Tipple | Lavender & Raspberry Cocktails

A fruity thirst-quencher that’s bursting with summer flavours

Serves 6

You will need

100g honey
Juice of 1 large lemon
100g raspberries
1 tsp lavender flowers
6 shots of vodka (optional)
2ltr sparkling water
6 sprigs of mint, to garnish
6 sprigs of lavender, to garnish
18 fresh raspberries, to garnish

To make

1 In a small pan, gently heat the honey, 100ml of water, the lemon juice, raspberries and lavender flowers over a medium heat, stirring frequently until the honey melts.

2 Simmer for a further 5 mins, stirring constantly to avoid it catching, until it starts to thicken. Leave to cool then blitz to a smooth consistency with a handheld blender.

3 Fill tall glasses with ice and pour in a shot of vodka if using, then fill each glass halfway with sparkling water.

4 Add the lavender and raspberry syrup until the glass is three-quarters full. Garnish each glass with a sprig of mint, a sprig of lavender and three fresh raspberries to serve.

These cocktails are just one of the recipes from our June ‘gathering’ pages, a menu for a picnic by the water, which we’ve called ‘A Shore Thing’. It includes recipes for homemade Dips & Chips, Asparagus, Ricotta & Smoked Pea Tarts, Roast Pepper, Onion & Halloumi Wraps and Berry Crumble Cake. The recipes are by Kay Prestney and the photography is by Rebecca Lewis.

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Tipple | Pomander Cocktail

Inspired by the clove-studded oranges traditionally used to decorate homes at Christmas – move over Bucks Fizz!

Serves 6

5 oranges or clementines
Cloves
Bottle of cava

1 Juice 4 of the oranges/clementines.

2 Cut the final orange/clementine into 6 segments and stud each one with 2 cloves. 3 Divide the juice between 6 glasses, add a clove-studded slice and top with cava.

This tipple idea is from our feature ‘How the Brunch Stole Christmas’ from our December issue, by Lottie Storey, with photography by Kym Grimshaw. It includes lots of ideas for a festive brunch with friends or family, including Parsnip Rosti with Fried Eggs & English muffins, Panettone French Toast with Bacon & Maple Syrup, Cinnamon & Cranberry Rolls and Mince Pie Breakfast Pots.

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Tipple | Strawberry Fizz

Toast the fruit of the season with this refreshing tipple that works with or without alcohol

Serves 4

400g fresh strawberries, washed and tops cut off, plus 4 to garnish
1 tbsp honey
½ tbsp chopped mint leaves, plus a handful of uncut leaves to serve
Juice of 1 lime
Ice
Elderflower cordial
Sparkling mineral water or prosecco

1 Put the strawberries into a blender with the honey, chopped mint leaves and lime juice, and blitz until smooth.

2 Fill each glass with a few ice cubes and pour over the strawberry syrup until the glass is about a third full. Add a teaspoon of elderflower cordial to each glass.

3 Top with sparkling mineral water, or prosecco. Give the mix a stir and dress each glass with a strawberry (cut to fit on the side of the glass) and a sprig of fresh mint leaves

This recipe is taken from our feature Field of Dreams in our July issue, which includes lots of recipes for freshly picked strawberries and raspberries. It includes ideas for Strawberry Vinaigrette with a Spelt Salad, Chicken Breast with Spiced Raspberry Sauce, Strawberry Cake and Raspberry Loaf Cake. The recipes are by Kay Prestney and the photographs by Rebecca Lewis.

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Tipple | Strawberry Mimosas

With notes of Wimbledon, garden days and long, balmy evenings, these strawberry mimosas taste of June in a glass

Serves 6

400g strawberries
1 tbsp local raw honey
1 bottle of prosecco, chilled
A handful of fresh mint leaves

1 Set aside one whole strawberry per serving to top each glass, then remove the green tops and halve the rest of the strawberries before adding to a small pan over a medium heat with a tablespoon of water and the honey.

2 Use a stick blender to blitz the mix until smooth, then allow to cool. Pour the syrup into a sterilised glass jar or bottle and seal until you're ready to use it. Store in the fridge if making the day before.

3 To serve, fill a third of a champagne flute with the strawberry syrup and top up with chilled prosecco. Give your mimosa a good stir and garnish your glass with a fresh strawberry and a few mint leaves. Enjoy!

This cocktail recipe is from our Salad Days feature in our June issue, which includes a menu for a gathering of friends in the garden, including Asparagus, Goat's Cheese and Pesto Puffs, Spring Greens Floral Salad, Spinach and Feta Herby Quiche, Lemon Flower Biscuits and Orange, Honey and Cardamom Cakes.

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Tipple | Rosemary Rum Spritz

Rosemary and red wine syrup makes this cocktail aromatic and complex rather than sticky and sweet

Makes 1 7.5ml red wine syrup

2 rosemary sprigs, plus one to garnish
45ml three-year-old rum
60ml pink grapefruit juice
Ice cubes
Soda water, to top up

For the red wine syrup:

100ml red wine
100g caster sugar

You will need:

Pan, funnel, cocktail shaker, muddler and strainer

1 To make the red wine syrup, place the wine and sugar in a pan, stir well and heat gently to a simmer (do not boil). Keep stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved then remove from the heat. Leave to cool before using a funnel to pour the mixture into a clean glass bottle (you can store this in the fridge for up to 1 month).

2 Meanwhile, to make the spritz, muddle the rosemary in a cocktail shaker.

3 Add ice, along with the red wine syrup,rum and pink grapefruit juice, then shake vigorously to chill.

4 Strain into a glass with fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Bartender’s note: The structure of red wine is what really adds to the depth of flavour. It goes well with darker spirits, too. Avoid anything too aged and stick to good-value, mellow wines such as rioja joven from Spain, shiraz from Australia or merlot from Chile.

Taken from Home Cocktail Bible by Olly Smith (Quadrille). Photography: Matt Russell. We feature a tipple each month in The Simple Things. Buy our May issue to find more seasonal ways to celebrate late spring.

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Tipple | Peach Gin and Tonics

A refreshing drink for a grown-up picnic, and probably one of our five a day (ahem)

Serves 4

2 fresh, ripe peaches
1 lime
1 bottle of pink gin
A bag of ice 8 small tins of tonic water (we like Fever-Tree tonics) 4 rosemary sprigs
Reusable straws

1 Take the stones out of the peaches and cut into thin slices, then quarter the lime.
2 Add a shot of gin to each glass and place in a lime quarter and several peach slices. Top with ice and pour over the tonic water until the glass is nearly full. Add a sprig of rosemary to use as a stirrer and a paper or reusable straw.

This simple recipe is just one of the ideas from our feature, Catch of the Day, which has lots of recipes for a picnic on the quayside, including crab sarnies, barbecued prawns, smoked mackerel palmiers, courgette and spinach salad and Eton Mess jam jars. You can find the rest of the recipes from page 8.

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Tipple | Rhubarb Mimosas

The two fruits of the moment are pink, squeaky stemmed, forced rhubarb and lovely sour gooseberries. Either could be used for this spring cocktail, and should be treated the same way: stewed in a little water and honey to sweeten their sourness and then sieved to make a smooth syrup. Gooseberry is the more traditional ingredient for a Whitsun feast, but rhubarb makes a particularly pretty pink drink.

Serves 6

6 stems forced rhubarb (as pink as you can find)
Runny honey
1 bottle champagne or other sparkling wine

1 Chop the rhubarb into 5cm chunks and tip into a saucepan over a medium heat with a small splash of water – rhubarb contains plenty of water so you only need just enough to get it going. Let it bubble away until the rhubarb has completely softened and then use a fork to break and mash the pieces up.

2 Strain into a bowl and add runny honey to taste.

3 Pour your syrup into a jar and chill in the fridge. When ready to serve, fill half a glass with the chilled rhubarb syrup and top with sparkling wine.

This is just one of the recipes from our Nature’s Table feature by Lia Leendertz. The other late spring recipes include confit duck with petits pois and Lincolnshire Whitsun cake. You can find it starting on page 8 of our May issue.

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Cocktail Hour | Blood Orange Negronis

It’s blood orange season;  what better excuse for a Negroni? (Like you need an excuse) 

With Saturday nights out off the menu for the moment, we’re officially reinstating Cocktail Hour. Join us for a very seasonal Blood Orange Negroni this evening. The bold colour of this cocktail is really rather cheering and it features Aperol instead of Campari so it’s less bitter than the original. And we feel a little less bitter about our Saturday nights for having one, too. Sometimes staying at home isn’t so bad. 

Makes one 

25ml gin 

25ml Aperol 

25ml sweet vermouth 

25ml freshly-squeezed blood orange juice, plus wedges for decoration 

Rosemary sprig 

1 Pour all of the alcohol and squeezed juice into a shaker or jam jar, make sure the lid’s on securely, and shake well. 

2 Fill a glass with ice and add a sprig of rosemary and a wedge of blood orange before pouring your Negroni over the top. 

Maker’s note: If you want to give your drink an aromatic, smoky twist, set fire to the end of the sprig of rosemary.

Find more tipples and other things to improve your weekends in the February issue of The Simple Things, available now.

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Sponsored | Christmas cocktail recipe ideas

The weekend before Christmas is classic party season. If you're hosting friends over Christmas and New Year, stock up the drinks trolley and get those cocktail shakers pumping. Try one of these recipes to really get your party going with a bang.

Cherry Spritz

50ml English Rose Gin
150ml Fever Tree Naturally Light Tonic Water
15ml (approx 2 bar spoons) Maraschino Cherry Syrup

Build and stir over ice in a tall glass. Twist of lime peel and one maraschino cherry dropped in.

Whitley Neill Christmas Crumble Collins

50ml Whitley Neill Rhubarb & Ginger
50ml Cloudy apple Juice
10ml Fresh Lemon Juice
10ml Cinnamon Syrup
50ml Ginger Beer

Add all ingredients to a long glass along with cubed ice. Stir and garnish with a cinnamon stick and lemon wheel

Espresso Martini

50ml FAIR Vodka
35ml FAIR Cafe
One shot of espresso

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Top up with ice and shake. Pour directly into a chilled martini glass.

Whitley Neill Clementine Negroni

25ml Whitley Neill Gin
25ml Campari
25ml Italian Vermouth
25ml Fresh clementine juice

Add all ingredients to a rocks glass, along with cubed ice, and stir well. Garnish with a slice of fresh clementine

Aviation

40ml Silent Pool Gin
20ml Maraschino Liqueur
20ml Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
2.5ml Crème De violette

Shake and Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Recipes courtesy of:

FAIR 

Whitley Neill

Silent Pool

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Recipe | Campari orange poptails

There’s something a little mischievous about turning a childhood treat into something strictly for grown-ups. Poptails – or alcoholic lollies – are summer cocktails, only cooler; delicious, playful and quirky. 

Makes 8–10
60ml water
110g granulated sugar
600ml freshly squeezed orange juice (from 6 or 7 oranges)
80ml freshly squeezed lime juice (from 3 or 4 limes)
90ml (6 tbsp) Campari
Sliver of orange, to garnish (optional)

1 Heat water and sugar in a pan until sugar has dissolved. Mix with the orange and lime juice and Campari. 
2 Fill the moulds, leaving a little space at the top. If you like, put a sliver of orange into the top of each. 
3 Freeze until slushy (60–90 mins), then insert the sticks and freeze until solid, at least five hours.

Note: the alcohol content makes poptails more fragile than their booze-free cousins. For best results:
* Leave a 5mm gap at the top of the mould for expansion.
* Poptails take longer to freeze because of their alcohol content – about 5–8 hours or overnight.
* Metal or rubbery silicone moulds work best. Leave sitting at room temperature for a while before unmoulding (unless using silicone when you can just push them out) and take care – they’re more delicate than lollies.
* Serve as soon as possible after unmoulding, but if you need to store them, wrap in cling film and store in the freezer in an airtight bag. Best eaten within a week of making.
* Make bite-sized poptails in silicone ice cube trays, skewered with cocktail sticks.

Recipe from Ice Kitchen: Poptails by Cesar and Nadia Roden (Quadrille).

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Recipe: Feelgood fruit punch

Pomegranate has long been hailed as a promoter of fertility and for having amazing health benefits such as boosting the immune system, preserving youthful vitality and promoting longevity – claims that stand up to modern research*.

Enjoy this tangy recipe as an energising breakfast blend or add a splash of vodka or rum for cocktails.

PASSION FRUIT PUNCH

1 x 500ml bottle pure pomegranate juice
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 1 orange
2 tsp finely minced ginger
Lime or orange slices for garnish (optional)

To make

Combine all the ingredient except the garnish in a small glass or plastic storage container and chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the zippy flavour of the ginger to infuse the juices.

To serve

Decide whether you want to strain out the ginger. If you leave it in, just chew it as you enjoy the drink – it freshens breath and aids digestion, too.

Shake the punch well and pour into chilled glasses with or without ice.

Garnish with citrus slices if you wish.

Recipe from Making Love Potions by Stephanie L Tourles (Storey)

* Pomegranate is a rich source of antioxidants. 

More from the March issue:

More drinks recipes:

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Share some strawberry margaritas

The sun has truly come out from hiding this week, and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate than sharing this recipe for a fruity strawberry and lime margarita. Cheers!

Serves 6 300g fresh or frozen strawberries 2 tbsp honey 240ml tequila Half a bunch of mint leaves

1. Fuse the honey, tequila and strawberries in a blender – add a little ice if using fresh, or a splash of water if using frozen. 2. Garnish with chopped mint and strawberry slices.

This recipe was taken from Issue 08 of The Simple Things, download it now.

Remember to always enjoy alcohol responsibly.