Rose and Cardamom

Fun With Marshmallows (Part 2)

Rose Cardamom Martini - glass by Toasted Glass

After the success of cocktail making with Earl Grey marshmallows, those lovely people at Eat Toast Dunk Me were kind enough to send me another, intriguing flavour to try. This time it was a box full of middle eastern promise - delicious Rose and Cardamom. All the flavour of turkish delight but without the stickiness and light as air.

Having explored the potential of infusing alcohol with this superior confectionary in my last post, Fun With Marshmallows, I decided that this time, I would take my inspiration from the delicately exotic and fragrant flavours and mix up some rose and cardamom cocktails. The marshmallows make a fun accompaniment and can really enhance the aroma when used as a garnish or just have them as an indulgent snack, alongside.

This first cocktail takes the classic Gin Rickey (gin, soda and lime) and turns it into a fragrant summer cooler, perfect for balmy nights and hot, sunny afternoons.

Rose and Cardamom Gin Rickey

2 oz Martin Miller Gin
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/2 oz simple syrup
2 cardamom pods
tbsp rosewater

Muddle (squish) the cardamom pods with gin, lime, simple syrup and rosewater in the bottom of a heavy bottomed glass.
Add plenty of ice, top up with soda and stir to mix.
Serve with a rosewater and cardamom marshmallow.

Rose and Cardamom Gin Rickey - glass by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail is adapted from one that I found whilst trawling the virtual bars of the internet. I couldn't attest to its origins but whoever thought it up - well done - it's jolly nice. I have used rosewater and simple syrup rather than rose syrup as it's unnecessary to invest in or make your own when the composite parts are those two ingredients anyway. The ruby grapefruit gives a wonderful pale pink tinge and the Peychauds bitters add a depth that is hard to explain, but try one with and one without and you'll see for yourself...

Cardamom Rose Cocktail

2 oz Hendricks Gin

1 oz freshly squeezed ruby grapefruit juice

1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 tbsp rosewater

2 dashes Peychauds bitters

1 cardamom pod

In the bottom of a shaker, muddle (squish) the cardamom pod with the gin.

Add all of the other ingredients with a handful of ice and shake hard for about 10 seconds.

Strain into a chilled glass with ice.

Serve with a couple of cubes of Eat Toast Dunk Me rose and cardamom marshmallow.

Cardamom and Rose Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

Last but not least is a cocktail in the 'martini' style, featuring Hendricks Gin and Martini Rosato, a rosé vermouth that is sweeter than it's dry counterpart, with flavours of raspberry, lemon, cinnamon and cloves.

Rose Cardamom Martini

2 oz Hendricks Gin

1 oz Martini Rosato

2 tsp simple syrup

1tsp lemon juice

2 tsp rosewater

dash of Angostura orange bitters

1 cardamom pod

In the bottom of a shaker, muddle the gin and cardamom.

Add the remaining ingredients and shake hard until the outside of the shaker becomes frosty.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Pop in a rose and cardamom marshmallow.

Rose Cardamom Martini - glass by Toasted Glass

Thank you to Eat Toast Dunk Me for this week's inspiration and if you'd like to find out other delicious ways to enjoy their marshmallows, then pop along to their website and be inspired by the plethora of delicious and inventive flavours.

Visit Eat Toast Dunk Me

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'....

The Secret Tea Society Cocktail

The Secret Tea Society Cocktail available as part of a membership package

I have recently had the pleasure and the privilege of creating a cocktail for the Secret Tea Society; an ever increasing  group of smart, tea drinking ladies from London, Surrey, Bath and Yorkshire, united in a love of good conversation and of course, tea. As a proud member of the Secret Tea Society myself, it was of course in my own interest, to create a cocktail that reflected the very essence of what the Society is all about, that could be enjoyed by the ladies during those times when a cup of tea won't quite suffice.

Click here to find out about membership to the Secret Tea Society

Our glorious leader and grande dame of the Secret Tea Society was kind enough to fill in the questionnaire for my Bespoke Cocktail Service which asks a number of questions, pertaining to flavour preferences, as well as finding out a little more about the intended recipient. Having established preferences for gin, rose, mint and lime, it was a matter of finding a way to best combine those flavours whilst making it pertinent to the Secret Tea Society. Of course, it was only right and proper to include tea and so the main ingredient of the cocktail is Rose Tea Infused Gin and it's name is Rosy Lee.

If you would like to make this cocktail at home, you will need to first, infuse a good gin with rose tea. I recommend using one that is just rose flavoured, as oppose to one mixed with fruit as well. I used Twinings Rose Garden teabags which are available from Selfridges, Waitrose and Tesco. You can also use loose tea and strain the gin into a cup or glass when it is ready. Use one teabag or teaspoon of loose tea, per 2 oz of gin. Add your teabag or loose tea to the gin and allow to infuse for 1 hr, then remove the tea and set the infused gin aside, for later.

The Secret Tea Society Cocktail

Rosy Lee

Ingredients

2 oz rose tea infused gin
2 drops of rosewater
5 leaves of mint
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
A little sparkling water

Secret Tea Society Cocktail available on Etsy

In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle (squish) the mint, lime juice and simple syrup to release the oils from the mint.
Add the rose tea infused gin and rosewater
Shake vigorously and double strain into a highball glass, filled with ice
Top up with sparkling water