Summer Pastels

Bespoke Cocktail - Toasted Glass

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

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

Just Peachy

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

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

Just Peachy - glass by Toasted Glass

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

Elderflower and Violet Cocktail

1 oz Martin Miller Gin

3/4 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

1/4 oz Bitter Truth Crème de Violette

2 oz dry vermouth

dash of lemon juice

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

Elderflower and Violet Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

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

Flamooga

1 1/2 oz Gin Mare

1/2 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

tsp Campari

dash of Angostura Orange Bitters

2 oz freshly squeezed ruby grapefruit 

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

Flamooga Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

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

Think Pink

Pinkster Gin and Fever Tree Tonic

It's that time of year again when many of us will be thinking of what to buy our lovely mums for Mother's Day and if my children are reading this - ask daddy to get mummy a nice bottle of gin please...

There are a myriad of wonderful gins to choose from out there and I am doing my level best to work through them all with the able assistance of recent gin convert and father of my children, Mr TG. This week we have been mostly drinking Pinkster, a small batch, British gin with  a delicate, pink colour and slightly sweet and fragrant flavour that is partially derived from raspberries (hence the pink colour) and I suspect, lavender, although I don't know for sure as the makers are tantalisingly vague.  

This kind of vagary is not uncommon in the gin world, however. In order to qualify as 'gin', the main botanical must be juniper, but that does leave room for all manner of experimentation and whilst many artisanal brands list their botanicals with pride, it's likely that those ingredients are not the whole story. It's a competitive business these days and who can blame  distillers for holding a little something back...

So, back to Pinkster - drunk neat, it is sweetish and floral with a fruity sharpness that is more berry than citrus. The makers recommend serving it with a good tonic, a sprig of mint and a fresh raspberry, which makes an exceptionally pretty and delicious G&T. If your dearest mama is partial to a drop of gin then a bottle of this would make a marvellous Mother's Day gift or if you can't bear to be parted from it, having purchased a bottle, then why not rustle up a few cocktails instead?

Pinkster Gin

This week I have been making some 'pink' variations of a few of my favourite cocktail classics as well as creating this sweet citrus, easily quaffable drink that is bound to please even the most awkward of mothers on Mothering Sunday.

Belles of St Clements

1oz Pinkster Gin

1oz Triple Sec

1/2oz lemon juice

1 small egg white

1/2 tsp grenadine

1oz cava or champagne

Orange wheel to garnish

Add all of the ingredients apart from the fizz, to the bottom of a cocktail shaker and whisk until frothy - you can 'dry' shake the ingredients without ice, to the same effect, but please be aware that this can cause a build of pressure in the shaker and the lid can pop off!

Strain the mixture into a chilled martini glass and then float the fizz on top.

Garnish with a slice of orange - I have used a miniature orange, but an orange slice will be just fine.

Belles of St Clements - glass by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail is an update of the eternally popular and simple to make, Negroni, using Pinkster Gin and Chase Elderflower liqueur. In a classic Negroni, the bitterness of the Campari is tempered by the sweetness of sweet vermouth, but with the 'Pinkroni', I've countered the bitterness with elderflower liqueur which makes it slightly sweeter and more floral.

Pinkroni

1oz Pinkster Gin

1oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

1oz Campari

Add all of the ingredients to a tumbler or rocks glass with a few large ice cubes and stir to mix and chill the liquid. This has quite an intense flavour, but will dilute as the ice melts. I personally like to stir mine for 30 secs to get to an optimal dilution, but do experiment until you find your perfect mix.

Pinkroni Cocktail - glass by Toasted Glass

This next cocktail, the Martinez, is thought to be a precursor to the Martini (gin and dry vermouth) that mixes sweet vermouth with gin, but what really brings the drink to life, is the addition of a little maraschino liqueur and bitters. For me, the Martinez is a far more palatable drink than the Martini which is too dry for my liking and this Pink Martinez is a lovely alternative that uses Martini Rosato, the rosé alternative to Martini Rosso sweet vermouth. Martini Rosato combines flavours of pomegranate, raspberry, cinnamon and lemon giving it a sweet and spicy finish and a perfect companion to Pinkster.

Pink Martinez

2oz Martini Rosato

1oz Pinkster Gin

2 dashes Luxardos Maraschino Liqueur

2 dashes orange bitters

3 raspberries to garnish

Add all of the ingredients apart from the garnish to the bottom of a shaker with a handful of ice.

Stir the mix for about 20 secs to cool the liquid and create the perfect viscosity.

Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with 3 raspberries strung on a cocktail stick and dropped into the glass.

Pink Martinez

This last cocktail is a great alternative to Pimms as it's easy to put together and can be served by the glass or easily scaled up to serve in a pitcher. Rather than lemonade, it uses Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic which enhances the floral notes of lavender from the Pinkster Gin and the fragrant peach in Cartron's creme de peche de vigne.

Pinkster No.1

1 part Pinkster Gin

1 part Creme de Framboises

1 part Creme de Peche de Vigne

3 parts Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic

Handful of mint leaves

Handful of raspberries

A few lemon slices

Fill the bottom of a large pitcher with ice and add the mint and fruit.

Pour in the alcohol and tonic and stir to mix.

Pinkster No.1 - glass by Toasted Glass