Champagne

White Lace Champagne Flutes by Toasted Glass

As summer approaches and we rush headlong into wedding season, more than a few glasses of Champagne will be raised, despite the country being in the throes of a double dip recession. In fact, we in Britain can't get enough of the stuff and are right up there as one of the world's biggest consumers, second only to France. Even in the midst of a global recession, we continue to quaff it in vast amounts, although admittedly, the market has seen a downturn over the last three years and this year, for the first time, sales of alternative, sparkling fizz will exceed those of Champagne. Of course, this is largely due to cost, Champagne generally being the more expensive option, but it can't be denied that some of the pretenders to the title of 'King of Wines', have a pretty good claim. I myself am no stranger to the charms of Champagne, but in all honesty, when it comes to taste, I prefer a Prosecco, providing it isn't too sweet. The crisp apple and peach notes of the Italian interloper are, in my opinion, far more palatable and don't dry the mouth to leave a sour taste. That said, nothing quite says it like a bottle of Champers!

Go to Perrier Jouet website

Funnily enough, the one thing (well, other than the hefty price tag) that makes Champagne instantly recognisable, is its effervescence - after all, surely without the bubbles, it is just a very dry wine - but did you know that Champagne was originally a still wine? In fact, Dom Pierre Perignon, widely recognised as the mac daddy of Champagne, actively sought to eliminate the troublesome bubbles from his fine wine. Apparently the wine of the Champagne region was bottled in autumn, but by spring, the warmer temperatures could bring about a secondary fermentation process that caused bubbles to form in the wine. Rather than be appreciated, this 'mousse' was considered a fault and could actually prove to be a costly, even dangerous error, when the bottles sometimes exploded. Pierre Perignon, during his lifetime, was fastidious in his methodology for ridding his wine of bubbles, but luckily for us his faulty brew grew in popularity and with celebrity endorsements from the French nobility in the 18th century, it became associated with wealth and luxury.

When it comes to drinking Champagne or any other sparkling wine, it really is worth choosing your glass carefully. Why fork out so much money on a bottle of fizz that will be finished before the night is out, only to lessen the enjoyment by using an unsuitable glass? Champagne glasses traditionally come in two styles; the flute and the saucer.

Champagne Saucers from LSA

The Champagne saucer or 'coupe' as it is called in France, has an open, flattened bowl which, legend has it, was modelled on the breasts of Marie Antoinette.

Amusing as this is, sadly, it is unlikely to be true. Marie Antoinette may week have been possessed of perky, round breasts, but the glass style had been in existence long before her lady bumps ever were. The Champagne coupe was the glass of choice in the 1930's and continued to be so, up until the 1960's, perhaps because it actually held a large amount of liquid, adding to the already decadent image of the drink. However, the wide surface area of the open style saucer allows the bubbles to dissipate at a rapid rate, leaving the drinker with a glass of fizzless fizz, which is no fun at all.

The Champagne flute is widely recognised as the superior design when it comes to enjoying your bubbly, but within this category, there are numerous variations on the theme. One of my personal favourites from a painting perspective, is the hollow stemmed Trumpet flute as it provides a really attractive shape for my designs. However, I have stopped using them as unfortunately, the hollow stem means that the heat of one's hand is transferred to the liquid, warming the Champagne within.

Hollow Stem Flute from LSA

The style that best enhances the enjoyment of the drink is a solid stemmed glass with an elongated bowl with a smaller opening (unsurprisingly, no-one ever laid claim to it being modelled on their breasts).The smaller the surface area exposed to the air, the less effervescence and aroma you will lose. The longer bowl will allow the bubbles to travel upwards which is both visually pleasing and delivers the aroma to the nose, enhancing the taste.

Pink Flamingo Flutes by Toasted Glass

So what will you be drinking this summer - Champagne, Cava, Asti or Prosecco? Whichever you choose, there's nothing quite like that moment when you first pop the cork. A bit of fizz always gets the party started. And if that's not enough for you on it's own, then why not try a Champagne Cocktail or two!
Click here to go to Champagne Cocktails.

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

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

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

Lavender Cocktails

Lavender Highball Glasses by Toasted Glass

I am always on the look out for new cocktail inspiration and last week it came from Gin Monkey, whose fabulous website gives independent and impartial reviews of  cocktail bars in the UK and around the world. I am an avid user of twitter and was following the exploits of @GinMonkeyUK, tweeting about cocktail bars in Prague and in particular, the Hemmingway Bar where one of the drinks on offer was a Lavender Martini. As a huge fan of anything with lavender in, this instantly got my attention and I set to work, tracking down lavender to make lavender syrup, full details of which you can find by going to my Lavender Syrup post.

Having made the lavender syrup, the first recipe I tried was a classic martini with the addition of lavender syrup. I have to admit that I am not a lover of neat spirits, hence my love of cocktails and whilst I can appreciate the nuances of a neat gin for tasting purposes, I would find it hard to drink a whole shot. Therefore, I am perhaps not best placed to judge this impartially, but I have to be honest, this was a tough drink to get through. Gin is very aromatic and the lavender syrup is very floral. Combined with only a little vermouth and bitters, no amount of shaking will disguise the fact that there is a lot of alcohol in there. The result, I have to say was a bit like drinking your grandmother's perfume. That said, I did drink it all, albeit, very slowly and if you are a fan of the classic gin martini (and/or Yardley), then do give it a whirl. I am definitely going to experiment a little more with some of the more classic cocktails and see if I can't educate my palate.

Lavender Martini

Ingredients

2 1/2 oz gin (I used Hendricks)
1/2 oz dry vermouth (I used Noilly Prat Dry)
1/2 oz lavender syrup
dash of orange bitters

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass

Slightly deflated by my result, I decided to try another recipe, loosely based on the martini, using home made vanilla vodka. You can find out how to make it in my Vanilla Vodka post. Don't worry, it's ridiculously straight forward. The resultant drink here, was far more to my taste. The vanilla vodka has a slight natural sweetness and a little earthiness that is a suprise hit with lavender which is used to a lesser degree in this recipe. The lemon juice works very well with lavender and gives the whole drink a nice sweet/sour balance. For me, this was a big hit and my independent tester, neighbour Amy (Mr TG is away), enjoyed it too. She did comment that it too, was reminiscent of Yardley, but not in a bad way.

Lavender Martini Glasses available on Etsy

Vanilla, Lavender Martini

Ingredients

1 1/2oz vanilla vodka
1/2oz lemon juice
1/4oz lavender syrup

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass

Lavender Martini Glasses available on Etsy

This next cocktail is a great, refreshing drink that marries together the obvious pairing of lemon and lavender. It makes a fantastic non-alcoholic drink, minus the alcohol and is delicious with either gin or vodka. I have chosen to go with gin on this occasion as the botanicals that flavour gin really add more depth to the drink. I wanted to try a different gin this week and so tested Blackwoods Vintage Gin, made using botanicals from the Shetland Isles. The gin is very competitively priced and really does deliver. The label stated that amongst other things, it was distilled using violet and water mint, both of which I could discern from sipping it neat. It was slightly floral and fresh and seemed perfect for this drink.


Lemon and Lavender Cooler

Ingredients

2oz Blackwoods Gin
10z lemon juice
1/2oz lavender syrup
sparkling water

Add the gin, lemon and lavender to the shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass with ice
Top up with sparkling water

Lavender Highball Glasses by Toasted Glass

Keeping with the long drinks, in the hope that the sun will start shining again and I can sit in the garden, sipping iced cocktails, this next drink mixes vodka with dark, berry fruits, lavender and citrus. It is quite sweet, depending on how much sparkling water you use to top it up. For my tastes, I would only half fill the highball with ice, leaving more room to add sparkling water, making a longer, more refreshing drink.

Lavender Berry Cooler

Ingredients

1 1/2oz vodka
1/4oz creme de cassis
1/2oz lavender syrup
1oz lime juice
6 blueberries

Muddle (squish) the blueberries in the bottom of a shaker with the lime juice. If you don't have a muddler, then improvise with a pestle or handle of a cooking implement.
Add the vodka, cassis and lavender syrup to the shaker.
Half fill with ice and shake vigorously before straining into a highball glass, half filled with ice.
Top up with sparkling water.

Butterfly Highball Glasses by Toasted Glass

Finally, and this is a first for Toasted Glass, I have made a whisky cocktail, loosely based on a Rusty Nail (whisky and drambuie), which is one of the few ways I have ever been able to stomach Scotland's finest. It is a shameful admission that as a Scot myself, I have no love for the whisky, but a cocktail is an incredible thing, that done correctly, can really turn flavours around. Because I wanted to add sweetness and warmth to the whisky, I chose to mix it with King's Ginger, which, if you follow this blog, you'll know I am a fan of it's sweet, earthy warmth. Knowing that I like the lemon and honey of a hot toddy, I was fairly confident that lemon and lavender syrup would work with the whisky. I deliberately chose a whisky with a sweeter flavour and honey overtones, but decided to go for miniatures as I'm not quite ready to embrace whisky wholeheartedly. This Jura 10yr old whisky definitely has a sweet finish to it, but one sip was enough to tell me that I've a long way to go before I'm able to drink it neat. My late gramps would turn in his grave if he knew what I'd done to a good single malt...

Summer Toddy

Ingredients

1 1/2oz Jura 10 yr old whisky (or similarly sweet)
1/2oz King's Ginger
1/2oz lavender syrup
3/4oz lemon juice

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled tumbler

White Stag Tumblers by Toasted Glass

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked this and who knows, maybe, in the same way as I have been with tequila, I'll be persuaded to choose it more often. I'm not sure what whisky purists would make of it, but I think anyone who enjoys a whisky with a mixer, will approve.

Next week, I'll be looking at cocktails to impress your father with, on Father's day, so probably a little less of pink drinks and glasses with butterflies and possibly a little more whisky - who knows....

Have a great weekend and drink safely x

All of the spirits and liqueurs listed are available to buy at Amathus Drinks (see link to their shop on the  left of the page) or similarly high quality purveyors of wines and spirits.

Vanilla Vodka

Like all infusions, vanilla vodka is very straightforward to make and the result is worth waiting a few days for. Using vanilla pods gives an earthy undertone that is reminiscent of pipe tobacco and a hint of sweetness that makes the vodka very smooth to drink. In fact, it was so great, I decided to make some more so I could make more delicious Vanilla, Lavender Martinis. This recipe will make 6 x 1oz shots - if you wish to make more, just scale up the quantities, adding one vanilla pod for every 150 ml of vodka,

Vanilla Vodka

Ingredients

150 ml vodka
1 vanilla pod (whole)

Score the length of the vanilla pods with a sharp knife and open out slightly to reveal the seeds

Add the pods and vodka to a clean, airtight container and close the lid.

Leave for a minimum of five days, swirling the container gently, each day

The vodka will become progressively darker each day

After five days, or more, if you can wait, your vodka will be ready to strain

Pour the vodka through a coffee filter paper, into a jug and that's it. 

Now you can get mixing or enjoy it chilled and neat if you prefer.