THIRSTY WORK
Smooth and luxurious, soften the chill and takes thing up a notch with these stellar cocktails, says Sam WylieHarris
■■Chambord Bramble While it’s boom town for gin-thusiasts, why not enhance the bouquet with a shot of Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur (£7 for 20cl, Waitrose), to brighten up happy hour with a sweet and sour bramble?
Ingredients: 25ml Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, 25ml gin, 20ml fresh lemon juice, lemon wedge, crushed ice.
Method: Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice. Pour in gin and lemon juice, stir and add Chambord. Garnish with a lemon wedge and fresh raspberry. ■■Warner Edwards Rhubarb Sour Proffer a tray of this scrumptious looking cocktail, and flavour-hunters will be wowed by the sweet and tangy burst of rhubarb in Warner Edwards Victoria’s Rhubarb Gin (£38 for 70cl, Waitrose), charged by lemon and sugar to create a sherbet like sensation.
Ingredients: 50ml Warner Edwards Victoria’s Rhubarb Gin, 25ml lemon juice, 20ml sugar syrup, dash angostura bitters, 1 egg white (optional), blackberries and lime wedge to garnish.
Method: Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients together, then shake again with ice and strain into a chilled coupette. Garnish with blackberry and lime.
■■Tanqueray Martinez Building on the timeless elegance of a martini, the martinez is cited as the ‘father of the martini’ and has two interpretations when you delve into the histrionics and clock the list of ingredients.
To save you swatting up on the martini cocktail family tree, it’s similar to a gin martini but with a hint of sweetness: Try it with another classic, Tanqueray No. Ten Gin (£32 for 70cl, Sainsbury’s).
Ingredients: 50ml Tanqueray No. Ten, 25ml sweet vermouth, 5ml maraschino liqueur, 2 dashes orange bitters, 1 orange for the twist, 1 maraschino cherry.
Method: Half fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters. Stir slowly until chilled - stop and taste every now and then to make sure the drink doesn’t get too diluted. Strain into a frozen martini glass or coupe. Use a vegetable peeler to remove a strip of peel from the orange (try to get as little pith as possible), and twist over the glass to release the oils. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. ■■Ciroc Black Raspberry Royale A new addition to Ciroc’s library of flavoured vodkas, the winter limitededition Ciroc Black Raspberry (£39, Amazon, available from November) looks set to fly off the shelves, with its glossy black bottle inlaid with gold lettering. A vodka distilled five times from French grapes and infused with vibrant black raspberry, the contrast of forest fruits with a touch of citrus can be enjoyed neat on the rocks or in this striking new serve – which is as much about the sexy new look as it is the sparkling recipe.
Ingredients: 35ml Ciroc Black Raspberry, 15ml lemon juice, 15ml simple syrup, 15ml vermouth, champagne, sparkling wine or soda to top.
Method: Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup and vermouth. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top up with bubbles and garnish with frozen grapes or berries.