Bucks Fizz, Iochdar style

This Saturday’s cocktail was Bucks Fizz. I like my Champagne really dry for this, and all the ingredients and glasses well chilled. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 bottle of brut Champagne
  • 100 ml triple sec, such as Cointreau
  • 200 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

METHOD:

  • Mix the triple sec with the orange juice
  • Pour the champagne into champagne flutes, and top up with the supercharged orange juice, in a ratio of 2:1. This makes about six moderate glasses of Bucks Fizz. 

No pictures – it is all gone. 

 

Gin Julep

Another Saturday evening cocktail with gin. Still working through the gin gifts from last Christmas. This time I used the Ramsbury gin from my brother. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 8 to 10 fresh mint leaves plus a separate wee sprig for a garnish
  • 1/4 floz (1 tsp+) fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 floz (1 tsp+) fresh lemon juice 
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 floz (50ml) gin

METHOD:

  • Put the mint, lemon, lime and sugar in the bottom of a tumbler and crush them together
  • Add ice, and then the gin. 
  • Add a garnish of mint

Death in the gulf stream

Saturday cocktail hour. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 floz gin (50ml)
  • 1 1/2 floz lime juice (35ml) – about 1 small lime
  • pinch of caster sugar
  • 3-4 splashes of Angostura bitters

METHOD:

  • Put a load of ice in a tall highball glass
  • Pour in the gin and the lime juice and stir
  • Add the bitters and sugar and stir again
  • Twist a strip of lime peel over the drink and then drop it in

Elderflower Collins

Last Christmas was the Christmas of Gin. I’ve just opened the bottle from my sister Louise, very nice Dockyard Gin. It came with a recipe for Elderflower Collins. Very good. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 50ml gin
  • 25ml lemon juice
  • 25ml elderflower cordial
  • 10ml simple syrup, or to taste
  • Soda water, or sparkling water

METHOD:

  • In a tall glass, over ice, add the cordial, syrup, lemon juice and gin, and stir together. 
  • Top up with soda and garnish with lemon peel. 

Very refreshing. 

Margarita

I found the end of a bottle of tequila in the back of the drinks store area. I’ve had it for a while. I had enough to make two small Margaritas. They were so delicious, I may have to buy more tequila. 

A note about tequila. It is a distillate of a drink made from the blue agave, which grows wild in Mexico. The process was bought to Mexico by the conquistadors, who set up a distillery in Tequila.  

Tequila comes in various types:

  • Silver or white tequila, which is clear white, and bottled within 60 days of being distilled.
  • Gold tequila (joven) is a caramel colour, and is much the same as silver tequila, with a little colouring and flavouring. 
  • Reposado tequila has been aged in oak barrels for up to a year, and is generally a lovely golden colour. 
  • Anejo tequila is aged for between one year and five years
  • Mezcal is not specifically a tequila, and may be made from a variety of agave plants. The agave is roasted before the fermentation, adding a smoky flavour. The ‘worm’ is a larva of an insect that lives in the agave plants. It is a sign of authenticity and luck. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 Lime wedges
  • Table salt
  • 3 floz (75ml) silver tequila
  • 3 floz (75ml) fresh lime juice
  • 2 floz (50ml) Cointreau
  • Lots of ice. 

METHOD:

  • Rub a wedge of lime around the rims of 2 chilled cocktail or margarita glasses, and salt the rims. Fill the glasses with ice
  • Add the liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until the mixture is very cold. 
  • Strain into the prepared glasses. Give the lime wedges a bit of a squeeze, and drop them into the margaritas. 

Classic Champagne Cocktail.

Lockdown holiday – I work in healthcare, so I have been out at work most days, but now I have a week off. I’m planning on lots of things, including using my exercise hour to clear litter from the verges around and about. I am also going to be trying out some cocktail recipes. This cocktail is delicious. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 sugar cube, or a level teaspoon of caster sugar
  • 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • 150ml Champagne
  • A twist of lemon peel

METHOD:

  • Put the sugar into the bottom of a chilled champagne glass and add the bitters. Let the bitters soak into the sugar
  • Pour in the champagne carefully; it will fizz up a lot
  • Run the lemon peel around the rim of the glass and then drop it in. 

Buckfast with Grapefruit Juice – the Perfect Serve

Another attempt to find a way to drink the Buckfast. This was pleasant. I got it from the Buckfast website. I added more grapefruit juice than they suggested. The picture on the website looks a lovely juicy orange, whereas the real thing is a dark brown.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 50ml Buckfast
  • 50ml pink grapefruit juice
  • 2 dashes of orange bitters
  • Soda water

METHOD:

  • Put a lot of ice in a highball glass, pour over the ingredients in the order listed, stir and serve.

Buckfast Negroni

In the interests of investigation and fearless gastronomy, once upon a time we purchased a small bottle of Buckfast at the co-op in Broadford. It has been languishing in our kitchen ever since. Neither of us has developed a taste for it at all, but every now and again we try it out as an ingredient. It works as part of a cocktail.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 25ml London dry gin
  • 25ml Buckfast
  • 25ml Campari
  • 3 dashes of orange bitters

METHOD:

  • Put about six cubes of ice in a mixing glass, and pour the ingredients over the ice.
  • Stir for around 2 minutes, to chill the ingredients and dilute them with melted ice.
  • Serve in a small glass over ice.