Category: Gin


Mar
2021

Inflatable Flamingo

categories: Cocktail, Gin, Rosé

Summer is officially over here but hopefully even as the days grow shorter and colder we will still have time for a few more summery cocktails like the Inflatable Flamingo!  The name is so reminiscent of relaxing by, or in, a pool that you can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.  And Inflatable Flamingo is also a very cool name for a very fun drink!

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Don’t let it’s pretty pink innocent nature fool you though, the Inflatable Flamingo packs quite a punch with a combination of gin and rose that could leave you…wait for it….legless if you have too many!  Ah flamingo jokes….most of them are outstanding but if you really feel you need to put your foot down, I’ll flaminstop.

 

Inflatable Flamingo 2

I used the Four Pillars Christmas Gin from 2019 as my gin base which added some spice into the summer berry flavours of rose and berries but your favourite gin will work well.  A Hendrick’s would also be quite fabulous in this!

The recipe makes around 9 serves so why not make up a pitcher of these, grab some friends and hit the pool?  Or maybe just float on down the street?

 

The recipe for the Inflatable Flamingo comes from Adriana Picker’s gorgeous book, The Cocktail Garden. Not only does this book have some great cocktail recipes (Peach and Pineapple Sage Old Fashioned anyone?) but the most beautiful illustrations as well!

The Inflatable Flamingo – The Recipe

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Inflatable Flamingo 4
Recipe via cooked.com.au

I quite often sing to myself when I cook and as I was making the Inflatable Flamingo the song running through my head was Float On by Modest Mouse, particularly the bit that goes:

Alright, already
And we’ll all float on, alright
Already, we’ll all float on, alright
Don’t worry, even if things end up a bit
Too heavy, we’ll all float on

They seemed like some wise words for modern times.

Take care my friends and float on!

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Feb
2021

The Late Blumer Cocktail

categories: Books, Cocktail, Gin

Happy birthday Judy Blume!  Let’s all celebrate the 83rd birthday of one of my favourite young adult authors by raising a toast with a cocktail known as the  Late Blumer!

The Late Blumer 1

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret was one of my FAVOURITE books growing up.  I must have read it a hundred times!   The issues of boys and bras and periods and feeling confused and anxious all the time spoke to me in a way that no other book at the time did.

I read and reread this edition of the book.  Funnily enough, I rarely reread books nowadays but as a  child? I could finish a book on a Monday and start it again the following day. Having said that, I am currently rereading Are You There God and it is totally transporting me to back then!

I also read all the other Judy Blume books that were available in the Glen Waverley Public Library.  But Are You There God was by far my favourite.

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The Late Blumer Cocktail

I found this cocktail on A Beautiful Mess years ago  The link to the cocktail recipe on the site no longer works.  So, I am very glad I printed it when I did.  Thank you so much for the recipe Elsie!.

The Late Blumer is a fruity gin cocktail with some spice from the ginger and some herbiness from basil.  In other words, my kind of cocktail!  I love the combination of gin and ginger so this one was always going to be right up my alley in terms of flavour and it did not disappoint!

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Here is my printed recipe:

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And here it is a version with the measurements I thought worked best.

The Late Blumer

1 serving

  • 30mls Gin
  • 1 ripe apricot
  • 4 raspberries plus 1 more for garnish
  • 2 basil leaves plus more to garnish
  • Gingerale to top up your glass – mine was around 150ml.
  • Ice cubes

Mudde the apricots, raspberries and basil leaves in the bottom of your cocktail shaker.

Add the gin and let sit for around 5-10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Add some ice cubes to a glass and top with the gin mixture. You can strain this of you do not like bits of fruit in your cocktail.  Fill to the top of the glass with ginger ale.

Garnish with additional basil leaves and raspberries and enjoy!

Judy Blume NY Post (1)
via The New York Post

Here’s to you Judy Blume!  Happy birthday!!!  Your writing has helped shaped the lives of generations of girls.  Because we always knew that if we needed some understanding, some kind words or encouragement, we didn’t even need to ask “Are you there Judy?”  All we had to do was open a book.

“Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.”

 – Judy Blume

Tell me, where you a Judy Blume fan?  What was your favourite?

Have a great weekend!

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May
2020

The Clover Club

categories: Cocktail, Gin, Raspberry

I was walking Holly and Oscar in the park one morning when I found a four-leaf clover.  That time feels like a million years ago but it was on February 10th so only about 100 days ago.  

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Whilst I am not superstitious by nature, this felt like an omen.  Things were going pretty well.  Holly was settling into her new home with us, it was a glorious summer morning, all seemed well with the world.  What could possibly go wrong?  

Within weeks if not days?  Welcome to the shittiest year of all of our lives.  

It’s enough to turn a girl to drink!

Clover Club2

 

I was thinking about that day recently.   One of the ways I have been idling away my time is to do a heap of Buzzfeed quizzes…you know the sort…”Tell us which pizza toppings you like and we’ll describe your perfect vacation”.   Mostly these are terrible and I would be a little embarrassed to admit doing 1-5 per day but occasionally you find one that gets you right in the sweet spot.  

Such was the case with the quiz “We know exactly what cocktail you are craving tonight”.   

Turns out, I was craving a Clover Club.  Now I had,  up to that point,  never tasted a Clover Club.  But, I looked at the ingredients  –  Gin, raspberries and lemon – these are a few of my favourite things! And suddenly, yes, I was craving one!  

I decided to break out the Babycham glasses I bought when I was in Rye last year.  How cute are they?  I have been saving them for a “special occasion” but you know what? If not now, when?  I was inspired by this post on Foodie Crush to seize the day a bit more!

A Brief History of The Clover Club

The Clover Club is an American cocktail from the Pre-Prohibition era, dating all the way back to 1896.  A group of men, who called themselves The Clover Club used to meet at the Bellevue – Stratton Hotel in Philadelphia.  The Clover Club was invented for them to drink.   I find the idea of those olden day men sitting around drinking foamy pink cocktails adorable! Clover Club6

We totally LOVED The Clover Club!  The Fussiest Eater in the World said it was the best cocktail he had drunk since 1997!  Who knew he was keeping a list….

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I used the recipe for The Clover Club via Liquor.com which you can find here.  

If you like sweet / sour fruity cocktails then the Clover Club is for you!  It may not bring you good luck but it will brighten up your day!

Have a great week friends, stay safe!  Let me know what cocktail you get if you do the quiz!

 


Oct
2018

Bittersweet Symphony – The Aperol Gin and Tonic

categories: Aperol, Cocktail, Cointreau, Gin

 

People of the world, meet my new favourite drink! Forget the Aperol Spritz,  the Aperol Gin and Tonic is a great drink for summer drinking, or really for any time of the year.

I love G&T’s and Negroni’s and the Aperol Gin and Tonic is kind of a cross between them.  Or, as I like to call it, win-win.

The Aperol Gin and Tonic is slightly sweet, slightly bitter, has great citrus flavour and a lovely complexity from the botanicals in the gin. All of which is a fancy way of saying “It’s delicious…drink up!”

It’s also a very pretty drink!

Aperol G&T

Even though this is called the Aperol Gin and Tonic, there is a surprise ingredient in here which I think rounds out the flavours, ramps up the orange and adds the sweetness….

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Yep! Cointreau. Which I am also partial too!  If you wanted to take the Negroni-ness of this up to 11, you could, of course, sub out the Cointreau for some vermouth!

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I found the recipe for the Aperol Gin and Tonic in a Waitrose magazine when I was in England earlier this year.  Made it and then promptly lost the recipe.  Luckily it was not hard to remember!

Print

Aperol Gin and Tonic

Print Recipe

A delicious take on a G&T

Ingredients

Scale
  • 15ml Gin
  • 15ml Aperol
  • 15 ml Cointreau
  • Tonic Water
  • Ice Cubes

To Garnish

  • Rosemary Sprigs
  • Orange Slices

Instructions

  1. Add ice to a cocktail shaker.
  2. Add the gin, Aperol and Cointreau
  3. Shake, baby, shake.
  4. Add fresh ice cubes and orange slices to a long glass
  5. Add the gin mixture.
  6. Top with tonic water.
  7. Garnish with a rosemary sprig

So good!   The only downside is that it’s going to be very hard to stop myself from making them waaaaaay too often for both my liver and my waistline!

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Have a great week!

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Jul
2018

The Dirty Cowboy Martini

categories: Chilli, Cocktail, Cook A Long, Cowboy Day, Gin, Martini

Howdy Cowdies!

First up sorry for my tardiness for Cowboy Day but I have been laid low for about a week with a totally vicious cold/flu.  But, just like that ChumbaWumba song from the 90’s, I get knocked down… but I get up again.  (But only for a few hours at a time because this thing is wiping me out!)

Unlike that song which talks of whiskey drinks and lager drinks and vodka drinks, I made us a gin drink.

People of the world, meet the Dirty Cowboy Martini!

Dirty Cowboy Martini

 

It’s good.  It’s so good.  As to be expected.  Cos who doesn’t love a dirty cowboy?

😉

Now there is a bit of too-ing and ‘s fro-ing to make the Dirty Cowboy but believe me, it’s worth it!

First up you gotta make some Cowboy Candy.  Which is no hardship because these Candied Jalapeno’s may just become my favourite thing to eat in the world.  Ever.

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Sweet, spicy, tangy, hot, sour…these are little flavour bombs!

I had fully intended just to post these but then I got to thinking (always dangerous) about how to show them off to full effect and I came up with the idea of the Dirty Cowboy Martini.

I used this recipe for my Cowboy Candy.

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The Dirty Cowboy Martini is a riff on a regular dirty martini.  This is where a bit of the olive brine is added to the drink.  In the Dirty Cowboy, a spoonful of the sweet, spicy chilli liquid is added!  It’s so good!  And really hard to have just one of!

I used the Four Pillars Cousin Vera Gin for this as it is a lot more savoury than my usual Hendricks.  It worked really well!

Dirty Cowboy Martini

The perfect accompaniment to the Dirty Cowboy Martini was a little dip I made from some of the chopped up Cowboy Candies, some cream cheese and a spoonful of the French Onion Soup Mix I had left over from when I made the Selfish Girl’s Seafood Plate.

Dirty Cowboy Martini

Here’s the Martini recipe.  Now, I like a lot of vermouth in my martini so I would add more than the standard amount I have listed below.

Print

Dirty Cowboy Martini

Print Recipe

A delicious take on a Dirty Martini, using Cowboy Candy instead of olives.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 70 ml gin (I used Four Pillars Cousin Vera)
  • 1 tbsp dry vermouth (I used Noilly Prat)
  • 2 tbsp Cowboy Candy Brine
  • Lemon Wedge
  • Slice of lemon to garnish
  • 1–2 Cowboy Candies to garnish

Instructions

  1. Pour the gin, dry vermouth and Cowboy Candy brine into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.
  2. Rub the rim of a martini glass with the wedge of lemon.
  3. Pour the liquid into the glass and garnish with a round of lemon and a Cowboy Candy. Add another Cowboy Candy to the glass if you wish.
  4. Enjoy!

Happy Belated Cowboy Day to all who celebrated!

Thank you to the utterly awesome Greg Swenson from Recipes4Rebels for inviting me to take part in the festivities!!!!  I am raising a virtual glass of Dirty Cowboy Martini to you!

 

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