SODA & SPRITZ GIN COCKTAILS

Summer distillery cocktail demo

Huge thank you to everyone who came to our July Distillery Campfire Gin Cocktail Demo. The format of the day is that we run two sessions, one at 1pm and one at 3pm. Each session is the same and Ben presents three cocktails based around our chosen cocktail demo theme. While Ben is making the cocktails and going into a bit of history about each one guests are served mini versions of the cocktails to enjoy.

Distillery cocktail demo criteria

For these events we devise and choose cocktail recipes based on a few criteria.

• How well does the recipe showcase our gin?
• How many ingredients are required and can they be easily obtained?
• Would most people already have the required equipment at home?
• Can the cocktail be batch-made or partially batch-made in advance so it can be easily replicated at home or for an event?

Gin cocktails with soda, ginger ale and sparkling wine

Our latest cocktails were themed around soda and spritz cocktails. Designed to highlight that gin can be used in other carbonated cocktails in addition to the classic G&T.

First up was the Pineapple Tom Collins featuring our limited edition Campfire Cask Aged Cacao Gin. Shaken with ice and pineapple juice and served over ice topped with soda water. It’s a delicious, cooling alternative to a Mint Julep which, by the way, is amazing with Campfire Old Tom Gin.

Next Ben demonstrated mixing up a Carrot Gin Spritz. We whizzed our own carrot juice in the Nutri-Bullet Ben purchased for healthy smoothies but seems to have only ever used on our cocktail demos but you can buy carrot juice to make life easy! Dry shake with Campfire London Dry Gin (adds an orangey note), ginger syrup and lemon juice. Strain into a rocks glass and add a carrot curl and parsley garnish.

Our third and final cocktail of the day was a Sparkling Bee’s Knees. A carbonated version of the classic Bee’s Knees – Campfire London Dry Gin, honey syrup and lemon juice topped with sparkling wine. We chose to use Cava for its sweeter qualities.

As well as making and presenting the three cocktails Ben was full of knowledge of the difference between soda water, sparkling water, seltzer and sparkling mineral water, how a Tom Collins differs from a John Collins and where the phrases bee’s knees, kipper’s knickers and cat’s pyjamas came from!

Both audience sessions voted the Carrot Gin Spritz as the favourite so if you fancy giving it go check out the recipes below.

Pineapple Tom Collins

Serve with either our special edition Campfire Cask Aged Cacao Gin or our World Gin Award England’s Best Matured Gin winning Campfire Cask Aged Gin. We favour the chocolately cacao version of the gin paired with the pineapple but as it’s only a special edition chances are it’s sold out!

Recipe

50ml Campfire Cask Aged Cacao Gin
100ml Pineapple juice
Soda water
Ice

Add the gin and pineapple juice to a cocktail shaker and stir with ice until chilled. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice and top with soda water. Garnish with fresh blueberries.

Combine the gin, honey syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain into a coupe and top up with the Cava sparkling wine.

Carrot Gin Spritz

A vegetable gin spritz cocktail where we combine gin, carrot juice and a splash of ginger ale. If you wanted to pep it up a bit switch the ginger ale for ginger beer. The orange citrus notes of the Campfire London Dry Gin bring out the flavour in the carrot juice.

Recipe

50ml Campfire London Dry Gin
50ml Fresh carrot juice
25ml Fresh lemon juice
25ml Ginger syrup
Ginger ale
Ice

Add the gin, carrot juice, lemon juice and ginger syrup to a cocktail shaker without ice and dry shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with ginger ale and garnish with parsley.

Sparkling Bee’s Knees

This Sparkling Bee’s Knees is a spritz version of the classic gin sour Bee’s Knees cocktail which was first introduced to the world at the Ritz Hotel in Paris in the 1920s.

Recipe

50ml Campfire London Dry Gin
50ml Honey syrup (25ml honey mixed with 25ml warm water, allow to cool)
15ml Fresh lemon juice
Cava sparkling wine
Ice

Combine the gin, honey syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain into a coupe and top up with the Cava sparkling wine.