Cocktails — Essential

This is one of my favorite apéritif. Perfect while prepping supper. 

Here is my perfect ratio of a French Kir Royale. You will notice that I use much less Chambord than other recipes out there. I think the champagne flavor gets loss when too much is used, and what a shame that is!

Did you know, if you use sparkling wine instead of Champagne, it is called Kir Pétillant. And if you use Crème Cassis instead of Chambord, it is simply called a Kir Royale.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Chambord

Champagne

Method:

Add the Chambord to a flute.

Then add...

I must admit that if I buy Tequila, it's to make margaritas, but I was craving a change and I'm so glad I did because this cocktail is delicious. Here's my take on the Spring Fling. 

Ingredients:

-2 oz Tequila

-1/2 oz St-Germain

-1Tbsp Freshly squeezed lime juice

-1/2 oz Grenadine

-1/2 tsp Jonny Hetherington Essentials Peach Hot Sauce (optional)

Method:

Shake all the ingredients very well with ice in a shaker.

Pour over ice in tumbler glasses.

Garnish with edible flowers and slices of lime.

Voila! Spring fling.

This is one of my favorite cocktails. It's gorgeous. It's beautiful to hold in your hand and it taste even better than it looks! I make my version much less sweet than the original. 

Ingredients:

-2.5 parts of gin

-1/2 part St-Germain

-1 part pink grapefruit juice

-Grapefruit wedge

-Sprig of thyme

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker.

Pour through a strainer into a chilled Martini glass.

Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and thyme sprig. Make sure to rub your thyme gently between your hands to release the scent.

A staple cocktail in our household is the classic martini. I like mine with gin and extra dry. Most often than not, I will skip vermouth all together. Jonny prefers his a bit more wet and dirty. But we both agree they must be shaken until they become as cold as possible. The garnish, is where I like to switch things up. I usually use whatever we have around and simply try to make the cocktails visually entertaining. 

Ingredients:

-3 Ounces gin (Bombay is my favorite. It smells absolutely delicious)

-2 Drops dry vermouth for the extra dry version or 1/2...

We love scotch! And sometimes we want to mellow it down a bit with a touch of cola. All natural cola that is, but are still on the lookout for the tastiest one. Send us a note with your favorite brand.

Ingredients:

-2 oz Scotch

-1/2 oz Cola

-Lime

-Frozen habanero peppers

Method:

Pour the scotch and cola on ice.

Rime the glass with lime juice

Decorate with mini skewers of lime and frozen habaneros.

Voila! Scotch and cola.