Festive cocktails and mocktails Berry Summer Spritz mocktail — Ashleigh Gee
White Christmas margarita — Ashleigh Gee
About the chef: Gee is the owner of Miss Gee’s Bar & Eatery at Masonic Park.
She stocks one of Tauranga’s largest ranges of gin and top-end spirits, and has an ever-growing alcohol-free menu.
The drink: Margaritas are the must-drink cocktail this summer. White Christmas is a margarita with a sweeter style, and good for people who sometimes shy away from tequila. The coconut cream adds a smooth texture that feels like you’re having dessert and a drink all in one.
“Using a raspberry crumb on the rim brings in all the Christmas vibes,” says Gee.
Ingredients: 45ml Cazcabel Coconut Tequila (you could use Jose Cuervo 1800 Coconut Tequila as well), 15ml lime juice, 15ml sugar syrup, 30ml coconut cream, 15ml Cointreau or other triple sec, raspberry dust or desiccated coconut for glass rim. Mint sprig and maraschino cherry for Christmas holly garnish.
Method: Pour all liquid into shaker, fill shaker with ice. Shake until frosting appears on your shaker, so that you know your drink is cold.
Pour everything into a tumbler with your chosen festive rim. Garnish with mint sprig and maraschino cherry to look like Christmas holly.
Tip: If you don’t have access to coconut tequila, Gilmours stocks Monin Coconut Syrup that you could add if required. To learn how to rim your glass like a pro, book in for a cocktail class at Miss Gee’s.
The drink: Strawberry and raspberry flavours mix together to give a gorgeous red colour, and topping with ginger ale balances the sweetness.
Ingredients: 4 fresh raspberries, 2-3 fresh strawberries (stems removed and halved), 10ml sugar syrup (2 teaspoons), 3 mint leaves, ginger ale (or, if not a fan, lemonade or soda can work), crushed ice, mint sprig for garnish.
Berry Summer Spritz method: Make in a tumbler glass (around 400ml in size).
Pop in raspberries, strawberries, sugar syrup and mint leaves.
Muddle to release the fresh juices — but not so much that it turns into a paste.
Fill the glass with crushed ice.
Give it a bit of a stir-through before topping it with ginger ale.
One last stir for good luck.
Garnish with mint sprig.
Sugar syrup method: Use a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. For example, 500g sugar to 500g water.
Place over heat and stir till all the sugar is dissolved. Let cool, then bottle. Keep in the fridge for up to a fortnight.