Archive for the 'Recipes' Category

Is there anything better than an Espresso Martini to kick off a party? It’s the perfect balance of caffeine to give you a good kick for the rest of the evening, silky smooth coffee and a nice slug of booze to relax those hard working shoulders. Don’t drink too many, mind, or you might find yourself wide awake at 3am wondering if you should get up and clear away from the night before… ahem, not speaking from experience or anything!

I first got into Espresso Martinis when my big brother decided to whip one up when we were all hanging out round at his place; Dan prepares an espresso from his Nespresso machine and adds it to a cocktail shaker with ice, vodka and Kahlua coffee liqueur. It’s a pretty epic Espresso Martini and I love his little addition of coffee beans sprinkled onto the foam topped glass. We also tried some Nespresso pods with a hint of caramel, which took away some of the bitterness making it easier to drink.

Every time I see an Espresso Martini on the menu now I just have to give it a try and send a picture to Dan for comparison. Last time we were up in Carlisle I tested out a version with amaretto in from Open Mind, which was pretty solid, but still not quite up to the standards of my brother’s concoction (don’t tell him that, it will go straight to his head!). I did, however, try a cracking version at Gorilla in Manchester that has Cafe Patron in the mix and that one shot straight to the top of my list. I bloody love a Cafe Patron (coffee flavoured tequila) on the rocks and I have been urging Dan to throw it into his Espresso Martini. Turns out I was right on that one… little sisters are always right, though! Cheers! x xx

We’re not short of a Mexican night or two in our family, in fact sometimes it seems like we just hop around from one weekend to the next, eating Mexican food at a different person’s house and that is just my ultimate dream! Haha.

I usually only break the cocktails out at Christmas, but thebar asked me to try out some of their Summer cocktails to share with you guys and now I make a mean Mojito! Traditionally a Mojito is a Cuban drink so it will go great with tapas too, but I’m definitely bringing that bad boy along with me to our next Mexican night feast!

To make a solid Mojito, you will need:

White Rum (I went for Captain Morgan because it looks the coolest… call me shallow if you will!)
Caster Sugar
Limes
Fresh Mint
Soda Water
Crushed Ice

Pop along to thebar for the full Mojito recipe, but here’s my little run down. I made ours in these fancy whiskey glasses I inherited from my Great Uncle, but you could use any tall glass, jar or tumbler that can hold plenty of ice.

If you’ve watched any bartender worth his salt make a cocktail you’ll know to start by filling your glasses with ice to make them super cool and cold (you’ll thank me later after all those jalapenos!), then pop the ice to one side while you throw in a bunch of lime wedges and a two teaspoons of caster sugar. Give them a good mush in the bottom of the glass, add a handful of fresh mint and mush that in too.

Pop your ice back in to about the 3/4 mark. Crushed ice is way better as you’ll fit more in and it’s so easy to prepare. Throw some into a bag and give it a couple of whacks with a rolling pin.

Now for booze! Add in your white rum (I’m a double measures kind of gal, but don’t forget to drink responsibly) and a dash of soda water to taste. We found that less is more when it comes to soda water as it has quite a bland taste if you overdo it.

Top up your glass with ice and add some more mint leaves and a lime wedge to make it super pretty! Serve with nachos and as much spice and cheese as you can get your hands on for the perfect Mexican night in.

We also tried the Mint Julep, one of my ultimate favourite cocktails for a Summer afternoon and it turned out great. I had no idea where to get sugar syrup from, but they just had it at our local supermarket. It’s very similar to the Mojito, but if you’re a bourbon drinker you’ll love the sharp taste of the whiskey against the super sweet sugar and mint.

What’s your favourite cocktail? Recipes please!! Loves x xx