Cool cocktails tempting drinks to put guests in good spirits
Shine up your prettiest glasses and be transported to golden sunsets with swaying palm trees…
There is something so special about the colourful cocktails you get on holiday, often whipped up by someone with a beaming smile. We asked the experts at international restaurant SUSHISAMBA to show us to how to create them at home, using ingredients that are available in the supermarket. These are guaranteed to put your guests in good spirits!
Tropical mojito
The much-loved cocktail but with a sweeter twist.
50ml white rum (we used Bacardi)
25ml lime juice
25ml caster sugar
10 mint leaves, torn (don’t crush the leaves)
15ml pineapple juice Crushed ice Mix everything in a pint glass or shaker, then serve stirred but NOT shaken! Pineapple glass, Oliver Bonas
Lychee cooler
The white stuff.
1 small can coconut cream (we used Waitrose Essentials, 160ml)
1fl oz* Grey Goose vodka
1fl oz elderflower cordial 1.5fl oz lychee juice
0.5fl oz vanilla extract
1fl oz coconut cream
1fl oz bitter lemon
1 lychee and mint, to garnish Fill a shaker or glass with ice cubes and shake all the ingredients except the bitter lemon. Strain into a tall glass, and top with bitter lemon, a lychee and large mint sprig.
passion fruit bellini
An Italian having a South American love affair.
1 whole passion fruit, squeezed, skin discarded ½tsp sugar
125ml Prosecco
Marigold or other edible flower, to garnish
Muddle the passion fruit and sugar together in a cocktail shaker or pint glass. Pour on chilled Prosecco just before serving and garnish with a lovely flower from the garden. No marigolds? Try nasturtiums, pansies, or a rose or tulip petal.
Smoked negroni
Only for the most sophisticated ladies.
5ml smoked whisky (we used Laphroaig) 15ml dry sherry or Japanese plum wine
1 drop Angostura bitters 20ml gin (we used Slingsby) 15ml sweet vermouth
15ml Campari
1 slice oven-dried or dehydrated orange
1 peel of grapefruit (optional)
1 Mix all the wet ingredients together in a glass bottle and leave to steep overnight or even for 2 days in the fridge.
2 Shake and stir everything before using, as the drink will settle. A glass bottle of any kind is fine.
3 Wipe the zest of a grapefruit around your serving glasses to release the oils. When your guests put the drinks to their mouths they will get an irresistible citrus waft.
4 Now pour and serve with an orange slice for every glass.
Caipiroska
Latin America teams up with Russia in this unexpected twist on a classic. 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges 50ml vodka
15ml caster sugar enough crushed ice to fill 4 glasses flowers or other decorations Muddle the lime slices in a tall glass or cocktail shaker, add the other ingredients, then pour into lowball serving glasses, each half-filled with crushed ice. Top with more fresh ice and garnish with edible flowers or sparklers for a night-time party.
Nina fresa
A Caribbean carnival in a glass. 2 large strawberries
1tsp sugar
1.5fl oz vodka
0.5fl oz guava juice
0.5fl oz grapefruit juice 1tsp lime juice, plus a slice of lime to garnish Put a tea strainer or fine sieve above a mixing glass and mash the strawberries though with a spoon. Stir in the sugar and add the vodka, guava juice, grapefruit juice and lime juice. Mix well and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lime. w&h