filled with crushed ice and top up with a little ginger beer.

Peach Tiki - glass by Toasted Glass

As well as being a gorgeous shade of blush, this next cocktail is a delicate blend of gin and juice, enhanced with the herbal notes of fresh basil. I used Williams Chase Extra Dry GB Gin because it has strong spicy notes of cinnamon and nutmeg that compliment the peach nectar and plenty of juniper and citrus to blend with the pink grapefruit. There are a lot of different flavours going on in one glass, but the result is a delicately perfumed and refreshing  drink.

Basil Blush

Ingredients

2oz Williams Chase Extra Dry GB Gin
4-6 fresh basil leaves
1oz peach nectar
1oz freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1/2oz simple syrup
Dash of sparkling water
Sprig of basil to garnish

Add the syrup and basil leaves to a cocktail shaker and muddle gently (squish) to release the essential oils - don't overdo the muddling or the flavour will be vegetal rather deliciously herbal.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the shaker with a handful of ice and shake to mix.
Strain the shaker contents into a chilled tumbler, filled with ice and top with a dash of sparkling water.
Garnish with a small sprig of basil - gently slap the sprig between your palms to release the basil aroma.

Basil Blush cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

Now I realise that tequila isn't everybody's spirit of choice, but I have grown to love the smokey, earthy flavour of a tequila resposado and find it combines really well with elderflower and rosemary syrup as in the Tufnell cocktail from my Ashes post. Here, I've used these flavours again, but combined them with peach nectar and topped up with a spot of bubbly to add some sparkle and dilute the concentration in the absence of ice.

Sweet Rosemary

Ingredients

1oz tequila resposado
1/2 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz rosemary syrup (click here for recipe)
1oz peach nectar
1/2 oz lemon juice
Cava or your fizz of choice to top up
Strip of lemon zest to garnish

Before cutting the lemon to squeeze it, take a sharp paring knife and cut a strip of zest from the peel.
Add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the Cava, to a shaker and shake hard.
Strain into a chilled martini glass or coupette and carefully add some fizz, ensuring you pour slowly to avoid it fizzing over. Allow to settle and gently stir to mix.

Sweet Rosemary cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

And so we come to the end of the week, when the lurgey caught up with me and I was rendered temporarily off the cocktail radar. I was sorely tempted to treat myself with Penicillin cocktails, but upon reflection, decided that, although undeniably delicious, the health benefits were debatable. Instead, I made a warming, fruity punch, using the rest of the peach nectar, lemon and honey-ginger syrup. I can testify to it's soothing and warming qualities and should you wish to pop a tot of rum in there too, I imagine you'll be perky again in no time!

Rum Tea Remedy

Ingredients

1oz Clements Rhum Blanc Agricole

1oz honey-ginger syrup

2oz water

2oz peach nectar

1oz lemon

Add everything to a saucepan and heat very gently for about 5 mins, never allowing it to boil.

Pour into a suitably heat resistant receptacle, cup hands around it and curl up in a comfy chair, preferably with a warm, snuggly blanket...achoo

Rum Tea Remedy - cup by Toasted Glass

Alfresco Cocktails

Cocktail Glasses - available on Etsy

Strictly speaking, any cocktail is an 'afresco' cocktail, provided you drink it outdoors and indeed, go to most of my previous posts and you'll find something to fit an outdoor occasion, but the combination of good weather and a long weekend, gave Mr TG and I, more time than usual, spent in the garden, cocktail in hand. There's nothing quite like sipping on a chilled glass of something or other, barefoot, toes in the grass and listening to the sounds of the garden. Of course, back in the real world, the idyll was short lived as we were invaded by our Nerf gun toting offspring declaring war, but the cocktails helped soften the blow.

All of this week's selection would make an excellent accompaniment to an afternoon spent in the sun, although I do recommend slapping on the sunscreen beforehand and quaffing lots of water too, as cocktails have a habit of making you forget to take the basic precautions and before you know it, you'll have a blinding headache and rosy glow that could guide ships in at night.

Our long weekend began on Friday, when we bunked off to the City of London for a spot of lunch and to visit the wonderful Amathus, City in Leadenhall Market.

Amathus Drinks Leadenhall

If you click on the link you'll be able to see the lovely staff, who were both in store when we visited and couldn't have been more helpful. We were treated to a tasting of gins, one of which is definitely on my list for when the Hendricks runs out and to delicious Coffee  and Cherry Heerings. In the end, we left with a bottle of Kings Ginger, a bottle of Cherry Heering, a miniature of Chase Marmalade Vodka and a bottle of rum which I will save for another post. Suffice to say that my knowledge of rum is greatly enriched and that I am inspired to devote a post to it entirely when I've learnt a little more.

King's Ginger is a delicious  and warming liqueur, prepared from the maceration of ginger root and added lemon oil. It is both spicy and zesty, not to mention more alcoholic than many liqueurs, weighing in at a hefty 40%. The story goes that it was developed for His Majesty, King Edward the VII, to stimulate and revive him whilst out driving his new horseless carriage.

Cherry Heering, produced in Denmark, is an intensely fruity, cherry flavoured liqueur with a brandy base. It is world renowned, highly valued in cocktails and generally considered the best of the dark cherry liqueurs. As you can probably see from the picture, it is so delicious, we had opened the bottle and had a snifter before I remembered to take a picture of it.

                                                                                                                                                                                              

I was extremely excited to try this out, having fallen in love with Chase Elderflower Liqueur, in the past. A perusal of previous posts will play this out as you'll notice that it crops up a lot. Let me just say, it did not disappoint. It has all the zesty, oranginess you would expect and a slight caramel, sweetness that gives it that unmistakable, marmalade flavour.

All of these tipples are worthy of drinking straight, in a schnapps glass or in a tumbler, over ice, but equally, make some great cocktails, so if you decide to buy, you can be sure they won't be lurking malevolently at the back of the cocktail cabinet, gathering dust. Anyway, enough waffle....to the cocktails!

Cherry Sling

Ingredients

1oz gin (I used Hendricks)

1oz Cherry Heering

1oz lime juice

1/4oz simple syrup (optional)

Splash of soda water

Add all of the ingredients, apart from the soda, to a cocktail shaker and half fill with ice

Shake vigorously and strain in to a highball glass filled with ice

Top up with a dash of soda 

Highball Glasses by Toasted Glass

This is a variation on the Singapore Sling, a cocktail made famous by the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. There are so many different interpretations, all claiming to be the original, but this definitely isn't. The original did not use soda and featured lemon rather than lime, not to mention, the ratio of gin to Heering was more in favour of gin. The original was a very sweet cocktail, but this is not, particularly if you leave out the simple syrup. To be honest, on this occasion, I preferred it with, as it still wasn't too sweet when served over ice.

Knock Down Ginger

Ingredients

1oz gin (I used Hendricks)

1oz Kings Ginger

1/2oz lemon juice

1/2oz orange juice

1/4oz Fever Tree ginger beer

Add all of the ingredients, apart from the ginger beer, to a cocktail shaker and half fill with ice

Shake vigorously and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass and add the dash of ginger beer

Cocktail Glasses by Toasted Glass

Originally this recipe was made without the ginger beer, but it didn't quite have the warmth you would expect with the addition of Kings Ginger. As Mr TG noted, it was a bit like a very strong vodka and orange, which is odd because it's made with gin, but his senses may have been slightly impaired by then. Anyway, a quarter ounce of Fever Tree ginger beer was just what it needed and so it was renamed, the Knock Down Ginger.

I picked this next recipe because of it's inclusion of Cherry Heering and because the name, Flying High, sounded fairly auspicious. The cherry flavour is quite intense in this one, so if you're not a fan of that, it's probably not for you. The egg white gives the drink a nice texture, but the colour does let it down a bit. After I had tested it, I put it in the fridge, to wait for Mr TG to come home and offer his insight and strangely enough, the drink cleared and looked far more appealing. Incidentally, Mr TG was rather partial to this one.

Flying High

Ingredients

1 1/2oz gin (I used Hendricks)
1oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz lemon juice
1oz orange juice
1 egg white
dash of Angostura Bitters

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and shake without ice for 20 secs

Open the shaker, add ice and shake for a further 20 secs
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

This next recipe was devised, purely on a whim, without much forethought and it turned out to be rather exceptional. Of course, the fine ingredients are the stars here, but I'm rather proud of my effort all the same.

The King's Chase

1oz Chase Marmalade Vodka

1oz King's Ginger

1 1/2oz orange juice

1/2oz lemon juice

1 egg white

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and shake without ice for 20 secs

Open the shaker and half fill with ice

Shake vigorously for another 20 secs and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Cocktail Glasses by Toasted Glass

Although there is no added simple syrup in this cocktail, both King's Ginger and Chase Marmalade Vodka are sweet, so the addition of lemon juice stops it veering into sickly territory. I used a full two ounces of juice in this one because I wanted something refreshing, without resorting to serving it over ice. The addition of egg white adds a silkiness to the texture without altering the flavour and gives the cocktail a little more substance. 

So, of all this week's cocktails, The King's Chase was a clear winner for me and I will definitely be making it again. I can highly recommend investing  bottles of both Kings Ginger and Chase Marmalade Vodka. The Cherry Heering is delicious too, but I've yet to try a cocktail, made with it, that really blows me away. Perhaps I need to come up with my own....watch this space.

Have a great week, drink responsibly and please have a look round some of the other posts for more cocktail inspiration x

Skinny Cocktails

Champagne Flute by Toasted Glass

As I write this, the weather, here in the South East of England is rather fine and sunny. Now I realise that it will not be so for all of you, but by and large, days are getting longer and the sun is making more and more of a regular appearance. This, I am sure you will agree, is a good thing - even my father, who is a die hard Scot who views the southern climate with deep suspicion, can appreciate the approach of summer, but with warmer weather, comes a whole set of issues which admittedly affect the female of the species more, but bear with me. Warmer weather means less clothing and less clothing means more exposed body parts and if like me, you are wondering where that extra bit of body padding came from, then this week's post is for you, because this week, as the title suggests, we are making skinny cocktails.

To be honest, I tend not to favour the creamy cocktails anyway and generally find that the addition of simple syrup in many, can be reduced, without spoiling the flavour. In fact, in many cases, it's an improvement and I always try to use the actual fruit, squeezed or muddled, rather than concentrated juices. However, this week's selection are, in the main, especially low calorie, without resorting to artificial sweeteners, which are just horrid.

Aside from containing less sugar and therefore, less calories, another notable point, regarding skinny cocktails is that the flavour of the alcohol is not masked so greatly. The benefits of this are twofold -

1) You will not drink so quickly and therefore will probably drink less over all

2) Being able to taste the alcohol more, makes it worth investing in a decent bottle of booze (admittedly, this could be see as a negative, but I relish the opportunity to treat myself to something a bit special)

As I discovered last week, when I tested Hendricks gin, there really is a difference in the taste that makes it worth spending that bit more, especially when it comes to making cocktails where the star is really the main ingredient. This first cocktail is a prime example and if you're not too keen on gin, then it's probably not for you, but it comes straight from behind the cocktail bars of LA and if anywhere knows about skinny, it's got to be La La Land. This drink, I actually picked up from an article about Robert De Niro and how incredibly fussy he is about his drinks. Well, fair play to him, I say. If you're going to have a drink, it should be a treat and it should be exactly how you want it. That's why I tend to shy away from public houses, unless they come recommended, as I am not a fan of beer and so many establishments can't even fix a decent gin and tonic, never mind anything more adventurous. That and the fact I just don't get out much, but thankfully, I have my trusty cocktail shaker and an ever increasing arsenal of cocktail recipes to keep Mr TG and I amused.

So here you have it, from the incredibly fussy and undeniably svelte, Robert De Niro...

Gin and Cucumber Martini

Ingredients

1 3/4oz Hendricks gin

10 cm length of cucumber, peeled and diced

Add the cucumber to the shaker and muddle until pulped

Add the gin and a handful of crushed ice and shake vigorously for 1 minute

Strain into a chilled martini glass

Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

Well, I have to be honest - this is not an easy drink. By that I mean, it doesn't lend itself to quaffing, in the slightest, but I did feel incredibly grown up and sophisticated whilst drinking it. Plus, your arms get a mini workout, just shaking the shaker for that long. Apparently, Mr De Niro insists that it be shaken for that long to ensure it forms 'frothy chips' - I guess that's the closest to chips you get in LA.

Next up is the slightly more calorific, but infinitely more quaffable Minty Mule. Like a Moscow Mule, but with lots of fresh mint, this cocktail uses Fever Tree ginger beer, which I discovered last week as I was making El Diablos. This ginger beer really is a superior beverage. It's sugar content is greatly reduced from that of normal ginger beer and it uses no artificial sweeteners whatsoever. However, what it lacks in sugar, it more than makes up for by packing some serious ginger. This stuff is really quite fiery, which is great as you don't need to use too much and if you make sure that there's plenty of ice in the glass, you'll use even less.

Minty Mule

Ingredients

2oz vodka

1oz lime juice

6 mint leaves

Fever Tree ginger beer to top up

Add everything apart from the ginger beer to a shaker and half fill with ice

Shake hard for 20 secs and strain into a tumbler, filled with crushed ice

Top up with a little Fever Tree ginger beer

Tumbler on Etsy

I think this is absolutely delicious. There's a nice balance of sharp, sweet and spice and the mint just makes it all taste super fresh and summery.

This next cocktail is a margarita of sorts, which uses a teaspoon of agave nectar to sweeten and the juice of an orange in place of cointreau or triple sec. You can also find a recipe for a Puro Margarita in my Ay Caramba post, which won't cause you to pop any buttons either and is very zesty and fresh.

Skinny Margarita

Ingredients

2oz tequila resposado

1 1/2oz lime juice

1oz orange juice

1 tsp agave nectar

sea salt to rim the glass (optional)

If you wish to salt the rim of the glass, lightly rub it with a wedge of lime  and carefully pull the edge through a small pile of salt

Add the tequila, orange, agave nectar and lime to a shaker and half fill with crushed ice

Shake hard for 20 secs and strain into the prepared cocktail glass

Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

I absolutely love this and genuinely prefer cocktails with a bit less sweetness to them anyway - I think the main lesson I'll take from this, is that a little sugar (or agave syrup) goes a long way. Most of the cocktails I have featured over the weeks, could be made with just a little agave syrup instead of so much simple syrup and some, like the Country Thyme cocktail from the Easter Cocktails blog post are already much lower in sugar. That said, it doesn't do to be too rigid about such things, but it's nice to have options.

Our final cocktail today is a Grapefruit and Basil Champagne Cocktail which includes a splash of fizz. Although the recipe does not specify which colour of fizz, I am going for pink as that is what I have in my fridge and I've been wanting to open it for ages, not least because I have some rather fabulous champagne flutes with Flamingos on that are just begging for a spot of pink fizz. Anyway, I digress....

Pink Grapefruit Basil Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients

1 3/4oz Hendricks gin

1oz pink grapefruit juice

2 basil leaves

1 tsp agave nectar

Splash of pink fizz

Add everything but the fizz to a shaker and top up to half way with crushed ice

Shake hard for 20-30 secs and strain into a chilled martini glass

Top up with a splash of pink fizz 

Champagne Flute by Toasted Glass

This is rather wonderful - the basil works well with the botanicals in the Hendricks and although the combination of pink fizz and grapefruit could be bitter, that little teaspoon of agave syrup just takes the edge off. I'm pretty sure that combining wine and spirits in the same glass is just asking for trouble, but seeing as I'll be sharing this one with Mr TG, we'll probably be okay....

I hope this week's post has shown that it is still possible to enjoy a delicious cocktail without piling on the pounds, although, if you insist on drinking them by the bucket load, it's probably not going to help that much. So drink responsibly and enjoy. Have a fabulous weekend x