Winter Spice

Rum Toddy - cup by Toasted Glass

In nature, winter is a time of hibernation, conservation and storing of energy, ready to burst forth and be plentiful again in the spring. Sadly, in the kingdom of men, there is no such respite. We may be top of the food chain, but with great power, comes great responsibility and apparently, it is our responsibility to buy vast amounts of Christmas gifts and eat our way through the rest of the food chain. So no rest for us; while foxes, badgers and squirrels snuggle up until spring, we must pull on our woolly hats and soldier on through the cold, battling the the elements and other high street shoppers as we try to find the perfect Christmas gifts. Alternatively, you could take inspiration from our woodland creatures and snuggle up indoors. Bearing in mind the cost of heating our homes this winter, a soft, woolly blanket, a pair of slipper socks and a cocktail that is guaranteed to warm you up from the inside, sound like the perfect accompaniment to a spot of online Christmas shopping....

After infusing Campari with chilli for last week's cocktail - 'Satan's Circus', I decided ( as I often do ) that it would taste even better made with gin, which proved to be the case in my opinion at least. Now this cocktail may be served chilled, but the heat of the chilli infused Campari will have you feeling toasty in no time. The trick is to infuse the Campari for just long enough to give you a glow without getting into ‘vindaloo’ territory. Let the chilli steep for no more than an hour and the resultant drink will warm you deliciously without burning the throat. To get the recipe for Chilli Infused Campari - click here.

This recipe also requires Cherry Heering, a cherry liqueur made from the maceration of real fruit with an intense, but natural, cherry flavour. If you do not already have some, you can buy online or in store from more specialist purveyors of spirits, such as Amathus Drinks. Finally, you will need gin, of which there are literally hundreds to choose from and all with surprisingly different flavours. I used Gin Xoriguer, a small batch gin from the Balearic island of Menorca, which has enough juniper and spice to stand up to the Chilli Infused Campari.

visit the Gin Xoriguer website

Cherry Devil

Ingredients
2 oz Gin Xoriguer
3/4 oz Cherry Heering
3/4 oz chilli infused Campari
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake hard until the outside develops a frosty bloom.
Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Cherry Devil cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

This next recipe uses the warming power of ginger to chase away the winter blues and will require making some honey-ginger syrup. To get the recipe for Honey-Ginger Syrup - click here

As the following recipe is a variation of a traditional margarita, it will of course require tequila. It is best to use a ‘resposado’ tequila rather than a young, ‘blanco’ or ‘silver’ tequila as the more aged spirit has an earthier flavour that works best with the honey and ginger.

Ginger Margarita

2 oz Tequila Resposado
1 oz honey-ginger syrup
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Strip of orange zest and slice of ginger to garnish

Add all of the ingredients, apart from the garnish, to a cocktail shaker.
Shake hard for about 20 secs and double strain (to remove the grated zest) into a chilled cocktail glass.
Twist the strip of zest over the glass to release the essential oils and garnish the drink.

Ginger Margarita cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

Our final winter warmer cocktail is a warm, boozy beverage that can be prepared almost as simply as a cup of tea and in fact, you may wish to scale up the quantities and make a pot for friends.

Rum Toddy

1 1/2 oz dark rum
3/4 oz apricot brandy
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 tsp light muscovado sugar
3 oz boiling water
Cinnamon stick to garnish

Add the rum, brandy and lemon juice to a cup and top up with boiling water.
Add the spoonful of dark muscovado sugar and stir with a cinnamon stick until the sugar dissolves.

Rum Toddy - cup 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

The Ashes 2013

So, Wimbledon is over for another year and as the nation basks in the glow of Murray's victory, Mr TG settles back for six weeks of cricket as England and Australia battle it out on various pitches across England, to see who will win the tiniest cup in the history of sport. Yes, it's time for Ashes 2013, which kicked off at Trent Bridge on July 10th and will go on until August 25th, during which time, Mr TG's humour will depend on the performance of the England team against their old adversaries, the Aussies.

The term, 'The Ashes' came about as a satirical comment made by the press after a game at the Oval when England were beaten by the Australians for the first time, on home ground. In the aftermath of that game, a satirical obituary was published in the Sporting Times, in which it claimed, the game of cricket had died and 'the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia'. The subsequent, series played between the two teams in Australia in 1882-83 was jokingly dubbed by the newspapers as England's bid to bring home the Ashes of English Cricket.

The tiny trophy which has become synonymous with game, is not in fact the actual trophy that was originally presented and is reputed to contain the ashes of a cricket ball. The original terracotta urn has remained at the Melbourne cricket club since it was presented at the end of the 1882-3 series. The actual trophy is a Waterford crystal reproduction of this and is actually quite impressive, but the media and the cricketers themselves can never pass up the comic opportunity of holding aloft a palm sized terracotta copy.

Despite Mr TG's great love of the game and the fact that we live within shouting distance of the Essex County Ground, I have managed to remain blissfully uneducated in the nuances of the game. In fact, I will actually be attending a Twenty Twenty game on sunday, but I look at as an opportunity for a picnic more than anything else. Expect to hear quite a lot from me on twitter that day... So, I feel it's in my best interests to come up with a cocktail or two to make the experience a little bit more fabulous and I'm sure , for those that love the game, it will be all the more enhanced by one of these.

I took as my inspiration, two cricketing greats, who are as well known for their off pitch personas as they are for their cricketing prowess; Phil 'the cat' Tufnell and Andrew 'Freddy' Flintoff seemed appropriate choices for cocktail monickers, given their, shall we say, 'fun loving' reputations. The Tufnell cocktail is a drink with a herbal twist, owing to ex-team-mate, Atherton's claim that Tuffers was partial to the, more than occasional, herbal smoke and The Flintoff is a potentially lethal mix of rum and beer that is quite liable to fuel an attempt at crossing the high seas in a pedalo.

The Tufnell cocktail requires a small amount of rosemary syrup which can be made quite simply by following this recipe. Rosemary Syrup (click here for recipe). The tequila was purchased from Tesco and the Chase Elderflower liqueur from the wonderful people at Amathus Drinks.

A young Tufnell in 1998, celebrating Test cricket success

The Tufnell

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Sierra tequila resposado
1/2 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur
3/4 oz rosemary syrup
1 oz lemon juice
Half a ripe pear, peeled, cored and diced
A little sparkling water to top up
Sprig of rosemary

Muddle the pear in the bottom of a shaker then pass through a sieve so only the juice remains.
Alternatively blitz it in a blender, which will give a slightly thicker consistency - both are fine.
Add the pear juice and rest of the ingredients, apart from the sprig of rosemary, to the cocktail shaker and shake hard.
Strain the contents of the shaker into a tall glass, filled with ice and top with a little sparkling water.
Stir to mix.
Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Hi ball glasses available on Etsy

The Flintoff cocktail requires honey-ginger syrup (click here for recipe). Leffe Blonde beer has a honey spice of it's own and a slight banana taste that pairs well with rum. It is readily available in larger supermarkets and I was able to purchase mine from Tesco. The Flor de Cana rum was bought from the City branch of Amathus Drinks and is also available to buy form them, online. For those of you who would like to try the cocktail, but would rather not have the full Flintoff experience, I suggest sharing one between two or perhaps leave out a shot of rum...

Flintoff in typically exuberant form

The Flintoff

Ingredients
3 oz Flor de Cana rum
1 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz honey-ginger syrup
3 oz Leffe Blonde Beer

Add the rum, lemon and syrup to a shaker with ice and shake hard.
Open the shaker, add the beer and stir carefully, with a bar spoon to combine all of the ingredients.
Strain into a tall beer glass, filled with ice.

Pint Glass available on Etsy

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

Father's Day Cocktails

St Edward's Crown Glasses by Toasted Glass

For those of you, reading this, after the event, don't let the title put you off. This post's selection have been curated and created with Father's Day in mind and are perhaps a little less feminine than is my wont, but are in no way limited to the chaps. What I will say, is that they are not overly fruity or floral and even include a couple of drinks that can be knocked together without the aid of a cocktail shaker or any fancy shenanigans. Whether young or old, I'm sure you'll find something to impress dad, this June 16th and you might want to consider my Bespoke Cocktail Service, that takes into account, taste, personality and lifestyle to create a tailor made mix to perfectly suit the recipient. For further information, please click here.

This first cocktail is being hailed as a modern classic and deservedly so. It was created by Sam Ross; beardy Australian and celebrity bartender at Attaboy, the Uptown reinvention of New York's Milk and Honey bar. It's a whisky cocktail that cleverly uses two types of scotch, a blend for the main body of the drink and a small amount of a good smokey, single malt, floated on the top. As someone who doesn't really like whisky, I wasn't too sure about this, but the initial taste of a good single malt is fine and just as it gets to the point where I would normally gag (yes, I really struggle with whisky), the sweet ginger and lemon flavours come through. Of course, it does involve making Honey-Ginger Syrup, but that in itself is delicious and worth making a small pot of it to keep in the fridge. Click here for Honey-Ginger syrup recipe. The original recipe does specify using an Islay single malt to float on top. I have used Jura Superstition for it's spice and smoke and as the isle of Jura is a stone's throw from Islay, the whiskies produced from distilleries on both, share many of the same tasting notes. Laphroig, Laguvilin and Bowmore would all work well.

Penicillin Cocktail

Ingredients
2oz blended scotch (I used Grants)
1/4oz Islay single malt
3/4oz lemon juice
3/4oz honey-ginger syrup

Add all of the ingredients, bar the single malt, to a cocktail shaker, with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into an ice filled rocks glass
Pour the single malt over the back of a spoon, to float on the top of the drink

Bumble Bee rocks glasses by Toasted Glass

This next drink is simplicity itself to make and can be adapted to make any number of variations. It works well with whisky too and you can substitute lemon for lime. Use white rum and fresh lime and it's practically a mojito. The main thing is, it's a doddle to mix up and will appeal to those who don't like too much fuss. I used Blackwoods gin which already has slight mint undertones from the watermint in it's botanical mix.

Gin Smash

Ingredients

2oz Blackwoods gin
1/2 lemon, cut into quarters
3/4oz simple syrup
7 fresh mint leaves
Dash of Angostura bitters

Muddle (squish) the mint, lemon and simple syrup in the bottom of a large tumbler or highball glass using a muddling stick or similar implement
Half fill the glass with crushed ice, pour in the gin and bitters and stir carefully, ensuring that the alcohol mixes in well
Top up with more crushed ice  and stir again before drinking

Time For Drinks Tumblers by Toasted Glass

Followers of the blog will know that last week I made Vanilla Infused Vodka and deemed it such a success that I then went on to make a slightly larger batch. One of the things that really struck me about it was the earthiness that using natural vanilla brings - absolutely nothing like sweet vanilla flavouring and with a touch of the pipe tobacco about it. 'What could be more manly than pipe tobacco and single malt?', thought I and so the Old Timer was conceived. Otherwise, the cocktail is made just as you would make an Old Fashioned, using a little simple syrup, rather than a sugar cube, as the extra work is entirely unnecessary in my opinion. In an ideal world , you would serve the drink with one very large ice cube in the glass so as to keep it chilled, but not over diluted. The initial aroma is mellow and sweet from the vanilla and orange, but the lingering taste is the smoke of the single malt.

Old Timer

1oz vanilla vodka
1oz single malt whisky(I used Jura Superstition)
1/4oz simple syrup
Dash of Angostura bitters
Large strip of orange zest

Using a sharp knife, cut a long thin strip from the peel of an orange, leaving behind the pith and set to one side
Add the simple syrup to the glass, along with a dash of Angostura bitters
Add the spirits, stir and add ice - preferably a large cube or two
Squeeze the orange zest around the rim of the glass to release the oils. This creates an orange aroma without adding juice to the drink

Black Stag Rocks Glasses by Toasted Glass

The final cocktail today is loosely based on the El Diablo cocktail, a big favourite of mine and you can get the recipe by going to my Summer Spice cocktails post. What surprised me about the El Diablo, when I first tried it, was how well tequila and ginger work together and so, pairing tequila with King's Ginger, one of my favourite liqueurs, seemed an obvious move.

El Rey

Ingredients

1oz tequila resposado
3/4oz King's Ginger
1/4oz Creme de Cassis
1oz lime juice
Dash of Fever Tree Naturally Light Ginger Beer

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 20 secs
Strain into a tumbler with ice and top up with a dash of ginger beer.

St Edward's Crown Highballs by Toasted Glass

This drink also works rather well without the lime and prepared in much the same way as an Old Fashioned.

Old Fashioned El Rey

1oz tequila resposado
3/4oz King's Ginger
1/4oz Creme de Cassis
Dash of bitters
Strip of orange zest

Add all of the ingredients apart from the zest, to a tumbler/ rocks glass and stir well to combine
Add one or two large ice cubes
Squeeze the strip of zest to release the oils and wipe around the rim of the glass

St Edward's Crown Rocks Glasses by Toasted Glass

I gave myself the challenge of 'manning up' this week and I have to admit that I am rather enjoying it - so much so, that I have had to force myself to stop because we can't possibly drink any more cocktails. Still, watch this space as there are many more to come in the future. Have a fabulous weekend and test a few cocktails before you try them out on dad for Father's Day x

All of the glasses used and indeed, any in my Etsy shop, can be personalised to make a special gift for Father's Day.

Honey-Ginger Syrup

Miniature bottle by Toasted Glass

This delicious syrup is a must for creating the Penicillin Cocktail, but don't just stop there. You can use the syrup in cocktails, drizzled on baked apples and mixed with a little soy sauce as delicious salmon marinade. It makes a fantastically warming drink, mixed with lemon juice and hot water and adds spice to a glass of sparkling water.

The recipe below will yield about 350 - 400ml of syrup which is quite a lot, but I really love the stuff. If you feel this is too much for you, then just scale down the quantities - you will only need 25ml for one Penicillin Cocktail. It should keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Honey-Ginger Syrup

Ingredients

200ml runny honey
250g piece of fresh ginger
65ml water
6 tbsp sugar

Start by peeling the ginger root. If you have a juicer then this will really be a doddle - just juice the ginger root and set the juice aside. Otherwise, grate the root into a bowl and then carefully tip the juice into a jug, through a mini sieve/tea strainer. Then, it is vital that you extract as much juice as possible by pressing the pulp in the strainer with back of a spoon. Alternatively you can squeeze it out through a muslin cloth, but this involves more mess and washing.

Add the sugar to the ginger juice and stir it in until completely dissolved

Add the water to the honey, in a bowl and stir until completely mixed

Add the sweetened ginger juice and watered down honey together. Stir until mixed and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

As well as the ideas outlined above, you could use the syrup to make this delicious and refreshing drink. for added bite, sneak in a shot or two of either vodka, tequila or whisky.

Ginger Cooler

Ingredients

3/4oz honey-ginger syrup
3/4oz lemon juice
Sparkling water

Mix the syrup and juice in the bottom of a glass
Add ice and top up with sparkling water and stir

Tumbler by Toasted Glass