The Kit
Do you have any favourite summer cocktails that you could
recommend?
Lloyd: I love a Tom Collins; a simple mix of gin, lemon and soda with a
touch of sugar to balance. There are so many different twists that you can
do to keep it seasonal – try our lavender and smoke version for something a
little bit different.
Get creative
with your
garnishes
Can you suggest a range of spirits that people need in their
drinks cabinet?
David: Start with the classics. I would get gin, vodka, dry vermouth, sweet
vermouth, whisky, rum, tequila, amaro and Angostura bitters.
Beefeater gin has a higher ABV than Gordons so is better in cocktails, but
my favourite gin is Tarquins and it makes a great Martini.
Vodka, start with Stolichnaya as, bang for your buck, it’s the best there is.
Tequila is starting to get more popular and more expensive but there’s a
lot of bad tequila out there. The most important thing with tequila is to get
something that is 100% agave – I like Ocho.
Rum is my favourite spirit and is the most diverse. My favourite rums are
El Dorado, Appleton and Plantation. Start with El Dorado 3Y.O as it makes a
great Daiquiri but go with Appleton Signature for a Mojito.
Whisky, start with a good blend like Johnny Walker Black. Just remember
all malts are blended so don’t stay away from blends – they used to have a
bad reputation but this isn’t the case anymore
You need a dry and sweet vermouth. The one big mistake with vermouth
is people don’t keep them in the fridge and they keep them way too long. If
you don’t like vermouth you’ve probably have never had it fresh or chilled.
I would try getting a half bottle as it will be easier to get through it in three
months. Martini is a good starting point but I also like Noilly Prat as a dry
and Cinzano 1757 as a sweet.
On top of this, you will need a bottle of Angostura bitters. Think of
cocktail bitters as the spice rack of cooking. There are a couple of liqueurs
and amaros that we like to stock as they are important in a lot of classics
– triple sec like Briottet or Cointreau, Campari, Green Chartreuse, Fernet
Branca and Maraschino Liqueur.
What about tonics?
Fever Tree say two-thirds of your drink is your mixer so why do you buy a
cheap tonic to go in your expensive gin? I would agree as you find with a lot
of cheaper brands they add a lot of additives. But nowadays there are a lot
of other good brands and they all taste different. Fever Tree does dominate
now but Double Dutch are good as are 1724.
How about natural ingredients? Should you be looking to
incorporate these into cocktails and what’s good right now?
Mint, strawberries, etc...
It’s great to use seasonal
local produce, but you do
need citrus flavours in many
summer cocktails
David: Yes definitely. We try to work with the seasons as much as possible.
Mint, if you can grow it, it’s so easy and there are so many different types
– start with peppermint and try chocolate mint. I also love borage – it’s
traditionally what would go in a Pimms instead of cucumber. Strawberries
are my favourite fruit – we make these into a puree with a tiny bit of sugar
to make strawberry and elderflower Bellinis.
Elderflower cordial is so easy to make and if you freeze it, it will last all
year. I also like using lemon verbena in drinks as it smells like lemon
drops. My advice would be to collect as much seasonal local fruit and herbs
as you can.
Try making infusions – put cut-up strawberries in a jar and top with rum
and leave it for six months. Just like making sloe gin, but try it with different
berries and spirits.
You need ice, too
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