Lockdown made or broke a lot of us. For me, it gave rise to some delicious creations.
During peak lockdown here in London, there were moments when I just craved relaxing in the evening with a good cocktail in hand. Obviously, nowhere was open, leaving the task of satisfaction down to me. With only a half-stocked kitchen cupboard where my flatmates and I store our booze, I had to get pretty inventive.
And boy oh boy, did I ever!
The Aperol Tonic
Aperol, tonic water, ice & some fresh basil for garnish. I eyeball measure all of my cocktails, but I’m also used to American standards where a single shot is 50ml (not the British 25ml), so don’t be afraid to err on the side of “generous”. If I had to say though, I’d probably go for a short glass, filled with ice, 100ml of Aperol, topped with tonic, and as much basil you like.
The Aperol Tonic: After Dark Edition
For a stronger, “watershed” version of this otherwise socially-acceptable afternoon drink, follow this recipe: short glass, filled with ice, 50ml vodka, 35ml Aperol, topped with tonic water and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Cordially VT
Ok, now this one is probably my absolute favourite – and definitely a drink I’ve still been making even since life returned to, well, as normal as it can be right now. Blackcurrant cordial, vodka, tonic water, and ice. OH MY GOSH.
It’s honestly the best thing since sliced bread. You could use any flavour of cordial, but the point is: start adding it to your vodka tonics people! For rough measurements I’d say: short glass, filled with ice, 25ml cordial, 50ml vodka, topped with tonic water. You will not regret this one.
Strawberry Rosé
Let’s be honest, it’s a high-risk task when buying a bottle of rosé. At least if you’re like me, and you don’t really go for super sweet wines. Blush rosés are for the most part safe, because you know their light pink colour means that extreme sweetness is not as likely as it is with their syrupy deep pink counterparts. This cocktail was invented when I needed to find a way to make a nasty, too sweet, cheap rosé into something actually palatable.
I believe in redemption, hence why I tried to save the situation, rather than chucking out the bottle.
Fill a wine glass with ice, then pour 1/2 rosé and 1/2 Volvic Touch of Fruit Sugar-Free Strawberry flavoured water. I’m not normally one for promoting the dilution drinks (that’s the Irish in me showing itself), but sometimes it’s just necessary. Combining the strawberry sugar-free water with the sweet rosé, created this ice-cold, light and refreshing take on a spritzer (minus the fizz) that was utterly delicious. In fact, this cocktail is so good that sometimes I’ll purposely buy a rosé wine I know I wouldn’t otherwise like, merely so that I can make this drink (which was definitely not my initial intention).
Satan’s Sangria
*Approach with caution – will probably cause a horrendous hangover if consumed in excess.
This cocktail is the only one I properly measured when creating. The great thing about sangria (red wine + lemonade) is that you can really add anything into it as long as you have the staple ingredient of red wine.
This drink was invented after I had a bottle of red wine open for well over a week and was no longer something I could have by itself (did someone say vinegar?). Ingredients as follows: wine glass filled with ice, 100ml red wine, 150ml tonic water, 30ml Aperol, and a dash of Tesco’s peach squash. If you cannot find peach squash then peach juice, or any sweet fruit juice, would do the trick.
Let me know if you try out any of these cocktails, or if you have any recipes of your own that were created in lockdown! Bottoms up!
SEE: Sip Eat Enjoy 