Nail these two cocktail recipes while perfecting your own raspberry cordial.
There is a real science to cocktail making.
Whether that is dehydrating fruit for garnish, understanding flavour profiles or making your own ingredients, it is more than likely the cocktail recipes you follow will have taken weeks, if not months, to perfect.
Caorunn Gin, which is made at Highland distillery, Balmenach Distillery, in Grantown-on-Spey, has teamed up with world-class mixologist, Walter Pintus, to curate a selection of the ultimate summer cocktails.
The first, An Afternoon in the Highlands, is a sophisticated take on the classic gin and tonic.
While this cocktail involves a little extra TLC, making your own raspberry cordial will allow you to understand just some of the science behind this floral drink which boasts a slight smokiness to it.
The Celtic Remedy is a refreshing, fruity drink that is easily sipped on a summer’s day and is best enjoyed with fresh blackberries added on top.
An Afternoon in the Highlands
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 40ml Caorunn gin
- 30ml raspberry cordial (You’ll need: 500g caster sugar, 1 litre water and 200g raspberries)
- 25ml lemon juice
- 40ml tonic water
- 2ml peat whisky
- Garnish: Wildflowers
Method
- To make the raspberry cordial: Stir together 500g of caster sugar with one litre of water and 200g raspberries in a pan. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool down, strain and refrigerate.
- To make the drink: Stir all the ingredients with ice and serve in a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with wildflowers.
Cocktail Tip from Walter: This straightforward recipe can be built directly in the glass, over ice cubes. If you don’t have a measure, you can use the screw cap from a bottle, which takes roughly 10ml of liquid.
Celtic Remedy
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 30ml Caorunn Gin
- 10ml Campari
- 2.5ml cider vinegar
- ¼ apple
- 1 blackberry
- 10ml sugar syrup
- Garnish: Blackberries and a mint spring (optional)
Method
- In a shaker, muddle the apple and the blackberry together. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake.
- Double strain over ice and garnish with a blackberry, and the mint if you desire.
Cocktail Tip from Walter: If you don’t have a shaker, a clean, empty jar will do the job, just remember to seal it before you start shaking – and be sure to strain all the fruit out before serving.