Lavender Cocktails

Lavender Highball Glasses available on Etsy

I am always on the look out for new cocktail inspiration and last week it came from Gin Monkey, whose fabulous website gives independent and impartial reviews of  cocktail bars in the UK and around the world. I am an avid user of twitter and was following the exploits of @GinMonkeyUK, tweeting about cocktail bars in Prague and in particular, the Hemmingway Bar where one of the drinks on offer was a Lavender Martini. As a huge fan of anything with lavender in, this instantly got my attention and I set to work, tracking down lavender to make lavender syrup, full details of which you can find by going to my Lavender Syrup post.

Having made the lavender syrup, the first recipe I tried was a classic martini with the addition of lavender syrup. I have to admit that I am not a lover of neat spirits, hence my love of cocktails and whilst I can appreciate the nuances of a neat gin for tasting purposes, I would find it hard to drink a whole shot. Therefore, I am perhaps not best placed to judge this impartially, but I have to be honest, this was a tough drink to get through. Gin is very aromatic and the lavender syrup is very floral. Combined with only a little vermouth and bitters, no amount of shaking will disguise the fact that there is a lot of alcohol in there. The result, I have to say was a bit like drinking your grandmother's perfume. That said, I did drink it all, albeit, very slowly and if you are a fan of the classic gin martini (and/or Yardley), then do give it a whirl. I am definitely going to experiment a little more with some of the more classic cocktails and see if I can't educate my palate.

Lavender Martini

Ingredients

2 1/2 oz gin (I used Hendricks)
1/2 oz dry vermouth (I used Noilly Prat Dry)
1/2 oz lavender syrup
dash of orange bitters

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass

Slightly deflated by my result, I decided to try another recipe, loosely based on the martini, using home made vanilla vodka. You can find out how to make it in my Vanilla Vodka post. Don't worry, it's ridiculously straight forward. The resultant drink here, was far more to my taste. The vanilla vodka has a slight natural sweetness and a little earthiness that is a suprise hit with lavender which is used to a lesser degree in this recipe. The lemon juice works very well with lavender and gives the whole drink a nice sweet/sour balance. For me, this was a big hit and my independent tester, neighbour Amy (Mr TG is away), enjoyed it too. She did comment that it too, was reminiscent of Yardley, but not in a bad way.

Lavender Martini Glasses available on Etsy

Vanilla, Lavender Martini

Ingredients

1 1/2oz vanilla vodka
1/2oz lemon juice
1/4oz lavender syrup

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass

Lavender Martini Glasses available on Etsy

This next cocktail is a great, refreshing drink that marries together the obvious pairing of lemon and lavender. It makes a fantastic non-alcoholic drink, minus the alcohol and is delicious with either gin or vodka. I have chosen to go with gin on this occasion as the botanicals that flavour gin really add more depth to the drink. I wanted to try a different gin this week and so tested Blackwoods Vintage Gin, made using botanicals from the Shetland Isles. The gin is very competitively priced and really does deliver. The label stated that amongst other things, it was distilled using violet and water mint, both of which I could discern from sipping it neat. It was slightly floral and fresh and seemed perfect for this drink.

Go to Blackwood's Gin

Lemon and Lavender Cooler

Ingredients

2oz Blackwoods Gin
10z lemon juice
1/2oz lavender syrup
sparkling water

Add the gin, lemon and lavender to the shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass with ice
Top up with sparkling water

Lavender Highball Glasses available on Etsy

Keeping with the long drinks, in the hope that the sun will start shining again and I can sit in the garden, sipping iced cocktails, this next drink mixes vodka with dark, berry fruits, lavender and citrus. It is quite sweet, depending on how much sparkling water you use to top it up. For my tastes, I would only half fill the highball with ice, leaving more room to add sparkling water, making a longer, more refreshing drink.

Lavender Berry Cooler

Ingredients

1 1/2oz vodka
1/4oz creme de cassis
1/2oz lavender syrup
1oz lime juice
6 blueberries

Muddle (squish) the blueberries in the bottom of a shaker with the lime juice. If you don't have a muddler, then improvise with a pestle or handle of a cooking implement.
Add the vodka, cassis and lavender syrup to the shaker.
Half fill with ice and shake vigorously before straining into a highball glass, half filled with ice.
Top up with sparkling water.

Butterfly Highball Glasses available on Etsy

Finally, and this is a first for Toasted Glass, I have made a whisky cocktail, loosely based on a Rusty Nail (whisky and drambuie), which is one of the few ways I have ever been able to stomach Scotland's finest. It is a shameful admission that as a Scot myself, I have no love for the whisky, but a cocktail is an incredible thing, that done correctly, can really turn flavours around. Because I wanted to add sweetness and warmth to the whisky, I chose to mix it with King's Ginger, which, if you follow this blog, you'll know I am a fan of it's sweet, earthy warmth. Knowing that I like the lemon and honey of a hot toddy, I was fairly confident that lemon and lavender syrup would work with the whisky. I deliberately chose a whisky with a sweeter flavour and honey overtones, but decided to go for miniatures as I'm not quite ready to embrace whisky wholeheartedly. This Jura 10yr old whisky definitely has a sweet finish to it, but one sip was enough to tell me that I've a long way to go before I'm able to drink it neat. My late gramps would turn in his grave if he knew what I'd done to a good single malt...

Go to Jura Whisky

Summer Toddy

Ingredients

1 1/2oz Jura 10 yr old whisky (or similarly sweet)
1/2oz King's Ginger
1/2oz lavender syrup
3/4oz lemon juice

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled tumbler

White Stag Tumblers available on Etsy

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked this and who knows, maybe, in the same way as I have been with tequila, I'll be persuaded to choose it more often. I'm not sure what whisky purists would make of it, but I think anyone who enjoys a whisky with a mixer, will approve.

Next week, I'll be looking at cocktails to impress your father with, on Father's day, so probably a little less of pink drinks and glasses with butterflies and possibly a little more whisky - who knows....

Have a great weekend and drink safely x

All of the spirits and liqueurs listed are available to buy at Amathus Drinks (see link to their shop on the  left of the page) or similarly high quality purveyors of wines and spirits.

Vanilla Vodka

Like all infusions, vanilla vodka is very straightforward to make and the result is worth waiting a few days for. Using vanilla pods gives an earthy undertone that is reminiscent of pipe tobacco and a hint of sweetness that makes the vodka very smooth to drink. In fact, it was so great, I decided to make some more so I could make more delicious Vanilla, Lavender Martinis. This recipe will make 6 x 1oz shots - if you wish to make more, just scale up the quantities, adding one vanilla pod for every 150 ml of vodka,

Vanilla Vodka

Ingredients

150 ml vodka
1 vanilla pod (whole)

Score the length of the vanilla pods with a sharp knife and open out slightly to reveal the seeds

Add the pods and vodka to a clean, airtight container and close the lid.

Leave for a minimum of five days, swirling the container gently, each day

The vodka will become progressively darker each day

After five days, or more, if you can wait, your vodka will be ready to strain

Pour the vodka through a coffee filter paper, into a jug and that's it. 

Now you can get mixing or enjoy it chilled and neat if you prefer.

Lavender Syrup

Lavender syrup is so easy to make and is a delicate, floral ingredient that can be used in a number of cocktails. I have put together a selection in my Lavender Cocktails post that all use this delicious syrup. It will keep in the fridge for at least a week and to be honest, probably a lot longer, but you can scale the ratios up and down to make more or less as you please. Also, if you omit the lavender, you have the recipe for simple syrup, which I use all the time the majority of cocktails I make.

Lavender Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp lavender flowers

If you use fresh lavender flowers, try to pick the ones that have plenty of colour but aren't fully open. Alternatively, you can use dried culinary lavender as I did. I bought mine online from Lavenderworld.

1 1/2 tbsp dried lavender

1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water

Add water and lavender to the pan 

Bring to the boil and stir in sugar until fully dissolved

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins

Remove from heat and allow to cool

Pour into a bottle or air tight container and keep in fridge

Click here for delicious Lavender Cocktail Recipes

The Grey Fox Cocktail

Go to Bespoke Cocktail Service on Etsy

Last week, I put my mixology skills to good use and created a bespoke cocktail for style blogger and twitter friend, Grey Fox.

Mr GF writes a most excellent blog, Grey Fox Blog aimed at the older gentleman and by that, I  mean, over forty, providing style inspiration and challenging the fashion industry's obsession with youth. As he quite rightly points out, there is a large, affluent market of middle aged men that the fashion industry fails to address by aiming their advertisting at the younger generation. Large fashion houses and high street retailers alike, are wont to use young models to advertise to a market that is made up, in part of men over forty. Grey Fox uses his blog to highlight these issues and his growing reputation has given him the opportunity to ask those in the fashion industry, why they are blind to such a large demographic.

His blog provides a wealth of style inspiration for the older man, with the emphasis on quality and where possible, championing exceptionally well made, British goods from new UK companies.

So what kind of cocktail do you make for a very stylish man with a penchant for Harris tweed, a colourful sock and expertly polished brogues?

Well, the first step, obviously, was to ask him what spirits and flavours he liked and having established that his preference was for gin and lime, I went from there. I wanted to create something with a British heritage, a traditional feel and preferably, a grey colour. Luckily for me, gin already has a great British background and Hendricks fitted the bill perfectly.

 It is distilled in Britain and bottled in very stylish but very traditional, black, stoneware bottles. I added to the mix, King's Ginger, a warming, sweet, but spicy liqueur with a very British heritage.

 The final touch was a few drops of Creme de Violette, not terribly British, I'll grant you, but essential for that all important grey hue. In the bottle, it is deep violet colour, but in moderation it produces a wonderful silver grey.

 It can be quite tricky to get hold of in this country, but you can buy all of the ingredients you require from Amathus Drinks (there is a permanent link to their online store on the left of the page) or similarly high quality alcohol retailers.

This was the basis for the cocktail which I bottled and sent out with instructions on how to make a martini style cocktail by adding lime and shaking over ice. This could then be adapted to a  long drink, by serving over ice and topping up with Fever Tree tonic water.

This week, I has the pleasure of meeting up with Mr Grey Fox and assured me that the cocktail had got the GF family seal of approval, having been rigorously tested by himself and his his wife and son. In fact, he had been inspired to buy a bottle of Kings Ginger so he could make more and having tested it myself, I can vouch for it wholeheartedly.

If you would like to have a bespoke cocktail created for you or as a gift for someone else, click here for details.

Go to Bespoke Cocktail Service

The Grey Fox Cocktail

Ingredients

1oz Hendricks gin
3/4oz Kings Ginger
1/4oz Creme de Violette
1oz fresh lime juice

Martini Method

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and half fill with ice
Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Highball Method

Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker
Shake vigorously and strain into a highball glass or large tumbler filled with ice and top up with Fever Tree tonic water

Please do try this delicious cocktail and if you are wondering what to do with the rest of the Kings Ginger, should you buy a whole bottle, why not try a Knock Down Ginger or a King's Chase from my Alfresco Cocktails post. 

Bespoke Cocktail Service

Go to Bespoke Cocktail Service on Etsy

So what is a Bespoke Cocktail Service?

I will create a tailor made cocktail, based on the answers given to questions pertaining to your lifestyle and drinks preferences. When the cocktail is designed, you will receive a recipe and full instructions on how to create your drink at home. You will also receive a handwritten letter from me, explaining why I chose your specific blend. The recipe and letter will be accompanied by a hand painted miniature bottle containing a free sample of the alcohol required to make your drink. The design on the miniature bottle can be used to reflect your personality and you can choose from the motifs available on my range of shot glasses, or you can design your own.

from a wide selection of shot glasses on Etsy

If you are creating a cocktail to represent your company brand, I can paint your logo on to the bottle by hand. You will need to provide me with clear artwork that I can use as a reference.
The order does not include the perishable elements of the cocktail such as fruit or mixers, but the instructions will be clear as to what must be added and there will be nothing that is not readily available in larger food stores.

This service can be used to create a thoughtful and memorable gift for anyone who is partial to the occasional (or frequent) cocktail and is also a fantastic way to represent a company brand. With Father's Day on the horizon, this would be a perfect gift and what cocktail lover wouldn't be thrilled to receive a tailor made cocktail on their birthday?

The price shown does not include a bespoke glass, but you can order one to match the design on the bottle or pick one from the large range of cocktail glasses and tumblers available. Prices range from £8 - £15. Please contact me to discuss your requirements. Once you have paid for your order, please allow 1 week until dispatch.

Unfortunately this service is only available in the UK.
Overseas customers can order a bespoke cocktail recipe with instructions, handwritten letter and glass. Please contact me through Etsy if you would like to discuss this further.

The basic price for this service is £40. 

You can see the full details of the bespoke Grey Fox Cocktail  here, if you would like to see an example.

I can begin the process of creating your bespoke cocktail as soon as you complete the questionnaire.

Click here to take survey

All orders must be paid for before work can commence. When I have received your response and payment through the link to Etsy, it should take between 5-7 days to receive your bespoke cocktail.

Mother's Ruin

After veering seriously off piste with last weeks selection of Alpine Inspired, Genepi cocktails, I thought I'd bring it back closer to home and what can be more British than gin?

 Well, quite a lot apparently, as gin actually originated in Europe in the middle ages, as a kind of moonshine liquor, flavoured with juniper berries, distilled by monks, no doubt looking for a little entertainment to relieve the tedium of endless chanting and scratchy robes. In fact, gin didn't appear in England until the early 17th century, but it's popularity soon took hold when, due to the heavy duty imposed on imported spirits, gin shops sprang up all over London. Cheap gin was considered to be the root cause of many the social problems facing the poor and was famously depicted by Hogarth in his series' of engravings, including, Gin Lane (seen below).

These days, gin has become a drink for the discerning tippler, with a vast array of wonderful distillations to choose from. The wonderful Hendricks gin has a distinctive flavour, due to the botanicals used in it's distillation and the infusion of rose and cucumber which may well make it a wonderful facial toner too, although, perhaps best not to try that out.. Other notable gins include Tanqueray and of course, Gordons; a bottle of which is always in my drinks arsenal, as it is the favoured beverage of the in laws. So, for the purposes of this week's blog, I am using, the eternally popular, Gordons, although should anyone (ahem, take note Mr TG) wish to gift me a bottle of Hendricks, I would love to try out some other fabulous gin cocktails.

For a mind boggling selection of gins, including Hendricks (pictured), Tanqueray and the amusingly named range from Van Wees. visit Amathus Drinks , either online or at one of their London stores.

Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to my constant little helper, who assists me in all my mixology, but to date, has remained behind the scenes. He's a perfect 1 oz shot glass and is invaluable in measuring out all the ingredients.

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The first cocktail I tested, was the Earl Grey Martini, a drink that sounded like my perfect cocktail, combining the flavours of Earl Grey tea, lemon and gin - what's not to love? And sure enough, it was a triumph - a delicious and refreshing marriage of flavours that left me wishing I had infused more gin so I could 'test' another one! The infusing bit does require a little forethought, but is in no way complicated. 

Earl Grey Martini

Ingredients

2 oz gin

1 level tsp good quality earl grey tea

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz sugar syrup

3/4 oz egg white

Ahead of mixing, pour the gin into a glass and sprinkle over the loose tea.

Allow to infuse for 2 hours and then strain, discarding the tea leaves.

Separate the egg white from the yolk and set aside the white 

Place the egg white, lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker

Whisk until frothy, then fill the shaker with ice and add the strained gin

Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass

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Next up was the Aviation cocktail. My decision to include this was mostly led by last week's purchase of Creme de Violette and Luxardo's Maraschino liqueur from Just Miniatures, two unusual ingredients, that happily, both feature in this classic cocktail.

A selection of miniatures which can be purchased from Just Miniatures - perfect for trying out cocktails, without committing to a huge bottle.

The Aviation first appeared in print in a book by New York barman, Hugo Ensslin in 1916. The drink called for London Dry Gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and Creme de Violette. The drink's name was in reference to the emerging era of flight, a truly monumental advance for mankind that was initiated only a few years previously by the Wright brothers. The addition of Creme de Violette gives a sky blue tinge to the drink and it's association with flight, gave it a modernity that it made it a popular choice. Today it is a classic cocktail that is enjoyed by cocktail aficionados, in part, due to the inclusion of two, rather more unusual ingredients. 

The Aviation Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz gin

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

1/2 oz creme de violette

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker

Fill with ice and shake vigorously

Strain into a chilled martini glass

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This week's final cocktail is a Gin and Elderflower Martini and if you follow this blog, you'll know I am a huge fan of the Chase Elderflower Liqueur, made in Briitain at the Chase Vodka Distillery. Not only is it delicious, but it comes in a divine bottle.

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For other delicious cocktail recipes using Chase Elderflower liqueur, do take a look through some older posts.

Easter Cocktails

Mojitos

Mothers Day Cocktails

Butterfly Cocktails

Gin and Elderflower Martini

Ingredients

1 oz gin

1 oz Chase Elderflower Liqueur

1 oz dry vermouth

1/2 oz lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker

Fill with ice and shake vigorously

Strain into a chilled martini glass

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With a bit of sunshine on the horizon, I enjoyed this week's cocktails immensely. The flavours were fresh and zingy, just right for sipping in the garden (or anywhere else for that matter). The Aviation Cocktail is one I will definitely ask for when out as I think it deserves to be enjoyed in a glamorous, old fashioned cocktail bar and the Gin and Elderflower Martini was always going to resonate well with me, but this week's clear winner, is the Earl Grey Martini. A heavenly marriage of flavours that really works perfectly with gin.

Enjoy trying them for yourself and as always, drink responsibly. Have a fabulous weekend x

Cherry Vodka

Black Lace Cocktail Glasses available on Etsy

If you follow me on twitter or facebook then you will know that this week I have been all about the Cherry Vodka. I am no stranger to making flavoured vodkas as I used to work in a cocktail bar, many years ago, where the in-house, flavoured vodkas were our speciality. Most were sugary sweet like the Loveheart Vodka I showed you how to make in an earlier post, but I was intrigued to try making a fruit infused vodka. I settled on cherry because I figured the colour would be pretty amazing and also because I had some in the freezer, left over from making Cherry Margaritas. As I said before, I think frozen cherries are just fine for cocktail making. They are frozen at the point of picking and retain all the colour and flavour. The only thing lacking, when they defrost, is a little of the firmness, but when you are squishing them up or steeping them for days in vodka, it doesn't really matter. I used Absolut Vodka because that was what I had and I would recommend that you use something of a similar or even higher quality. This is a fruit infusion and the flavour is quite subtle and not sweetened with sugar so the quality of the vodka will make a big difference to the end result. If you fancy giving it a go yourself, follow the simple steps below.

How to make Cherry Vodka

You will need 

300ml good quality vodka

100g frozen cherries

Pour out 300ml of vodka into a clean measuring jug. Obviously you can make more if you wish - just scale up the quantities accordingly.

Place the cherries in a sieve and run cold water over them to get rid of the ice glaze - if you don't, when the cherries defrost in the vodka, you'll actually be inadvertently adding water. Similarly, allow the cherries to drain before adding them to the vodka.

Transfer the cherries into an airtight container, cover with the vodka, close the lid and wait.....

Cherry Vodka Day 1

Cherry Vodka Day 2

Cherry Vodka Day 3

Cherry Vodka Day 4

And finally , on the fifth day, it was good to go.

As you can see, the colour got more intense with each passing day and depending on your patience, you could leave it even longer, although the cherries themselves, by this point, have lost their colour and flavour, so I'm not convinced it would produce any better a result.

The cherries had retained their shape and it would probably have been fine just to use a sieve, but incase the fruit should break up when you separate it from the vodka, I suggest using a coffee filter paper. They will come in handy, should you decide to try the Loveheart Vodka too.

Tip the contents of your airtight container into a measuring jug before filtering, to avoid messy spills.

Allow the cherries to drain for quite a while as they are holding a lot of vodka.

Store the left over cherries in an airtight container in the fridge. With so much vodka in them, it would be a shame to throw them away!

Pour your vodka into a clean bottle and label it clearly to avoid any mishaps (especially if you have children).

So now you have your Cherry Vodka, what can you make with it? Well, of course, you could just drink it schnapps style, but that's not for the fainthearted. There is a sweetness to the vodka and a fruitiness that makes it quite palatable, but it's no sweet liqueur and in my opinion, it is best suited to cocktail making., so here are a few ideas.

Cherry Sour

Ingredients

1 1/2oz Cherry Vodka

1oz Cherry Heering

2oz Vita Coco

1/2oz fresh lime juice

Vita Coco, if you haven't heard of it before, is natural coconut water with no added sugar. It has an almost imperceptible coconut flavour and a slight natural sweetness. It is very different to coconut milk or coconut creme, both of which are quite calorific and thicker in texture. Apparently it's very good for you - lots of electrolytes, which is a good thing, so the blurb says, but that's probably a moot point when it's in an alcoholic beverage. Still, every little helps I suppose.

Vita Coco - available from Holland and Barrat

This recipe also contains Cherry Heering which adds a stronger cherry flavour and some sweetness. You can read more about Cherry Heering and where to buy it, in my Alfresco Cocktails post.

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and add a handful of crushed ice

Shake vigorously for 20 secs and strain into chilled cocktail glass

This cocktail has the whole sweet and sour thing going on, that I like so much, but it's fairly subtle, which is nice. It is refreshing and would work well as a long drink over ice, too.

Next up, a very fruity and delicious cocktail that tastes like summer in a glass. It's sweet but in a very natural tasting way and if your fruit tastes sweet enough, don't bother adding the 1/4oz simple syrup

Cherry Berry

Ingredients

2oz Cherry Vodka

3 strawberries

6 blueberries

1/4oz simple syrup (optional)

Place the fruit in the shaker and muddle (squish). If you don't have a muddler, I find the handle of an ice cream scoop or something similar, works quite well.

Add the Cherry Vodka and a handful of ice

Shake vigorously for 20 secs and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

NB - this cocktail is quite slow to strain through the holes in the shaker as berries become a little gloopy, but be patient, turn the shaker upright again and jiggle it a little before straining out the rest.

White Lace cocktail glasses available on Etsy

This next cocktail is aptly named Lolita. It has an almost bubble gum sweetness due to the apricot brandy that belies its alcoholic content and it is the most sensational colour.

Lolita

Ingredients

2oz Cherry Vodka

1oz apricot brandy

1/2oz lemon juice 

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with a handful of crushed ice and shake vigorously for 20 secs

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Butterfly cocktail glasses available on Etsy

Our last cocktail today is a tropical inspired little number featuring a lovely rum I picked up in Amathus City a couple of weeks ago, which has an almost coconut flavour of it's own.The addition of fresh pineapple and coconut water, definitely give it that tropical feel and make me long for a more temperate climate. Still, whip up one of these, turn on the heating and samba round the living room - job done.

Flor de Cana Extra Dry 4yr old White Rum from Amathus

Carmen Miranda

Ingredients

1oz Cherry Vodka

1oz Flora de Cana rum (or similar quality)

Handful of fresh pineapple

2oz Vita Coco

1/2oz agave nectar (see Ay Caramba post for info on Agave nectar)

Muddle the pineapple in the bottom of the shaker

Add all of the other ingredients, plus a handful of crushed ice

Shake vigorously and strain into chilled cocktail glass

Cherry Cocktail Glasses available on Etsy

This is another cocktail that would be a lovely drink over ice in a highball glass and perhaps with a squeeze of lime too, but then I like a squeeze of lime on most things.

So there you have it - Cherry Vodka - worth the wait for the colour alone. It's so easy to do, I recommend you give it a whirl, even if it just so you can drink a pink V&T. Have fun making cocktails, drink responsibly and have a wonderful weekend X