THREE UNUSUAL AUTUMN GIN COCKTAILS

‘From The Garden’ distillery cocktail demo with vegetable-based gin cocktails

Our Autumn gin cocktail demo introduced bright colours and bold flavours by using ingredients typically found in the veggie patch. We didn’t promise guests would meet their target of five fruits and veg a day, but they did leave having tried three delicious, innovative and easy to make cocktails all based, of course, around our award winning range of Campfire Gins.

Rocket Tourmaline

First up was the Rocket Tourmaline. This is a layered gin cocktail achieved by pouring two separate parts of different sugar densities. Blueberries muddled in Campfire Old Tom Gin create a pinky/purple layer which is carefully poured over the back of spoon to create a floating layer over a mixture of Campfire Old Tom Gin, peach liqueur, lime juice and rocket (arugula) leaves. The higher sugar density in the bottom layer, derived from the peach liqueur, creates a barrier whereby the lighter density blueberry layer sits on top.

The chlorophyll in the rocket imparts a greenish hue which when layered with the pinkish blueberry reminded us of the, sometimes two coloured, tourmaline gemstone, hence the reason why we called it the Rocket Tourmaline.

Recipe

65ml Campfire Old Tom Gin
10ml Peach liqueur
5ml Lime juice
4 Blueberries
7 Rocket leaves

In a small glass muddle the blueberries into 15ml Campfire Old Tom Gin and set to one side.

In a cocktail shaker add the remaining Campfire Old Tom Gin, the peach liqueur, lime juice and rocket leaves. Muddle gently then add ice and shake for 30 seconds. Fine strain into a pre-chilled coupe glass.

Next fine strain the muddled blueberry and Campfire Old Tom Gin mixture on top. Pouring this in over the back of a spoon will allow you to float the liquid creating two layers of colour.

Great for batch making in two separate parts. Layer the parts in glass once you’re ready to serve.

CC’s Magnificent Machine

Fancy a sweetcorn gin cocktail? Infusing sweetcorn into our World Gin Award winning Campfire Cask Aged Gin adds sweetness, butteriness and an even smoother mouthfeel. This, when combined with the sugar sweet and salty notes of the syrup results in a cocktail that tastes like salted caramel in a glass! And who is CC you ask? Well, we’ve named this gin cocktail after Charles Cretor the inventor of the popcorn machine!

Recipe

For the gin
150ml Campfire Cask Aged Gin
75g Fresh or frozen sweetcorn kernels

Defrost (if required) the sweetcorn and pat dry to remove excess water. Roast on a baking tray until golden brown then allow to cool. Add the corn to the Campfire Cask Aged Gin and muddle to break up the corn. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Run through a mesh strainer then a coffee filter paper or fine cheesecloth.

For the syrup
25g Sugar
2g Salt
50ml Water

Add sugar, salt and water to a pan and heat until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from the heat and transfer to a sterile jar.

To make the cocktail
Add 50ml of the corn infused Campfire Cask Aged Gin, 50ml sugar/salt syrup and three cubes of ice to a cocktail can. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds and strain into a pre-chilled coupe glass. Garnish with popcorn – sweet, salty or both!

Beets From The Bronx

As you might have guessed from the name of the cocktail this one features the amazing deep magenta pink colours derived from beetroot.

Our Beets From The Bronx cocktail is a variation of the Bronx cocktail which is a Perfect Martini (gin, sweet vermouth and dry vermouth) with the addition of orange juice. However, for our vegetable-based gin cocktail we have switched the sweet and dry vermouths for a homemade beetroot and tarragon syrup.

Recipe

For the beetroot and tarragon syrup

Peel, wrap in foil and roast three medium beetroots at 180˚C for 45 minutes. Allow to cool. Weigh and add half this weight in water plus the beets to a blender. Whizz until smooth and filter the juice through a muslin cloth.

To a small pan add:

125g Beetroot juice

125g Sugar

20 Tarragon leaves torn in half

Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and small white bubbles appear on the top of the syrup. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled use a mesh strainer and decant into a sterile bottle. This can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.

To make
 the cocktail
60ml Campfire London Dry Gin

10ml Orange juice

10ml Beetroot and tarragon syrup

½ Egg white

Dry shake (no ice) all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker for 30 seconds. Then add a few cubes of ice and wet shake for a further 20 seconds. Fine strain into a pre-chilled martini glass.