Our Fave Lockdown Liqueurs
If you're planning a FaceWine (aka. sipping a glass of wine while on FaceTime) with the girls to keep up the Friday night drinks tradition, we've put together a little list of cocktails to spice things up!
You should be able to make (or adapt) each recipe with what you have at home. It's prime time for creativity! Show us your creations by tagging @neighbourhoodkitchen_ on Instagram, or flick us a message on Facebook.
Cucumber Mint Gin & Tonic
Recipe by heatherchristo.com
Ingredients
8 Tablespoons Mint Syrup (see below)
8 Tablespoons Gin
Chilled Tonic Water
4 Lime Wedges
4 Persian Cucumbers, sliced paper thin lengthwise
Mint Syrup
1 Cup Mint, loosely packed
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Water
Instructions
For Mint Syrup:
Add everything to a small pot and bring to a simmer, cooking for 3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a blender and puree on high and then strain (or don’t if you don’t mind little bits of mint) into a mason jar. Refrigerate until chilled.
For Cocktail:
Thinly slice Persian cucumbers lengthwise. You could slice them with a really sharp knife or on a mandoline. Wrap them around the inside of a glass- they will naturally stick to the sides.
Add 2 tablespoons of the mint syrup to the bottom of each glass.
Squeeze the lime wedge into the syrup.
Add the gin and then fill the glass with ice cubes and top with the tonic water. Garnish with a little fresh mint if desired.
Blueberry Mojitos
Recipe by thenovicechef.com
Ingredients
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries, plus extra for garnish
120ml Clear Rum
10 Fresh Mint Leaves
2 Teaspoons Sugar
Juice of 2 Limes
180ml Club Soda
Ice
Directions
In a food processor or blender, puree blueberries until smooth. Set aside.
Add mint leaves and sugar to a cocktail shaker. Use a muddler (or the end of a wooden spoon) to muddle the mint and sugar. Add the lime juice, rum and pureed blueberries: shake vigorously.
Pour ice and club soda into two tall glasses and then pour in rum mixture. Gently stir. Garnish with a lime wedge, extra blueberries and a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
Recipe Note: If you do not feel like pureeing your blueberries, just add them to the shaker and smash them with your muddler. It’s faster, just not as pretty of an end result.
Spanish Coffee
Recipe by blossomtostem.net
Ingredients
Sugar, for rimming the glass
Water, for rimming the glass
10ml 151-proof (overproof) Rum
15ml Triple Sec
50ml Coffee Liqueur, such as Kahlua or Tia Maria
90ml Hot Coffee, freshly brewed
Lightly Whipped Cream, for garnish
Freshly Grated Nutmeg, for garnish
Instructions
Put some sugar in a shallow bowl. Put some water in another shallow bowl. Dip the rim of the glass in the water and then into the sugar to make a band of sugar around the rim (both on the inside and outside). Add the rum and triple sec to the glass, and light with a match or lighter.
Hold the glass by the stem at an angle and let the flame heat the sugar around the rim and twirl the glass until the sugar begins to bubble and caramelize. It usually takes about a minute. Make sure you're using a stemmed glass!
Add the coffee liqueur and the coffee. Top with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg.
Serve immediately.