Seasonal serves from two brothers

Aprons, barware and ice - lots of ice - at the ready, says Sam Wylie-Harris

Award-winning mixologists, brothers Joe and Daniel Schofield have worked in some of the best bars in the world - and now they want to share their recipes and secrets so fans can enjoy them at home.

“There are thousands of cocktails you can make and so many different recipes for them and techniques you can use, that it can seem intimidating when you’re simply at home and want to mix a great drink,” they admit in their new book, Schofield’s Fine And Classic Cocktails.”

Like the sound of that? We’ve rounded up six seasonal serves, with the brothers’ recommendation on which spirits to use...

BREAKFAST MARTINI

This was created in 1996 at The Lanesborough Hotel in London, when the legendary Italian bartender, Salvatore Calabrese, was persuaded by his wife to swap his usual breakfast of an espresso for one of toast and marmalade.

A few hours later, in the Library Bar, this cocktail was born and instantly became a modern classic. This recipe is kindly provided by Calabrese himself.

Ingredients: 50ml gin (Tanqueray), 15ml Triple Sec (Cointreau), 15ml lemon juice, 1 bar spoon (5ml) thincut orange marmalade, shredded orange peel for garnish.

Method: Add all the ingredients to a shaker and mix to incorporate marmalade into other ingredients. Add ice and shake. Strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with orange peel and serve.

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Originally called a ‘Vodka Espresso’, this drink was created in 1983 by Dick Bradsell at the Soho Brasserie in London for a guest.

During the 1990s, it became better known as the Espresso Martini and, in our humble opinion, it’s one of the best drinks to have been created in the last 50 years.

Ingredients: 35ml vodka (Grey Goose), 15ml coffee liqueur (Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur), 10ml sugar syrup, 25ml fresh espresso, three coffee beans for garnish.

Method: Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled coupette, garnish with three coffee beans and serve.

MAI TAI

This was created in 1944 by Victor Jules Bergeron, aka Trader Vic. He made it for his friends, Ham and Carrie Guild, and after the first sip, Carrie purportedly said, “Mai tai-roa ae”, which in Tahitian means, “Out of this world, the best”.

We like to use two different rums as the blend creates a lovely complex flavour, similar in profile, apparently, to the original rum used all those years ago. Wray & Nephew 17 soared in popularity with this drink and quickly became unavailable.

However, the drink also works well with any type of aged rum, if the blend isn’t at hand.

Ingredients: 25ml Jamaican rum (Appleton Estate Reserve 8 Year Old), 25ml aged agricole rhum (Trois Rivieres VSOP), 30ml lime juice, 10ml orange curacao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao), 10ml orgeat (Small Hand Orgeat), 1 dash Angostura Bitters, lime wheel and mint sprig for garnish.

Method: Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, garnish with a lime wheel and sprig of mint and serve.

Extracted from Schofield’s Fine And Classic Cocktails: Celebrated Libations And Other Fancy Cocktails, by Joe & Daniel Schofield, published by Kyle Books, priced £15.99. Available now.