T.L.C Cocktail

TLC Cocktail - Bespoke Cocktail Service

This cocktail was created as gift to mark the 30 year, Pearl Wedding Anniversary of a couple who work hard all year on the farm and in the local community and enjoy an annual cruise to far flung lands as a reward. From the brief I was given, I wanted to create something that would combine quintessentially British flavours with something a little more  cosmopolitan, that was both fruity and sweet.

The name of the cocktail refers to the couple's initials, but serendipitously also stands for 'tender loving care', without which, a marriage is unlikely to last 30 years. The bottles were hand painted in a lace design with a pearl outline and the number 30 entwined into the pattern to represent their 30 years of marriage to one another.

And so, to the cocktail...

The recipe calls for fresh raspberry purée which is easily made by squishing the raspberries through a sieve with the back of a spoon - collect the purée in a dish and discard the pips. About 4 large raspberries should be enough to make a tablespoon of purée.

The dash of lemon juice should be fresh, not the bottled type, but is literally, just a tiny squeeze, less than half a teaspoon. Although seemingly minuscule, that little dash just adds a freshness and depth to the alcohol.

Should you wish to make their signature cocktail for yourself, you will need to invest in a bottle of Martin Miller Gin (highly recommended with Fever Tree Tonic for an exceptional G&T), Cartron Crème de Pêche de Vigne and Giffards Crème de Framboises (both delicious when added to fizz in the style of a Kir Royale) and a sweet vermouth such as Martini Rosso which is an essential ingredient for many cocktails, including my current fave, the Negroni.

TLC Cocktail

3/4 oz Martin Miller Gin
1/4 oz Crème de Framboises
1/2 oz Crème de Pêche de Vigne
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 tbsp raspberry purée
dash of fresh lemon juice
raspberry to garnish

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice (cubed, not crushed) and shake hard until the outside of the shaker becomes frosted (about 20 secs).

Strain the contents into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a raspberry or two on a cocktail stick.

TLC Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

If you find the drink a little intense, served this way, why not try it served over ice or topped up with champagne - delicious!

TLC over ice - glass by Toasted Glass

Wimbledon 2013

Champagne Flutes by Toasted Glass

At the time of writing, it is the morning of the Wimbledon 2013 Mens' Final and by the time you are reading this, the nation could be in the grips of 'Murray Fever' or in the depths of despair. Either way, cocktails in the sunshine will make Wimbledon 2013 an infinitely more enjoyable experience. The cocktails I have chosen for today are all delicious and have been rigorously tested over the last week or so to bring you my current favourites that will hopefully be the perfect accompaniment to a victory party, hence they all feature a spot of prosecco because for me, nothing says celebration, quite like bubbles. You can of course substitute prosecco for champagne or cava, whatever floats your boat.

Love All

Ingredients
1 oz Chase Rhubarb Vodka
2 strawberries
Prosecco to top up

Muddle 1 strawberry in the bottom of a shaker, with the Chase Rhubarb Vodka.
Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 secs before straining into a chilled champagne flute.
Pop the other strawberry into the bottom of the flute and very slowly top up with prosecco to avoid it fizzing over

Champagne Flutes by Toasted Glass

Advantage

Ingredients
2 oz Otima Tawny Port
1/2 oz creme de framboises
1/4 oz lemon juice
Prosecco
3 raspberries to garnish

Add the port, creme de framboises and lemon to a shaker with ice
Shake hard for 20 secs and strain into an ice filled, tall glass
Top up with prosecco and stir carefully to mix
Garnish with 3 raspberries on a cocktail stick

Hi ball glasses available on Etsy

Deuce

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Otima Tawny Port
1/2 oz triple sec
Prosecco
Strawberry to garnish

Add the port and triple sec to a large mixing glass with ice and stir for about 20 secs to chill the alcohol.
Pop a strawberry into the bottom of a chilled champagne flute and strain the mixture in.
top up carefully with bubbles to avoid fizzing over and give a little stir to mix.

Champagne Flutes by Toasted Glass

Game Over

Ingredients
1 oz Chase Marmalade Vodka
1 oz Martini Rosso
Dash of Peychauds bitters
Prosecco
Squeeze of orange juice
Orange zest

Add the vodka, sweet vermouth and bitters to a shaker with ice.
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled champagne flute.
Top up with prosecco and then squeeze a wedge of orange over the top
Cut a strip of zest and twist and squeeze to release the oils before dropping into the glass.

Champagne Flute by Toasted Glass

Whatever the outcome, enjoy the cocktails  and if we are fortunate enough to be celebrating that elusive British victory this time around, then there may be a few sore heads in the morning, so drink plenty of water and be responsible. Fingers crossed x

Peacock Cocktails

Glasses and decanter by Toasted Glass

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been painting peacocks; peacocks on champagne flutes, peacocks on mirrors and of course, peacocks on cocktail glasses. Peacocks have long been a great love of mine and indeed, I previously dedicated a whole post to them, so enamoured am I  of their beauty. If you would like to read that, then please click here.

However, today's post is all about the cocktails and for all three, I am using Martin Miller Gin, which, as I mentioned in my Taste of London post, is a damn fine gin. So fine in fact, that Mr TG, who has never been a great fan of the stuff, has been won round to it's fresh, clear, citrus magnificence. In celebration of it's wonderful gininess (if I say it's a word, it's a word), I have made three, great, gin cocktails and shown them off in the same Peacock glasses, but all to very different effect.

The first  cocktail is a classic Martinez, whose history is a little hazy, but is thought to be a precursor to the Martini or even a variation of it. Indeed, there are theories that it may even have been a gin version of a Manhattan. To be honest, nobody knows for sure, but most can agree that a modern Martinez will have one part gin to two parts sweet vermouth, with a little splash of maraschino liqueur or perhaps even triple sec and a dash of bitters. The addition of orange zest is often used too, although not a prerequisite and I have chosen to leave it out of the glass as there would be too much going on, with such an intricate design. However, in a plain martini glass, it does look nice against the cocktail. The Martinez is a very simple cocktail that requires good ingredients to make it shine which is why  Martin Miller Gin is perfect. I generally prefer cocktails with more citrus or berry fruit, but the sweetness from the vermouth and the maraschino, alongside the spice and the herbal notes combine with the gin's botanicals to make a complex and surprisingly quaffable drink.

Martinez

Ingredients
2 oz Martini Rosso
1 oz Martin Miller Gin
2 dashes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters

Add all of the ingredients to a bar glass or the bottom of a shaker, with some ice.
Stir the drink for 20 seconds to fully mix the cocktail and to get the correct viscosity and temperature.
Strain into a chilled martini glass

Peacock glasses by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail, the Southside has an equally hazy history, with some claiming it dates back to the Prohibition and refers to the Southside district of Chicago Illinois. Others claim it was created at the 21 Club in New York City. Recipes also vary, from serving it as a mojito style drink over ice, with bitters or as I have done, shaken up and served in a martini glass. Whatever the history and however you serve it, it's a refreshing combination of lemon, mint and gin, which makes it just about perfect in my opinion.

Southside

Ingredients
2 oz Martin Miller 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.
Shake hard for 20 seconds and then double strain into a chilled martini glass.

Peacock glasses by Toasted Glass

Finally, we have a variation on the Pegu, a cocktail made famous by the Pegu Club in Rangoon, a colonial hangout and listed in the Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930. It is a combination of gin, cointreau, lime juice and bitters and has an almost grapefruit flavour. My version uses blue curacao in place of cointreau, which gives it a blue colour, but doesn't alter the flavour too much.  It's refreshing and perfect for these glasses I think, with it's peacock hue.

Peacock

Ingredients

2 oz Martin Miller Gin
1/2 oz blue curcao
3/4 oz lime juice
2 dashes orange bitters

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake hard over ice, for at least 20 secs
Strain into a chilled martini glass

Peacock glasses by Toasted Glass

Remember, if there are any cocktail terms that you don't understand, they should all be explained in this post, the Dufford's Guide and if you would like to read all about the fabulousness of Peacocks, click here.

Taste of London 2013

When I was but a young thing, the idea of a festival dedicated to food and drink, seemed an insane idea. After all, who needed food when you were leaping around in a field wearing a crop top? Thankfully for us all, the crop tops have long since been consigned to the the charity shop and the concept of spending a day just eating wonderful food and drinking cocktails is idyllic.So you can imagine my delight when I managed to procure a ticket for this year's Taste of London festival which ran for four days, finishing up on the 23rd of June.

The festival is held in London's Regent Park and is host to over 40 of the capital's hottest restaurants and food and drink suppliers. There are opportunities to watch amazing demonstrations, taste an array of beautifully presented dishes and sample some of the best that our epicurean city can offer. Of course, for me, it was all about the spirits, not that I wouldn't have loved to try everything, but time was sadly limited and there's only so much a lady of my size can imbibe before incoherence overtakes and I was trying desperately hard to be professional about it all.

My first stop was at the Pinkster Gin stand to meet  these new kids on the gin block and chat to the creator of their undeniably appealing, pink gin, Stephen Marsh.  Although he has making gin for the pleasure of friends and family for years, Pinkster has only been available to the public for the last 6 weeks. However, I suspect that it's natural, pink colour which comes from the raspberries used in it's distillation will set it apart from it's peers and make it a popular choice, especially with the ladies. There are a lot of gins on the market and no doubt some purists will baulk at this young upstart, but the taste is very pleasant and it makes a terribly  pretty G&T, especially with the addition of a raspberry and a sprig of mint. Sadly, there were no bottles available to take home on the day, so you will have to wait a bit longer to find out it's cocktail making potential, but I have high hopes...

Pink G&T from Pinkster Gin

Fortified by my Pinkster G&T, I popped over to the Sipsmith stand to sample an altogether, far more traditional gin. Sipsmith are master distillers of small batch, artisanal spirits, created in their bespoke built still, (charmingly named Prudence) in Hammersmith, west London. Their reputation for making high quality products is well deserved and I was keen to sample their take on Pimms, the Sipsmith Summer Cup. It is sweet and fruity with definite flavours of early grey tea and lemon verbena. For me, I would serve it with a lot of lemon and topped up with sparkling water as it is very sweet, but the bergamot and verbena tastes are right up my street. I also sampled their well renowned gin which did not disappoint. It's a very traditional, dry gin, flavoured with 10 different botanicals, all of which the young man behind the bar was able to name, but I have forgotten. However, there was definitely citrus, juniper, coriander and cassia bark in there, but whatever; it's good. In the end, I decided to take home a bottle of their barley vodka. It's unfiltered, but smooth to drink, with a hint of peppery spice and if you are the type to sip vodka neat, then this will perform well.

Feeling just a little wobbly, I swayed over to the Martin Miller stand, just to tell them how fantastic I thought their gin was. Admittedly, I may have been slightly buoyed by the two drinks I'd had, but it was true nonetheless - Martin Miller Gin is exceptionally good. I tried an array of gins at a tasting in Amathus Soho and it was my clear favourite. The flavour is incredibly fresh and light with all the flavours you expect from a gin, just arranged in an exceptional way. Perhaps it's the Icelandic water that Martin Miller insists is used to make his gin? As he rightly points out, over 50% of gin's volume is water so it should be the best of the best and Icelandic water is probably the purest and softest there is. As I already have a bottle of their wonderful spirit, I made my excuses and moved on, but it would wrong not to mention it as a stand out star of the show.

At this point I decided it was probably wise if I had something to eat or my impartiality was likely to be somewhat impaired and sustenance was provided, beautifully presented, in a scallop shell, by Theo Randall restaurants. Admittedly, I could have done with about 8 of these, but it was such a delicious combination of flavours that I was temporarily sated.

scallops, puy lentils, bacon and chilli from Theo Randall

My final port of call was over to the Chase Distillery stand, where, stomach duly lined (sort of), I was able to finally sample their delicious Rhubarb Vodka, mixed up in a Rhubarb Sour cocktail. I have to confess that since first trying their Elderflower liqueur a few months ago, I have become a bit of a 'fan girl' to the Chase brand as is probably apparent from reading through many of the cocktail entries. Anyway, it was a real pleasure to meet the Alex and James who were behind the bar, coping admirably well with the high volume of visitors and I am looking forward to visiting the distillery in Herefordshire, this summer. Mr TG and I are planning a little pilgrimage there to see just how it is all made and maybe to sample a beverage or two.... In the meantime however, I left, having weighed myself down with a bottle of Rhubarb Vodka, Marmalade Vodka and their Extra Dry Gin.

James Chase of Chase Distillery with his wonderful Rhubarb Vodka cocktail

So, on to the cocktails. What did I make with my fantastic array of delicious new spirits. Well, let's start with the Martin Miller Gin which, although I bought the previous week, I hadn't actually used to make any cocktails having been side tracked by bourbon (click here for Bourbon post). The cocktail I have made is a take on the modern classic, Bramble cocktail, given a raspberry twist and shaken up rather than stirred.

Raspberry Tumble

Ingredients
2 oz Martin Miller Gin
3 fresh raspberries
1/2 oz creme de framboises
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz sugar syrup

Muddle the raspberries in the bottom of a shaker before adding all of the other ingredients.
Add a handful of ice and shake vigorously for 20 secs.
Strain into an ice filled rocks glass (double strain if you don't want any raspberry pips)

White Stag Tumblers by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail I created to give a fresh, green flavour that would work with the spicy finish on the Sipsmith barley vodka.. Mr TG did question the pizza topping garnish, but was agreeably receptive to the flavour of the drink.

Lime and Basil Fizz

Ingredients
2 oz Sipsmith vodka
8 small basil leaves
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz sugar syrup
1 egg white
sparkling water

Muddle the basil leaves and lime juice together in the bottom of the shaker.
Add the vodka, sugar syrup and egg white and dry shake for 20 secs
Add ice and dry shake for another 20 secs then double strain into a chilled tumbler or highball.
Top up with a little sparkling water.

Tumbler available on Etsy

This next cocktail uses Chase Rhubarb Vodka in a martini style drink that is perfect for summer, combining the quintessentially British flavours of rhubarb and strawberry with a dash of bitters and lemon juice to cut through the sweetness and give a little more complexity to the drink.

Chase Summer Martini

Ingredients
2 oz Chase Rhubarb Vodka
2 fresh strawberries
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
Dash of Orange bitters

Muddle the strawberries in the bottom of a shaker and add the remaining ingredients with a handful of ice.
Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until the outside of the shaker is frosted and double strain into a chilled martini glass.

Butterfly cocktail glasses by Toasted Glass

Our final cocktail for today uses the magnificent Chase Marmalade Vodka. Regular followers will know that I love this stuff and have used it previously to create the King's Marmalade cocktail, a delicious combination of King's Ginger, Chase Marmalade vodka and citrus (get the recipe here). This time I wanted to create something totally different and combined the vodka with sweet vermouth to highlight the bitter orange flavour of the marmalde and take away some of the sweetness. I thought Mr TG would hate this as he is not keen on vermouth, but once again he surprised me by being actually rather positive. This is a great summer drink for enjoying outdoors in the sunshine, should we actually get the chance.

Wake Up Call

Ingredients
2 oz Chase Marmalade Vodka
1 oz Martini Rosso
3 dashes orange bitters
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
Sparkling water

Add all of the ingredients apart from the sparkling water, to a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake hard for 20 secs and strain into an ice filled tumbler or highball.
Top up with a little sparkling water

Tumbler available on Etsy

If you didn't get the chance to visit Taste of London 2013 this year then I highly recommend you try and make it along for next year. I will definitely be going and this time I'll make sure I don't have to rush home! Luckily, I can create a little Taste of London at home with my fabulous haul from the show. If you would like to get hold of any of the spirits I've mentioned, you can do so at Amathus Drinks or other, similar purveyors of fine wines and spirits. If you are confused by any of the terms used in the cocktail recipes, there are explanations provided here.

Kentucky Fried....

Arial View of Manhattan cocktail glass - by Toasted Glass

Don't worry, there's nothing chicken based about this post and my lifetime achievement of never setting foot in a fried chicken outlet, still stands. No, the 'Kentucky' I am referring to, is of course, bourbon and the 'fried', well, that's how I'm feeling now after sampling the delights of this week's spirited rye, Buffalo Trace.

I had the pleasure of taking tea in London at the weekend with my new companions from the Secret Tea Society, whom you might remember from an earlier post in which I detailed the rather delicious cocktail I created for them (click here for details). Anyway, whilst in the vicinity, I took the opportunity to pop in to the Soho branch of Amathus Drinks where the immensely helpful staff were able to assist me with a number of requests, including, a bottle of bourbon.

My knowledge of bourbon is limited to a brief period in my early twenties, when I made it my sole mission to  try just about every drink behind the bar. Along with the better known Jack Daniels and Jim Beam were the amusingly named Sheep Dip, Wild Turkey and Knob Creek. However, I have latterly, tended towards the clear spirits and although I have dipped a toe (metaphorically) into scotch, bourbon has remained a bit of an enigma. Thankfully, the resident cocktail expert at Amathus was able to point me in the right direction and impart some of his considerable knowledge. I now know that bourbon falls into two main categories - those that are made with rye, like Buffalo Trace and those that are made with wheat. Wheaty bourbon has a smoother, creamier finish and rye gives a bit more spice to the flavour. As I was looking to make cocktails, in particular, a Manhattan, he suggested I go for a rye as the spicy finish married well with the sweet vermouth and bitters.

I have consequently discovered that in actual fact, to qualify as a bourbon, at least 51% of the grain content must come from corn and in the case of Buffalo Trace, it is distilled from a mixture of corn, barley and rye. The clear distillation is matured in oak barrels for 8 years, in which time, it takes on some of the colour and the flavour of the oak. The makers say that it has a rich and complex flavour with hints of vanilla, toffee and candied fruit and I agree that there is a sweetness to it, which in my opinion, is reminiscent of glace cherry and yes, a bit of vanilla and spice too.

So, armed with my spicy bourbon, a bottle of sweet vermouth and some Peychaud's bitters, I made my first Manhattan. I used the 70's classic, Martini Rosso as my vermouth and yes, I know it's not very cool, but it's a good all rounder I feel and was more than up to the job. Peychaud's were the bitters, originally used in the Manhattan and although Angostura are more commonly used these days, I wanted to keep as close to the original recipe as possible. That said, I did go for a wetter version of the drink (more vermouth) as I thought it could be a tough swallow on an uninitiated palate. In the end, I went for a full ounce of vermouth as oppose to half and for me, it was definitely the right choice. Finally, I garnished the drink with a frozen fresh cherry, rather than a cocktail cherry, which is the norm, if one is including a garnish. My reasons were two fold - one, I'm not overly keen on maraschino and two, I didn't actually have any...oops. Anyway, the addition of the frozen cherry turned out to be a bit of ripping wheeze after all as it helped to keep the drink cold and actually, the slight infusion of cherry juice at the bottom of the glass was delicious and dare I say it, my favourite part of the drink. Overall, I really enjoyed the complex flavour of this cocktail; the slight bittersweet of the vermouth, the spice of the bourbon and Peychauds - there's a lot going on in every sip so that the complexity of flavour seems in disproportion to the amount of ingredients.

Manhattan

Ingredients
2 ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon
1 ounce Martini Rosso (sweet vermouth)
2 dashes Peychauds Bitters
Cocktail cherry (or frozen cherry) to garnish

Pour the bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters into a large highball or the bottom of a shaker, with plenty of ice.

Stir well with a barspoon, for about twenty seconds to get the right temperature and viscosity and then strain into a martin glass
Garnish with a cherry if desired.

White Lace Cocktail Glass by Toasted Glass

Following on from the Manhattan, I decided to make an admittedly, more complex cocktail, that built on the flavours I had identified and enjoyed, namely cherry and hint of orange that I discerned from the vermouth. I didn't want to totally overwhelm the bourbon, but at the same time, I wanted to make something a little easier for a novice like me to drink. The result was pretty delicious and still very much a bourbon flavour.

Kentucky Cherry

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon
1/2 ounce Cherry Heering
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes orange bitters
Frozen cherry to garnish

Add all of the ingredients apart from the frozen cherry, to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard for 20 seconds.
Strain into a chilled martin glass and garnish, if desired.

Cocktail Glass by Tasted Glass

My final cocktail, before the Kentucky spirit got the better of me, was always going to work for me as I am such a big fan of King's Ginger. It's spice and warmth seem to work with just about everything, although I haven't tried it with rum yet... Anyway, pairing it with a spicy bourbon was a no brainer and adding to that, the classic sour mix of lemon and just a little syrup, as the King's Ginger is already sweet, made for a highly quaffable drink.

Ginger Bourbon Sour

Ingredients
1ounce King's Ginger
1ounce Buffalo Trace Bourbon
3/4 ounce lemon juice
Barspoon of simple syrup

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard for 20 seconds.
Strain into rocks glass filled with crushed ice

Black Stag Rocks Glass by Toasted Glass

On refection, I think my favourite drink of the day was the Kentucky Cherry as it retained the essential bourbon flavour and had a level of complexity that made it interesting, but was just more enjoyable to drink than the Manhattan - purists forgive me - I am trying ....

If you are in any way confused by any of the terms used in this post, then please take a look at the Dufford's Guide post which seeks to demystify some of the jargon.

And finally, if you are ever in London, I can't recommend enough, that you take a trip to Amathus City or Amathus Soho where the staff are so helpful, so knowledgeable and really make it a very pleasant, buying experience - and no, they're not paying me to say that... x