Cordials, syrups, sherbets, shrubs and superb Chivas serves to see you through the whole year.
Think whisky and you might imagine long winter nights and roaring open fires, keeping the cold at bay with a little neat liquid, an Old Fashioned or a lovingly stirred Manhattan. Nothing wrong with that. Chivas, though, has other ideas, inviting the Global Winner of its Chivas Masters Cocktail Competition 2015, Josh Reynolds, to create a monthly collection of cordials, syrups, sherbets and shrubs inspired by the seasons, each accompanied by a delicious and surprising Chivas serve. There will be videos too so you can follow his techniques. Whether you’re an experienced bartender or simply want to get a little more creative at home you’ll find inspiration amongst the Chivas Seasonal Serves. Over to you Josh…
Pineapple and lapsang souchong tea sherbet
“Chivas is an extremely versatile liquid, with a lot of nuances, which can hold its own in cocktails – even amongst heavy rich flavours. This means I could create many different styles of drinks because its unique flavour always shines through.
When I taste Chivas 12 I get stone fruits, apricots, peaches, sweet baking spices, layers of coffee, soft apple, toffee, sticky pineapple, mellow honey flavours, banana and buttery tones. I wanted to either enhance these notes or take them in different directions.
Chivas is super approachable and its unfortunate that whisky is sometimes thought of as a ‘man’s drink’ or a ‘wintery drink’. It was important to open people’s eyes to the fact that whisky doesn’t have to be stirred down and brown. If you look at my serves they are inviting, citrusy, refreshing, clean and use lighter flavours. I wanted to showcase that its flavours can be used throughout the year. In the UK we have so much amazing home-grown produce to use all year round and I wanted to celebrate this in my homemade syrups, cordials, shrubs and sherbets. I also made sure the drinks I made with them were simple, approachable and obviously mega tasty!
While I obviously want people to try out some of my creations I’d also really like them to get inspired and start creating their own serves.”
Chivas Seasonal Serves creator Josh ReynoldsPineapple and lapsang souchong tea sherbet
“Smoke and pineapple work so well together. In particular the smoky notes of the lapsang souchong tea work particularly well with the Chivas, Suze and the pineapple. This drink has an intriguing richness to it while being super refreshing and clean.”
Ingredients:
300g caster sugar
1/3 pineapple cut into chunks
150ml fresh pineapple juice
1 1/2 lime zest
15g lapsang souchong tea
Method:
Peel the zest of the limes, remove all pith and muddle into the caster sugar until the sugar starts to absorb the lime oils (you’ll know it’s starting to happen when the caster sugar starts to turn fluffy). Then gently muddle in the pineapple chunks, remembering to leave the pineapple skin on. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. Add the fresh pineapple juice and stir until dissolved. Strain off the pineapple chunks and lime zest. Add the sherbet to a pan and heat up to 80 degrees, add in the lapsang souchong tea and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain and bottle.
Watch Josh make his pineapple and lapsang souchong tea sherbet and suggested serve
Use it in the following:
45ml Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
20ml pineapple and lapsang souchong sherbet
15ml lemon juice
10ml Suze
Shake and double strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Orange zest and discard.
Look out for a new Chivas 12 serve the second Friday of every month on thecocktaillovers.com or get monthly alerts by signing up for The Cocktail Lovers newsletter.
September: Raspberry and coffee syrup.
Illustration: Wildhorse
