Raspberry Kombucha Gin-Fizz
I’ve decide to start Friday afternoon cocktails so I can share some of my favourite concoctions with you to help you get your weekends off to a fun and fizzy start!
It’s week one and I’ve already learnt an important lesson: if you plan to share a cocktail recipe each Friday, either make the cocktail on Thursday or get several weeks ahead of the game. Otherwise you’ll make the cocktail on Friday, you’ll drink the cocktail on Friday, the cocktail will taste delicious and so you’ll drink several more, then you will start playing loud music and cooking spaghetti and it will take you until Sunday to actually publish the recipe. Anyway, ya live and ya learn and I’ve now got a few delicious and interesting G&T’s lined up for you to enjoy over the coming weeks! So go splurge on a bottle of gin and join me each Friday for cocktail time!
This cocktail tastes like Christmas and coziness and is a great way to add a little autumnal spice to a gin-based cocktail. Gin based cocktails usually make me think of summer and crispy cucumbers, but as the nights get longer and the days get cooler, this is the perfect way to start your Friday! Spicy, sweet, zingy perfection! I’ve also decided to pair each cocktail recipe with a song that I think captures the feeling of the cocktail - something for you to play while you make it, if you like! Today’s cocktail-inspired song pairing is this cracking beauty by Nina Simone.
Also, I’ve added lime blossoms as a garnish to my cocktail. We’ve got several citrus trees in the garden which are throwing out the most beautiful white blossoms at the moment. It’s one of my most favourite scents in the whole world, and the flowers are edible! Bear in mind that any blossom you pick will mean one less fruit on the tree, so only pick them if you have an abundance of blossoms. They add the most wonderful, subtle perfume to a cocktail and look pleasingly fancy!
Raspberry Kombucha Gin-Fizz
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
1 shot of gin (I used Hendricks)
4 shots of raspberry kombucha*
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 whole star anise
1 slice of fresh lime
2 slices fresh ginger
2 shots sparkling rosé (any sparkling wine will do)
A handful of frozen raspberries
A pinch of cracked black pepper
Method
Try to make sure all your liquid ingredients are very cold before you begin, to ensure the cocktail will be nice and cool when you serve it.
Put the gin, kombucha and lime juice in a jug and stir to combine. Add the star anise, lime rind and ginger and return to the fridge for 10 minutes, so the flavours can infuse.
Pour into a cocktail glass and top up with the sparkling wine. Top with the frozen raspberries (these look pretty and help keep the cocktail cool without needing ice). Sprinkle cracked black pepper on top and serve.
* Note: You can buy raspberry flavoured kombucha (there are a few brands floating around with raspberry flavourings), but I prefer to make my own. This is really easy to do, just buy some plain Kombucha from the shops (or make your own, by following my guide here) and a few hours before cocktail time (or better still, the day before) throw a handful of frozen raspberries into your kombucha. Leave to infuse in the fridge until you need it.
