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Image: Unsplash

Solstice Tipple: Clementine Cocktails

Lottie Storey December 21, 2024

Great for a midwinter get-together, this vibrant punch fuses the sugary appeal of fizzy orange with grown-up bitters and bourbon

For the ice ring:
Freeze 4 sliced clementines in a Bundt pan with water overnight

For the clementine cocktails:
960ml clementine juice
960ml soda water
240ml bourbon
Angostura bitters

Mix all ingredients in a small punch bowl or large mixing bowl and serve with a ladle. Add the ice ring just as guests arrive. Let guests make their own sugar-rimmed glasses by rubbing the glass edge with a half
clementine, then dipping it in a small dish of raw sugar. Garnish with a straw pushed through the centre of a round clementine slice. Use mandarins if you can’t find clementines.

Recipe and photography from The Forest Feast Gatherings by Erin Gleeson (Abrams)

This recipe was first published in January 2017. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Photography by Matt Russell

Tipple | Rosemary Rum Spritz

Iona Bower May 7, 2022

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.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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In Fresh Tags sim119, tipple, tipple of the month, rum, cocktail, cocktails, rosemary
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Tipple of the month | Pisco Sour

Lottie Storey February 10, 2018

Raise a glass to Peru’s best export (apart from Paddington)

The South American brandy, pisco, made from muscat grapes, was said to have been first made into the famous cocktail by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender working in Peru, in the early 20th century. The first Saturday of February is National Pisco Sour Day.

MAKE IT: pour a 1⁄2 measure of lime juice, 2 measures pisco, 1 tbsp beaten egg white into shaker with ice.
Add a dash of gomme syrup and a dash of angostura bitters.
Shake. Strain into glass.
Salud!

  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

 

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Tipple of the month: Pomegranate Punch

Lottie Storey November 19, 2016

A really pretty, colourful party piece for any get-together. The autumnal colours feel just right for this time of year

You will need:
Seeds from 2 pomegranates
2 x 750ml bottles prosecco, chilled
1 x 750ml bottle sparkling
apple-pomegranate or apple cider

1 Make an ice ring by tipping the seeds from a pomegranate into a Bundt tin, topping up with water and freezing overnight.

2 Mix the prosecco and sparkling cider in a small punch bowl or large mixing bowl. Just as your guests arrive, add the ice ring, as it can melt quickly. Sprinkle over some extra pomegranate seeds to garnish.

Recipe and photography from The Forest Feast Gatherings by Erin Gleeson (Abrams).

 

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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here.

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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
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Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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