Category: Cointreau

Bittersweet Symphony – The Aperol Gin and Tonic

 

People of the world, meet my new favourite drink! Forget the Aperol Spritz,  the Aperol Gin and Tonic is a great drink for summer drinking, or really for any time of the year.

I love G&T’s and Negroni’s and the Aperol Gin and Tonic is kind of a cross between them.  Or, as I like to call it, win-win.

The Aperol Gin and Tonic is slightly sweet, slightly bitter, has great citrus flavour and a lovely complexity from the botanicals in the gin. All of which is a fancy way of saying “It’s delicious…drink up!”

It’s also a very pretty drink!

Aperol G&T

Even though this is called the Aperol Gin and Tonic, there is a surprise ingredient in here which I think rounds out the flavours, ramps up the orange and adds the sweetness….

Aperol G&T2

Yep! Cointreau. Which I am also partial too!  If you wanted to take the Negroni-ness of this up to 11, you could, of course, sub out the Cointreau for some vermouth!

Aperol G&T3

I found the recipe for the Aperol Gin and Tonic in a Waitrose magazine when I was in England earlier this year.  Made it and then promptly lost the recipe.  Luckily it was not hard to remember!

Print

Aperol Gin and Tonic

A delicious take on a G&T

Ingredients

Scale
  • 15ml Gin
  • 15ml Aperol
  • 15 ml Cointreau
  • Tonic Water
  • Ice Cubes

To Garnish

  • Rosemary Sprigs
  • Orange Slices

Instructions

  1. Add ice to a cocktail shaker.
  2. Add the gin, Aperol and Cointreau
  3. Shake, baby, shake.
  4. Add fresh ice cubes and orange slices to a long glass
  5. Add the gin mixture.
  6. Top with tonic water.
  7. Garnish with a rosemary sprig

So good!   The only downside is that it’s going to be very hard to stop myself from making them waaaaaay too often for both my liver and my waistline!

Aperol G&T4

Have a great week!

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Lord Suffolk Cocktail – (Repost from 2017)

Top of the list of my New Year’s Eve libations this year was a cheeky little  cocktail called the Lord Suffolk.

Lord Suffolk CocktailFeatured in the classic Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, the Lord Suffolk is a gin based cocktail and believe me, it is deeelicious!!!! It’s so good!

On top of the gin you have herby notes from vermouth, citrus from Cointreau and a nutty flavour from Maraschino liqueur.

This will however knock you flat if you have more than one though so go easy!

I’ve included a cautionary tale via some dating tips from the 1930’s  to guide you in the correct etiquette of dealing with the Lord Suffolk so why not make yourself one, sit back, sip up an enjoy!

First Impressions

1930's dating 1

 

Him:  Is that a nip I see before me?  Mummy warned me about loose non-brassièred women like you. Must.  Avert.  Eyes.   OMG, you’ve also got cankles!

Her: Calm down, that’s just my wrinkled stockings.

Pre – Date Chit Chat

Her:  I wish I could just tug my girdle around a little bit.  I feel it’s making me sit awkwardly.  Good thing I have a jawful of Stay Calm Chewing gum or I’d be ready to bury an axe in your boring AF head.

Him:  If you snap your gum at me one more time, I’m going to strangle you with my pristine white handkerchief.  And BTW you sit like a truck driver with elephantiasis of the testicles. It’s making me weirdly horny.

Out and About

1930's dating 2

 

Him:  Mummy gave me that hankie.  She washed and ironed it specially for me, and now it’s RUINED, you harlot!

Her: If only this was the 21st century where the object I am holding would be a mobile phone and not a compact.  I could

a) send a selfie to my bestie asking her if she thinks I should have worn a brassière tonight and,

b) ask her to call me to say she’s had a girdle tugging emergency and needs me to come immediately.

One Lord Suffolk Later

Lord Suffolk Cocktail2Her:  This is the best drink I’ve ever had.  Let’s go dance one of those new-fangled jitterbugs!

Him:  You know, you’re not so bad after all.  Waiter, another round of these delightful Lord Suffolk cocktails!

The Dance Floor

1930's dating 3

 

Her: You put the boom-boom into my heart, You send my soul sky high when your lovin’ starts
Jitterbug into my brain, Goes a bang-bang-bang ’til my feet do the same.  (RIP George Michael!)

Him:  STFU!  How do you expect me to concentrate on perfecting my moves like Jagger when your incessant idiotic ramblings prevent me from hearing the beat?  And whose hat is that?

Two Lord Suffolk’s Later

Her: I love you Lord Suffolk, you’re my best friend.

Him: I hate you.  And whose fucking hat is that?

Three Lord Suffolk’s Later

Her: Zzzzzzzz

Him: Dear Mummy, you were right, all women are drunken sluts…

Random Double Breasted Suit Wearing Stranger: My hat!  Mamma  Mia!! What has she done to my hat?

Print

Lord Suffolk Cocktail

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5/8 Gin – I used Beefeater
  • 1/8 Italian Dry Vermouth*
  • 1/8 Cointreau
  • 1/8 Luxardo Maraschino
  • Lemon Peel to garnish

Instructions

  1. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  2. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel.

Notes

  • *The original recipe used sweet vermouth. I tried with both sweet and dry and preferred the dry. Use your preference.

Have a great week and whatever you do, keep your dignity.  And don’t tug your girdle.
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History Happy Hour 1983 – The Kiwi

This week in History Happy Hour we are celebrating my home town and the running of the Melbourne Cup with this delicious Kiwi Cocktail.

kiwi cocktail 1First run in 1861, the Melbourne Cup is the richest “two-mile” handicap race in the world, and one of the richest turf races.  It is, in Australia, the race that stops a nation.

It is run on the first Tuesday in November each year and here in Melbourne, we get a day off from work for the Cup.  A sneaky Tuesday off work?  Now that’s worth celebrating!

kiwi cocktail 2

The Kiwi Cocktail also specifically celebrates the 1983 winner of the cup, Kiwi.  Why are we celebrating 1983?  Well…you try finding a cocktail called Archer (first winner) or Protectionist (last year’s winner).  And if you do, send them my way!

And kiwi fruit are super delicious.  And very healthy.  So, you get a teeny bit of detoxing even as you are toxing.  And that can’t be a bad thing.

Don’t let the pretty green colour of the Kiwi Cocktail fool you either.  With 75ml of booze in it, The Kiwi has a kick like a prize-winning stallion!  So drink it responsibly…remember the Cup is a race for stayers not sprinters!

PSA over,  this is delicious and perfect for a lovely Spring afternoon as long as you take it easy!

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Happy drinking and good luck if you have a flutter!

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