Campari was the first alcoholic drink to mesmerise me. I was no older than six and, as I stared in wonder at my parent’s collection of liquor bottles stashed under the kitchen sink, it was the elegant Campari bottle that allured me the most. Never mind that it was stored next to our collection of canned beans and sardines: all I could see was an adult world of … [Read more...]
Tommy’s margarita cocktail recipe
My bottle of triple sec has been abandoned on my bookshelf (which stores more liquor than books these days) and the reason is the Tommy’s margarita. This is my new favourite summer cocktail (not that we've had much of a summer) and I can describe it in one line: it’s a margarita that replaces the sugar and triple sec used in normal margaritas with agave syrup. Maybe the … [Read more...]
Amaretto Sour cocktail recipe
I have mixed feelings about the Amaretto Sour. On one hand, it would never make my top 10 list of favourite cocktails and yet – and this is a big yet – drinking one always makes me happy. This conflict is due to its simplicity. There are only two key ingredients – lemon juice and amaretto – and it’s the balance of the lemon’s sourness and the amaretto’s nutty sweetness that … [Read more...]
Ruby Martini cocktail recipe
I tried to be healthy. Really, I did. I was in the supermarket the other day, saw a pink grapefruit, and decided to buy it to make up for my nights of alcohol abuse. But then, tonight, as I saw it sitting forlornly on my kitchen bench, I realised the only way I would ever devour it is in a cocktail. The challenge with pink grapefruit is that it’s not only sour but has a … [Read more...]
Vodka tips from Ketel One’s Bob Nolet
As someone who at 11 read every violent and vicious James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, I always remembered Bond’s tip for drinking vodka (as mentioned in Moonraker): Shake some pepper onto the vodka’s surface and let it slowly settle to the bottom of the glass. Dab the remaining grains still floating with your finger and then drink. In Moonraker James Bond did this in front … [Read more...]