This post is sponsored by Boë Gin
I love this time of year; The festivities, the food, the drink, THE COCKTAILS! I say it as though the festive period is the only time I get into cocktail making and drinking, it certainly is not, however it does make a great excuse to do more of it, and so I’m all for it.
As friends and family know all too well, Damien and I love playing host over the festive period. Why venture out in the cold when you can have friends over and stay in and get merry instead. With Christmas fast approaching, we’re already planning food and drink for some of our festive gatherings over the coming weeks, including my all time favourite, New Year’s Eve!
If there’s one thing I love around Christmas time, it’s bringing the party to our home. I love gin and I love cocktails, so I’m really excited to be working with Boë gin on this post, and when they got in touch I instantly knew that I wanted to get my gin loving creative head on and create some fun, festive cocktails to share here on my blog…I can’t take all the credit though, Damien and I both took the time planning (and drinking) these cocktails, so let’s just say that they have been tried and tested. In the process we’ve come up with something to suit each of our tastes and hopefully yours too!
Violet Martini
We thought we’d start with a twist on an old classic, the twist being fabulous flavour from the Boë violet gin of course. Damien likes the more bitter and stronger cocktails and so a martini is right up his street. Whilst the martini making method remains the same as the classic for this cocktail, the Boë violet gin makes for a fun and modern twist. As someone who tends to favour the much sweeter cocktails, even I found myself liking this one, as you can really taste the distinct violet gin coming through.
What you’ll need
• Boë Violet Gin – 50ml
• Vermouth – 15 ml
• Blueberries to garnish
The Method
1. pour the Boë violet gin and vermouth into a mixing glass with ice and stir until cold
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass
3. Garnish with blueberries and serve
Scottish 75
If there’s one drink I love nearly as much as gin, it’s prossecco, so I thought, why not combine the two. This cocktail is very much inspired by the classic, French 75. The original cocktail dates back to World War 1 and was first created in Paris (believe it or not), originally using champagne and gin. I thought a fun twist on this would be to use prosseco and Boë violet gin, bringing it right up to date with modern times. Any ‘why Scottish 75?’, I hear you say! Well, quite simply, Boë gin is made in Scotland and so I thought the name was rather fitting…and I have to say I think I’m on to a winner with this one because it is soooo good! Maybe I’m bias but just try it for yourself and see!
What you’ll need
• Boë violet Gin – 50ml
• Prosecco – 150ml
• Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
• Sugar Syrup – 1 tsp
• Lemon Peel and Morello Cherry to garnish
The Method
1. Pour the Boë violet gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake well until shaker becomes frosty and then strain into a prosecco glass.
3. Top up with prosecco and then gently stir
4. Add lemon zest and morello cherry to garnish
Violet, Orange & Cinnamon Punch
I wanted to create a cocktail that for me really encapsulated the essence of Christmas, as cheesy as that may sound. I love the flavours in mulled drinks around this time of year but I actually tend to favour cold cocktails. I guess this makes this one more of a punch as it’s quite fruity but with a nice hint of cinnamon. Damien and I both really enjoyed this one and Damien in particular named this one as his favourite. I know we’ll be making these again in the very near future that’s for sure.
What you’ll need
• Boë Violet Gin – 50ml
• Tripple Sec – 50ml
• Cranberry Juice – 75ml
• Orange Juice – 75ml
• Cinnamon Stick
• Orange Peel and Cinnamon Powder to garnish
The Method
1. Pour the Boë Violet Gin, triple sec, cranberry juice and orange juice into a cocktail shaker
2. Shake well until shaker becomes frosty
3. Pour into a tumbler glass over ice
4 Add orange peel, a cinnamon stick and sprinkle with cinnamon to garnish
Candy Cane
I really had fun coming up with this one. I wanted to create something that was sweet, festive and fun. Whilst I like my good old classics, I can occasionally be a sucker for a novelty cocktail when I’m out. The best thing about making your own novelty cocktail at home is that you don’t have to pay the fancy cocktail price tag and you can have fun making them for all your friends too. This is the perfect, post Christmas dinner cocktail to impress your family with. I wanted this one to taste like sweets and so I’ve gone for a super sweet concoction and I think it turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself), it actually tastes like a delicious liquified sweety with novelty candy decor to boot.
What you’ll need
• Boë Violet Gin – 50ml
• Raspberry Liquor – 15 ml
• Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
• Suger Syrup – 1 tsp
• Lemonade – 150ml
• Candy Floss and Candy Canes to garnish
The Method
1. Pour the Boë Violet Gin, raspberry liquor, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice
2. Shake well until shaker becomes frosty
3. Once cold, strain into a large gin glass over ice
4. Top up with lemonade
5. Add candy floss and candy canes to garnish
So there we have it, four festive and fun cocktail recipes, brought to you by yours truly, using the deliciously wonderful Boë Violet Gin, with help from my wonderful assistant and hand model, Damien. Right, after all this talk of cocktails I’m off to make myself a Scottish 75, what will you be having?
Samio x
