Cocktail Club - Edition Two
As we celebrate connection and togetherness, we're partnering with Spiritland mixologist Hamish Denny to create some special – and sustainable – cocktails to make at home. Combining seasonal ingredients and bar staples with a few trade secrets, the resulting recipes present inspiring ideas, with the aim of bringing people together to foster a sense of connection.
Waste-Not Gimlet
Waste-Not Gimlet
For the third cocktail recipe in our Community series, Hamish Denny talks us through his spin on the traditional gimlet. Usually comprising a simple mix of gin and lime cordial, Hamish's take offers a clever way to use up any wine from a bottle you may not have finished, and preserve it to use in cocktails. It incorporates the citrus peels kept back in the fridge from juicing, and the recipe can work with red or white wine, and even flat Champagne or prosecco.
"The gimlet has been around for a very long time and the story goes that naval officers used to drink their gin rations with lime juice," writes Hamish. "The vitamin C helped to prevent scurvy, and off the back of this, Rose's lime cordial was started, and the gimlet made its way into the cocktail history books."
By using the end of a bottle of wine that might otherwise be wasted, Hamish demonstrates how you can add a few simple ingredients to make a citrus cordial. Stirred into gin or vodka, the result is a gimlet – a refreshing cocktail that thoughtfully makes use of what we have left over. Each wine will impart a slightly different flavour in the finished cocktail, and the addition of verjuice – a sour grape juice from the UK – is ideal for adding a touch of extra acidity.
Ingredients (to make one)
For the citrus wine cordial:
20g citrus peel
200g sugar
400ml leftover wine
3g citric acid*
3g malic acid*
(*You can buy these online, in wholefood or specialty food shops)
For the gimlet:
50ml gin or vodka
10ml verjuice
Lime coin
50:50 mix of salt and sugar
Method
First, to make the wine cordial, blend together the citrus peel with the sugar and leftover wine using a blender. Combine the citric and malic acid and add to the wine and sugar mix. The malic acid will help to bind all of the ingredients together whilst maintaining the natural flavours. Strain the mix, pop it in a bottle and keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Garnish the rim of your chilled cocktail saucer by placing your glass upside down onto a small plate containing the sugar/salt mix. Swirl and remove. Add 30ml of the wine cordial to your glass and 50ml gin or vodka, and stir. We used Plymouth Gin, but any will suit. Finally, add verjuice to taste and a simple lime coin to serve.
Pickled Blackberry Martini
In his final cocktail, Hamish elevates a classic martini with the addition of a pickled summer fruit brine.
Pickled Blackberry Martini
"Pickling has been around for centuries and is perfect for preserving fruit and giving you a taste of summer that lasts well into the colder months," writes Hamish. "You can get ahead by preserving the last of your summer fruits in a pickling brine of salt, vinegar and sugar and simply leaving in the fridge until winter."
For his pickled blackberry martini, Hamish uses Black Cow Vodka – a Dorset-based distillery that reduces waste by using the whey leftover from cheese production – and Audemus Umami Gin which adds a lovely savoury touch.
Ingredients
For the pickled brine:
100ml cider vinegar
200ml water
200g sugar
1 star anise
A handful of coriander seeds and peppercorns
A punnet of blackberries or raspberries
For the martini:
30ml Vault Bianco Vermouth
20ml Audemus Umami Gin
20ml Black Cow Vodka
Method
Firstly, take your martini glass and carefully place it in the fridge or freezer to cool.
To make your pickled brine, add the vinegar, water, sugar, star anise, peppercorns and coriander seeds to a pan. Gently heat, and once it comes to the boil, take it off the heat and allow to cool completely.
Place your berries in a large, clear jar, and then pour in your pickling brine. Store in the fridge until ready to use. We've used blackberries, but most soft fruits will work well.
Add the gin, vodka, vermouth and 10ml of your pickled fruit brine to a mixing glass and stir with ice for around thirty seconds and strain into your chilled martini glass. Add a pickled fruit from your jar to garnish.
Spiritland is a series of spaces in London for music lovers built around excellence in culture, curation and listening. Incorporating a restaurant, café and bar, a radio studio and a shop, Spiritland re-frames the bar and listening experience, delivering music, drinking and dining in a relaxed setting.
Products used: Epoque Cocktail Saucer, Century Martini Glass
