Let’s drink to summer
Quench your summer thirst with these fresh and cooling drinks.
Passionfruit and cucumber Pimm’s
Pimm’s No 1 fruit cup, a gin-based drink, is the quintessential English summer beverage, designed to be made into a long, cool refresher such as this.
Its full-on fruit ‘‘garnish’’ is there for both looks and extra flavour. Make the base for this recipe a day ahead to allow time for thorough chilling.
Recipe: Bernadette Hogg
Photo: Manja Wachsmuth Makes: About 2 litres with mixers
■ 1 telegraph cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
■ 200ml Pimm’s, chilled
■ 100ml vodka, chilled
■ 100ml passionfruit in sweet syrup, strained to remove seeds
■ Dry lemonade, soda water or dry ginger ale
GARNISH OPTIONS
■ Mint sprigs
■ Orange slices
■ Strips of cucumber
■ Raspberries
■ Blueberries
Puree the cucumber in a food processor, then drain the pulp through a sieve into a bowl until you have about 200ml liquid.
Combine this liquid with the Pimm’s, vodka and passionfruit syrup in a container. Cover and chill overnight.
Place the Pimm’s mixture in a 2-litre jug or carafe, top up with some or all of the garnish suggestions, add ice to two-thirds full, then top with lemonade, soda water or ginger ale.
To serve, add a little garnish to each glass and pour the Pimm’s mixture over it.
Maple whiskey sour
Egg white gives a whiskey sour its classic foamed top, but if you don’t want to add egg white then simply leave this step out. It will still be deliciously tart and refreshing.
Recipe: Julie Le Clerc Photo: Manja Wachsmuth Serves: 1
■ 60ml whiskey
■ 1 free-range egg white (optional)
■ 30ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
■ 1 tbsp maple syrup
■ 2-3 shakes Angostura bitters (optional)
■ Lemon slices, to garnish
Add the whiskey and egg white (if using) to a cocktail shaker (or blender) and shake for 15-20 seconds, until the egg white is very frothy.
Add the lemon juice, maple syrup, bitters and a handful of ice to the shaker.
Shake for a few seconds to combine and chill the drink.
Strain into a glass over ice, garnish with a slice of lemon and serve immediately.
Ginger, mint & lime Champagne cocktail
Measurements are given per glass and are just a guideline. Alternatively, make large amounts to your preferred taste and serve in generous jugs. Taste as you go, turn up the heat or add more creaminess to make them your own.
Recipe: Fiona Hugues Photo: Manja Wachsmuth Serves: 1
■ 1 tbsp white rum
■ 1 tbsp lime cordial ■ 1 tsp green ginger liqueur, such as Stone’s Green Ginger Wine
■ Champagne or sparkling wine
■ Mint leaves and lime slices to decorate
Pour the rum, cordial and liqueur into a Champagne flute, top with Champagne and garnish with mint leaves and lime slices.
Strawberry & mint agua fresca
Served throughout Mexico, agua fresca is a delightfully refreshing drink that can be made with different seasonal fruits – various melons also work really well.
This version is alcohol-free, but it can be spiked with tequila or white rum, if desired.
Recipe: Julie Le Clerc Photo: Melanie Jenkins Serves: 8
■ 1 punnet strawberries, hulled and halved
■ Juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon
■ 1-2 tsp white sugar, or to taste
■ Handful of fresh mint leaves
■ 1 litre soda or mineral water
Puree the strawberries and citrus juice in a blender until smooth. Add sugar, to taste. Fill a jug with ice. Add the mint and pour in the fruit puree. Top up with soda or mineral water.