The Sweet and The Spice

Black Russian

70ml vodka35ml KahluaIceStemless gin balloon filled with iceMaraschino cherry and lemon sliceOptional: cola to top up Really, this is only as Russian as your vodka. Legend has it that in 1949 a Belgian barman called Gustave Tops (which is a great name for a barman) created this at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honourContinue reading “Black Russian”

List of Cocktails

AmericanoAviationBambooBasil SmashBee’s KneesBelliniBicycletteBlack RussianBoulevardierCaipirinhaCampari and SodaChampagne CocktailCherry BlossomClassic MartiniDon PedroEspresso MartiniFrench 75Gin and ItGin FizzGin RickeyGodchildGodfatherGodmotherGreen Jasmine Tea BubblesIncome TaxManhattanMojitoNegroniOlivetteOrange and Basil AperitifPalomaParisian DaiquiriPerfect MartiniProsecco and RinquinquinPX ManhattanQueen’s TippleRebujitoSidecarTequila SunriseWatermelon MargaritaWet MartiniWhite Russian

Godfather

35ml whisky35ml amarettoIceRocks glass This one is strictly after dinner for me or there would be no dinner. Introduced to me by a dear friend, this is the Godfather and it couldn’t be easier. In a rocks glass with ice, pour equal measures (I’m not judging you on quantity) of whisky and amaretto (Monkey ShoulderContinue reading “Godfather”

White Russian

70ml vodka35ml KahluaIceMartini glass I was given two of these beeee-u-tiful glasses by my lovely friends, Jo and James, and having already had a martini before dinner thought an after dinner martini may be in order. So, this is a White Russian Martini. The White Russian came about in the 1960s when some bright sparkContinue reading “White Russian”

Aviation

50 ml gin25ml lemon juice2 dashes maraschino liqueur2 dashes crème de violetteIceCoupe glass Aviation The provenance of this cocktail is lost to time, so I’ve added a ‘little’ embellishment to bring it back to life…. [To be read in a New York accent] It was 1917, December; I was working the bar at the HotelContinue reading “Aviation”

Negroni

35ml gin35ml Campari35ml Rinquinquin (or sweet vermouth)IceMixing glassStemless gin balloon glassDehydrated orange slice I’m sharing a favourite to start the weekend along with a bit of cocktail provenance. It’s said that in 1919 while visiting the Caffè Casoni in Florence, Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni asked for his fave cocktail, the Americano (Campari and sweetContinue reading “Negroni”

Classic Martini

70ml ginDash of dry vermouthBittersIceMixing glassMartini glass or coupéLemon twist This is a firm favourite and made on this occasion with two measures of Ableforth’s Bathtub Gin, stirred, wet*, with a lemon twist. Bathtub gin is so named as it was apparently made in the bathtubs of enterprising individuals during the Prohibition Era in theContinue reading “Classic Martini”