Cranberry Lime Gin Smash

 A refreshing drink that is easy to make.  I grow mint in my herb garden and using fresh mint really enhances this drink.

3 fresh mint leaves,  torn
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 oz gin
Juice from 1/2 lime

Crushed ice

1 tbsp frozen cranberries

2 oz cranberry juice

sparkling water

lime wedges

• To a cocktail glass, add 3 mint leaves, sugar, gin and lime juice.  Use a muddler to release flavour of fresh mint.
• Fill glass with crushed ice and frozen cranberries.  Add cranberry juice and top with a splash of sparkling water.  Garnish with lime and fresh mint.

Makes 1 drink.

Cranberry Gin Smash

 Cranberry and gin go suprisingly well together!

3 fresh mint leaves, torn 

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 oz dry gin

ice

1 tbsp frozen cranberries

2 oz cranberry juice

sparkling water

- to a cocktail glass, add 3 mint leaves, sugar and gin.  Use a muddler to release flavour of fresh mint.

- Fill glass with ice and frozen cranberries.  Add cranberry juiced top with a splash of sparkling water.  

makes 1 drink

Gin and Tonic Bundt Cake

 I absolutely loved this one!  From Food and Drink Magazine

CAKE

Softened unsalted butter and all purpose flour for coating pan
4 tsp dried juniper berries
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp table salt

4 large eggs at room temperature

4 tsp finely grated lime zest (about 3 large limes)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp gin

G&T SYRUP

1 tbsp juniper berries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup tonic water

2 tbsp gin

GIN AND LIME GLAZE

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp lime juice, approx

1 tbsp gin, approx

1 tsp white corn syrup

Pinch of table salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. For cake, generously butter a 10 inch bundt pan.  Tip a little flour into pan, then tilt pan to completely coat insides with flour.  Tap to tip out excess flour then set pan aside.
3. In a small skillet toast juniper berries over medium heat until plump, glossy and fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.
4. In a spice grinder combine toasted juniper berries and 1 tbsp sugar.  Grind until mixture is reduced to a fine powder. This can take a couple of minutes

       5. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer), beat together juniper mixture, remaining sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

6. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cardamom, baking soda and salt, then set aside.

7. Beat eggs into sugar mixture, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl if necessary. Beat in lime zest, then beat in vanilla.

8. With a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, fold flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of buttermilk, until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in gin (batter may look curdled, but don’t worry).

9. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top level. Bake until a slim skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean and cake starts to pull away from sides of pan, 65 to 75 minutes.

10. Remove cake from oven. Run a small spatula around edge of pan and around centre post. Put pan on wire rack and let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes.

11. While cake is cooling, prepare G&T syrup. Crush juniper berries in a mortar and pestle, then tip into a small saucepan. Add sugar and tonic water to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let mixture bubble until liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; strain through a fine sieve into a small pitcher, discarding juniper berries. Stir in gin.

12. After cake has cooled for 10 minutes, turn it out of pan onto a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. With a slim skewer, make deep holes all over top of cake.

13. Very gradually drizzle hot G&T syrup over cake, letting cake absorb syrup before adding more. Let cake cool completely on wire rack.

14. For gin and lime glaze, sift icing sugar into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tbsp (15 mL) lime juice, 1 tbsp (15 mL) gin, corn syrup and salt. Gradually whisk lime juice mixture into icing sugar until glaze is smooth. If glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in a little more lime juice or gin, according to taste.

15. Either leave cake on wire rack over baking sheet or carefully transfer it to a serving plate. If moving to a serving plate, place strips of parchment paper under cake all way round to prevent glaze from dripping onto plate, if desired. Gradually drizzle glaze evenly over cake, letting excess dribble down sides.

Tom Collins

Usually this is a summer drink, but in the cold of February if you crank the heat, put on some summer music and close your eyes this also works.  Making your own lemon syrup is easy and it really makes this drink delicious.

2 oz gin

1 oz strained fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz lemon syrup (recipe follows)

3 oz soda water, chilled

Lemon wedge

Pour gin, lemon juice and syrup into a cocktail shaker.  Add 3 ice cubes.  Shake 5 seconds.  Strain into a chilled Highball glass filled with ice.  Top with soda and lightly stir.   Garnish with lemon wedge.

Makes 1 drink (you will go back for seconds)

LEMON SYRUP

This syrup also works great in herbal tea.

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 lemons, washed

• In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar over medium high heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Cool to room temperature.
• Using a microplane zester, zest the lemons, adding zest into syrup.  Let infuse for 10 minutes.  Pass through fine mesh strainer, pressing on zest with spoon to extract syrup.  Transfer to glass jar with lid.  Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Makes 1 cup

Cosmopolitan

Something for a celebration!

4 parts gin or vodka
2 parts Cranberry juice
1 part cointreau
1 splash fresh lime juice
Garnish with a lemon or orange twist