Cocktails to serve during the holidays
These are cocktails you need to make during your holiday this December.
Contrary to what many American movies portray as the perfect white Christmas, South Africans are actually quite lucky to have Christmas during summer time. We get to hang by the pool and enjoy delicious, ice cold cocktails.
Regardless of where you aim to spend the upcoming Christmas holiday, we’ve got you covered with some of the most mouth-watering cocktails that’ll appeal to all people.
1. Strawberry Lemonade cocktail
Ingredients:
– 300g hulled strawberries
– 300g castor sugar
– The juice of five lemons
– Still or sparkling mineral water
– Sliced limes and strawberries, and sprigs of mint, to serve
– Vodka (according to taste)
Method:
Put the hulled strawberries, caster sugar and lemon juice into a blender and pulse until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl and stir thoroughly to ensure all the sugar dissolves.
You can transfer the cordial to a large bottle or storage container until needed.
Dilute with still or sparkling water (about one part cordial to four parts water), then add your vodka according to your taste and liking, serve with ice, lime and strawberry slices and sprigs of mint. Pomegranate also looks pretty as a garnish.
2. Strawberry champagne cocktail
Ingredients:
– Six strawberries
– Few drops of Angostura bitters
– Six teaspoons brandy
– One bottle of dry sparkling white wine or champagne, well chilled
Method:
Divide the strawberries, bitters and brandy between the bottoms of six champagne glasses. Leave to stand and for the flavours to mingle for 30 minutes to one hour.
Top up with chilled sparkling wine just before serving.
3. Watermelon and Tequila cocktail
Ingredients:
– ¼ cup of water
¼ cup of granulated sugar
– Eight cups diced seedless watermelon
– ¼ cup of fresh lime juice
– 1 ¾ cups of blueberries
– ¾ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus eight sprigs for garnish
– 1 ¼ cups of silver tequila
– Ice
Method:
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about one minute; let the sugar syrup cool.
In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.
In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about two hours.
Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.
4. Spring herbs Gin and Tonic
Ingredients:
– One part gin
– Two parts premium tonic water
– One thin celery stalk
– One apple
– Black pepper to taste
Method:
Build the ingredients over cubed ice.
Garnish it with a thin celery stalk, coated with ground black pepper and a green apple slice.
5. Cherry and lemon cocktail
Ingredients:
– 200g frozen cherries
– ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
– 1/3 cup castor sugar
– ¼ cup water
– 500ml soda water
– +- 80m rum according to taste
– Fresh cherries to top
Method:
Place cherries, lemon juice, castor sugar and 1/4 cup water in blender. Blend until cherries are smooth.
Pour mixture into glasses or jug and top with rum and soda water.
Serve with ice, fresh cherries and a slice of lemon.
6. Pimms, Rooibos and ginger iced tea
Ingredients:
– 500 ml boiled water
– Three rooibos teabags
– 1/4 cup honey
– 1/4 cup apple juice (or other any fruit juice)
– Juice of half a lemon/juice of one lime
– One stick of ginger, peeled and ‘bruised’
– Two to three sprigs of fresh mint also bruised
– 1/4 cup Pimms
– Ice for serving
Method:
Pour the boiling water into a large jug over all the ingredients, except the Pimms and ice.
Let the tea brew for three to four minutes before removing the tea bags, then pour in a further 750ml of cool water.
Leave to cool completely, strain and then serve in ice-filled glasses.
You can add more honey if you need more sweetness.
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