Bartending Techniques
Gregg James Kelly, UK-Based Spirits Writer
Raise your glass to Black History Month and the change makers of the spirits world.
Believe it or not, winter doesn’t have to be a dark, dreary season lacking in happiness and flavour. To consider winter as anything other than a time of decadent opportunity, is a disservice to a season that provides unexplored potential. No other season offers access to quite the same level of luxurious delights, and there’s no better time to embrace the rich, warm, comforting experience of a heated cocktail, created using dazzling, brooding fruits and botanicals only found in the dark heart of winter.
Whether cavorting with coniferous cocktails, savouring Salted Caramel Espresso Martinis, or experiencing a very berry maple mojito, winter is the perfect time to be adventurous and say ”yes” to the excitement of unknown flavours.
Roasting in front of an open log fire? Need a refreshing way to cool down? Why not quench that thirst with a blood orange winter Cosmopolitan, the perfect time to indulge in winter’s most delicious of fruits. Simply swap some cranberry juice for the squeeze from your blood orange, add other standard ingredients (vodka, triple sec, and lime etc), and shake.
The result is a darker, more brooding version of a summer classic. Adding a slice of desiccated blood orange as a garnish will also offer your guests a perfect visual and fragrant delight.
Expecting guests? Prepare to tingle their taste buds with a beautiful Rosemary Gin Fizz. Start by muddling juniper berries, rosemary and frozen blackberries or winter berries. Then add them to your preferred gin, lemon and honey to create a refreshingly unique taste that strays away from the typically overpowering flavour of a gin cocktail. Feel free to top your glass up with soda or tonic.
As already mentioned, winter is the perfect time for expression, and there’s little more expressive than the surprisingly enjoyable flavour of a coniferous cocktail. Typically juniper is the only botanical legally required to be found in gin, however beyond gin itself, winter botanicals have the power to inspire a refreshing twist to cocktails often favoured in other seasons.
The mojito is quite rightly considered one of the most influential cocktails of all time for its simplicity and refreshingly summer zest. However by simply adding clove, cinnamon and star anise, you can create a much darker almost licorice and cinnamon aromatic flavour, perfect for the colder winter months.
All of these spices are typically staples for holiday baking, so it’s time to visit your spice rack once again and try different variations and levels of intensity at home.
As winter is filled with more Christmas films and sugar filled delight, a maple syrup mojito will provide the sugary kick needed to help guide you through the winter months. Simply replacing simple syrup or brown sugar with maple syrup when muddling your standard mojito ingredients, can create a wonderfully sweet and citrus winter delight.
(You can also swap limes for winter berries and create a ‘very berry, maple mojito’)
Fear not, winter isn’t all cold cocktails and fruity flavours, for something a little more warm and comforting, a few heated cocktails can help chase away any cold weather lingering beyond your door.
A Heated and Layered White Russian (with lashings of whipped cream) is a delightful and daring dessert. Simply heat your cream and vodka mix, layer above your coffee liqueur, and add whipped cream (remember no ice).
Similarly, it’s also possible to add warm coffee to your coffee liqueur. This can be another delightfully simple winter treat.
This cocktail is slightly more ambiguous because fans consider it a cocktail sin to tamper with the simplistic and delicious genius of the Espresso Martini, however, be assured to try it is to love it.
Adding warm Salted Caramel Baileys, or any of your favorite Baileys options, to your cold vodka and espresso mix creates a flavour unlike much else available. And adding cream to the top creates an extra level of indulgence.
Winter should be a season to be enjoyed, an excuse to wrap up warm, turn the heating up and embrace and taste flavours you won’t otherwise experience at any other time of year.
Happy cocktail creation.