Another year, another Valentine’s Day. Along with the obligatory dinner a deux, heart-shaped what-nots and flower powered gifts, why not stir things up for your amour? We’re talking cocktails of course. Try mixing up one of these before, after or during your Valentine’s night celebrations, we reckon it’ll be love at first sip…
EASY-PEASY
First Love
1 part British Fraise
2 parts Champagne
For the petal ice cubes:
100ml rose water
A handful of rose petals
Method:
Pour rose water into an ice cube tray and add whole rose petals. Place in the freezer for 4-6 hours, or preferably overnight to ensure they are frozen solidly. Drop in two or three petal ice cubes into a Champagne glass. Add the British Fraise and top up with bubbly.
Crème BrúléeCrème Brúlée
25ml Licor 43
25ml Amarula
50ml custard powder
50ml milk
Method:
Shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with grated cinnamon.
Tanqueray Raspberry and Lavender fizz
25ml Tanqueray London Dry gin
15ml lavender liqueur (Raspberry liqueur also optional)
Top with Prosecco
4 fresh raspberries to garnish
Method:
Shake all ingredients together and pour into a coupette. Top with prosecco and garnish with the raspberries or a rose petal.
GETTING HARDER
Red Berry Club
50ml Ciroc Red Berry vodka
Tanqueray Clover ClubTanqueray Clover Club
35ml Tanqueray London Dry
15ml raspberry syrup
20ml fresh lemon juice
Dash of egg white
Method:
Shake all ingredients together over ice. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a raspberry
SHOW BOATERS
Lovestruck
20ml Benedictine
20ml Aperol
20ml Pisco
12.5 ml fresh lemon juice
1 small dash (4 drops or so) peach bitters
White of one small egg
Method:
Add the Benedictine, Aperol, Pisco, peach bitters and egg white in the tin and shake (tightly sealed) VERY hard for about 5 second. Remove and fill the glass with ice before sealing and shaking the mixture again. Serve in a coupette. Garnish by adding 3 drops of Angostura bitters and 3 drops of Peychauds bitters carefully to the top of the drink, before swirling the dots of bitters to create your chosen pattern. Top with orange peel and serve.
Frozen Berry and Vanilla Havana Club Daiquiri
100ml Havana Club Especial
Half a punnet of raspberries
Half a punnet of strawberries
50ml fresh lime juice
30ml vanilla sugar syrup (to make your own; slice a vanilla pod in half and leave in a bottle of sugar syrup overnight)
Method:
Place all ingredients into a blender with crushed ice and blend. Then pour into a glass and garnish with a sprig of mint and a skewer of strawberry chunks and raspberries.
Havana Club Red Revolution
50ml Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof
6 large raspberries
10ml sugar syrup
25ml fresh lemon juice
25ml sweet vermouth
Method:
Muddle the raspberries with the sugar syrup and then add in the other ingredients. Shake all of the mixture together and double strain into a Martini glass. Finally garnish the rim of the glass with dehydrated Campari. (Make this by placing some Campari into a small saucer and on to a hot radiator for 48 hours. Then grind the mixture into a fine powder and place onto the rim of the glass.)
