It's been all about the food round here recently, but I've been testing out lots of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) over the last few months, and have got a round up for you today on what's hot in the liquid world. There's some I'm sure you've heard of, and others that maybe you haven't, but you should definitely check out....
Cocktails to make at home...
Aperol Spritz. If you haven't heard about Aperol (an Italian aperetif made with orange, rhubarb, herbs and roots) then I guess you've been away all summer?! This year's seemingly most talked about drink has been everywhere, including my house! I was sent a bottle to try out, and have played with various concoctions using it. There's the obvious - the Spritz, made with 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol and 1 part soda water, it's a slightly bitter yet very refreshing long drink that's topped off with a slice of orange, to accentuate that fruity bitter taste. Another way to drink Aperol that I really like is with whiskey and ginger beer, finished off with mint leaves.
Cocchi Rosa Spritz. Another Italian aperitif that's not dissimilar to Aperol is Cocchi Rosa. Made with a wine base that's blended with aromatics tasting of wild rose and summer berries, its ingredients also include herbs, fruits and spices, as well as ginger and rose petals. Make your own version of Cocchi Rosa Spritz at home by mixing the aperitif with prosecco, strawberries, basil and soda.
VII Hills. VII Hills is a new (1 year) to the market gin that was created by the team who work at Mr Fogg's. It's made with ancient Roman botanicals and tastes of juniper and sweet orange with a slightly sweet, peppery aftertaste. Perfect for tonic and citrus based cocktails - keep it simple with a shot of VII Hills, a dash of lemon juice, topped up with champagne, or mix it up a bit by combining VII Hills with lemon juice, egg white, grapefruit juice and soda.
Cardamom martini. As you might already know, I did a pop up last week with Hardeep Singh Kohli, to raise money for ActionAid in Syria. We served a welcome cocktail, made with vodka and gin that was kindly supplied by Inverarity Morton, and a cardamom sugar syrup that I made the night before, using sugar, water and cardamom pods. Serve this at a dinner party if you want the night to get off to a very merry start!!
Cocktail bars....
If making your own cocktails seems like too much hard work, then there's a few cocktail bars I've been to recently that serve better cocktails than I can make at home!
Remy Martin. Cognac house Remy Martin, are opening a pop up members club in Soho - La Maison Remy Martin - in November this year. You can apply for membership here, which I thoroughly recommend you do, so you can try the wonderful Flying Diver cocktail, made with Remy Martin, pineapple and rosemary syrup, apple juice, ginger ale and nutmeg - a firm favourite of mine since I tried it at The Connaught last month.
Fu Manchu. I've already told you about this late night Dim Sum spot in Clapham North here on the blog, but I only got to try one of their cocktails when I went before, so hot footed down there for a cocktail masterclass recently to try a few more. My absolute favourite cocktail and one that you must go and try at Fu Manchu was the Chinese 75 - a twist on the classic French 75, using lychee and rose liqueur, champagne and lemon.
Rendezvous Bar. I nearly didn't tell you about this, because I feel like it's my little secret, but sharing is caring and all that, so here we go. There's a new (ish) cocktail bar in Knightsbridge that's pretty much perfect. It's small and intimate, has an old school table football table, a window you climb out of onto a plant filled smoking terrace, and they serve French snacks and delicious cocktails. Rendezvous Bar is part of Les Gourmets des Ternes group, who have a French restaurant downstairs, another in Maida Vale, and the original site in Paris, which I'm visiting this weekend. It's just off the main roads intersection in Knightsbridge and absolutely worth popping in to if you've got a few minutes spare between shop visits in the area. Order a Rendezvous Spritz - made with champagne, Saint Germain elderflower liqueur, mint, cucumber, absinthe and lemon.
Delicious non-alcoholic drinks....
Whether it's sober October you're doing, or you just don't fancy a cocktail at breakfast time(!!) there's a couple of juices/drinks I've been loving recently that are 0% alcohol.
Savse. First off, my nearly daily juice of choice - Savse. A cold pressed juice, they retain all the goodness of the fruit and vegetables packed into them. My favourites are the 'Get the glow' - made with melon, seaweed, apple, fennel, cucumber, lime and mint, and the 'Super Purple' - beetroot, apple, lemon, lime, mango and avocado.
Tapped. So coconut water's been all the rage recently but there's a new super healthy water hitting the shelves now. Tapped birch water is exactly that - the sap is tapped from birch trees to produce a water that's said to keep skin youthful and bones strong, as the trees store vital minerals and vitamins that can then be drunk via their water. Tapped is organic, low calorie and made without added sugar or sweetners. It comes in three flavours - original, bilberry and lingonberry, and my favourite, apple and root ginger. Expect to hear a lot more about this magic water very soon!!
Cocktails to make at home...
Aperol Spritz. If you haven't heard about Aperol (an Italian aperetif made with orange, rhubarb, herbs and roots) then I guess you've been away all summer?! This year's seemingly most talked about drink has been everywhere, including my house! I was sent a bottle to try out, and have played with various concoctions using it. There's the obvious - the Spritz, made with 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol and 1 part soda water, it's a slightly bitter yet very refreshing long drink that's topped off with a slice of orange, to accentuate that fruity bitter taste. Another way to drink Aperol that I really like is with whiskey and ginger beer, finished off with mint leaves.
Cocchi Rosa Spritz. Another Italian aperitif that's not dissimilar to Aperol is Cocchi Rosa. Made with a wine base that's blended with aromatics tasting of wild rose and summer berries, its ingredients also include herbs, fruits and spices, as well as ginger and rose petals. Make your own version of Cocchi Rosa Spritz at home by mixing the aperitif with prosecco, strawberries, basil and soda.
VII Hills. VII Hills is a new (1 year) to the market gin that was created by the team who work at Mr Fogg's. It's made with ancient Roman botanicals and tastes of juniper and sweet orange with a slightly sweet, peppery aftertaste. Perfect for tonic and citrus based cocktails - keep it simple with a shot of VII Hills, a dash of lemon juice, topped up with champagne, or mix it up a bit by combining VII Hills with lemon juice, egg white, grapefruit juice and soda.
Cocktail bars....
If making your own cocktails seems like too much hard work, then there's a few cocktail bars I've been to recently that serve better cocktails than I can make at home!
Remy Martin. Cognac house Remy Martin, are opening a pop up members club in Soho - La Maison Remy Martin - in November this year. You can apply for membership here, which I thoroughly recommend you do, so you can try the wonderful Flying Diver cocktail, made with Remy Martin, pineapple and rosemary syrup, apple juice, ginger ale and nutmeg - a firm favourite of mine since I tried it at The Connaught last month.
Fu Manchu. I've already told you about this late night Dim Sum spot in Clapham North here on the blog, but I only got to try one of their cocktails when I went before, so hot footed down there for a cocktail masterclass recently to try a few more. My absolute favourite cocktail and one that you must go and try at Fu Manchu was the Chinese 75 - a twist on the classic French 75, using lychee and rose liqueur, champagne and lemon.
Rendezvous Bar. I nearly didn't tell you about this, because I feel like it's my little secret, but sharing is caring and all that, so here we go. There's a new (ish) cocktail bar in Knightsbridge that's pretty much perfect. It's small and intimate, has an old school table football table, a window you climb out of onto a plant filled smoking terrace, and they serve French snacks and delicious cocktails. Rendezvous Bar is part of Les Gourmets des Ternes group, who have a French restaurant downstairs, another in Maida Vale, and the original site in Paris, which I'm visiting this weekend. It's just off the main roads intersection in Knightsbridge and absolutely worth popping in to if you've got a few minutes spare between shop visits in the area. Order a Rendezvous Spritz - made with champagne, Saint Germain elderflower liqueur, mint, cucumber, absinthe and lemon.
Delicious non-alcoholic drinks....
Whether it's sober October you're doing, or you just don't fancy a cocktail at breakfast time(!!) there's a couple of juices/drinks I've been loving recently that are 0% alcohol.
Savse. First off, my nearly daily juice of choice - Savse. A cold pressed juice, they retain all the goodness of the fruit and vegetables packed into them. My favourites are the 'Get the glow' - made with melon, seaweed, apple, fennel, cucumber, lime and mint, and the 'Super Purple' - beetroot, apple, lemon, lime, mango and avocado.
Tapped. So coconut water's been all the rage recently but there's a new super healthy water hitting the shelves now. Tapped birch water is exactly that - the sap is tapped from birch trees to produce a water that's said to keep skin youthful and bones strong, as the trees store vital minerals and vitamins that can then be drunk via their water. Tapped is organic, low calorie and made without added sugar or sweetners. It comes in three flavours - original, bilberry and lingonberry, and my favourite, apple and root ginger. Expect to hear a lot more about this magic water very soon!!
I love cocktails they are the only drink I really wish since being pregnant give me. Dirty martini or a porn star martini yummy. These look great and thankful you chucked in a few non alcoholic Lucy x
ReplyDeleteLove a porn star martini :) And espresso martinis after dinner. If you haven't tried them yet then definitely check out Savse juices Lucy.
DeleteRosie xx