Summer is approaching and with it the tiny bar down the street will bring out and wipe down its dusty tables and chairs, people will lay down their checkered blankets on the freshly cut park grass, cafe terraces will fill up - the city will awaken once more, as it welcomes the warm months of the year.
What better time to dig out the shaker from the back of your cupboard? A cocktail and a sunny day go together - whether you enjoy them with friends, family, or a good book on the balcony.
To help you get started, we've compiled five easy cocktail recommendations for a summer day. The best thing about them? You don't even have to stick to the recipe.
1. Cornish Sunset
A spicy, flavourful cocktail based on rum and ginger beer. Cornish Summer brings together the the unique taste of Twin Fin Golden Spiced Rum with the spice and bubbles in ginger beer and tops them off with the delicious citrus of Angostu
ra bitters and lime. Perfect for a beach day - even if the beach is a pool in your backyard!
Ingredients:
50ml Twin Fin Spiced Rum
150ml Ginger Beer
2 dashes of Angostura Bitter
two lime wedges
Instructions:
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the Twin Fin Rum and Ginger beer in the glass, add two dashes of Angostura Bitters (any orange bitter will do) and two squeezed wedges of lime. Lightly stir then garnish with a lime wedge for the perfect sunset cocktail.
2. G&T with a Twist
An absolute classic to complete your afternoon outdoors. What makes it so special? Rivage, a name that rolls of the tongue and into your cocktail glass. A beautiful French gin elaborated with botanicals off the coast of the Cognac region, macerated in wine, and filtered through oyster shells - a gin unlike any other on the market.
Ingredients:
50ml Gin Rivage
100ml Tonic
Fresh rosemary
Lime wedge
Instructions:
Add ice in a tall Collins glass (any glass of 200ml will also do). Place the ice in the glass and add the Rivage and the tonic in glass.
Tonic matters: Invest in a high-quality tonic to compliment the gin. Ideal partners for Rivage would be Fever Tree, Thomas Henry or Three Cent. Can't find them near you? We warned you, but you can also use Schweppes. Top off with a dash of fresh rosemary, stir lightly, and enjoy. The lime is simply for decoration. And, we don't like to play favourites - but this is surely one of them!
3. Champagne Velvet
This one is on the upper scale when it comes to cost, but trust us... It's worth it. Best enjoyed with Champagne Maxime Godet Brut.
Ingredients:
150ml Champagne Maxime Godet
10-15ml H.Theoria Electric Velvet
Instructions:
As with all great things, this cocktail is simple. Pour yourself a cold glass of Godet champagne... I mean...look...a Prosecco will also do. Will it be THIS delicious? No. Will it still be absolutely amazing? Yes! The irreplaceable ingredient in this cocktail is the liqueur - Electric Velvet, a poetic contribution of spice and sweetness to the bubbly. Cheers!
4. Vodka Soda
Simple, delicious, and criminally underrated, the vodka soda is the perfect low calorie refresher. Use Crystal Head vodka to make it truly addictive - but also (an important note for the health conscious) gluten-free, because our vodka is made from sweet corn.
Ingredients:
50ml Crystal Head Vodka
150ml Soda
Lime
Basil (optional)
Liqueur (optional)
Instructions:
Its quite simple. Put ice in a glass, add the vodka and the soda. Squeeze some lime and add the wedges and basil. This is the low calorie option. You can also include a dash of your favourite liqueur to elevate your drink (even at the cost of a few extra calories). Stir and you are done!
5. Pineapple Cuba Libre
Everybody knows the classic rum and coke cocktail. This one is slightly different. Introduce the Twin Fin Pineapple and Pink Grapefruit Rum to experience a novel tropical twist to your favourite Caribbean-inspired drink. The citrus and pineapple of the rum combine perfectly with the coke - and the lime is the perfect finishing touch to a truly delectable cocktail.
Ingredients:
50ml Twin Fin Pineapple and Grapefruit
150-200ml Coke
Lime
Instructions:
It's pretty self explanatory. Fill your cup with ice, add the Twin Fin rum and the coke in, squeeze a bit of the lime in and place a wedge on your glass. You can also add a piece of pineapple if you are feeling fancy.
And there you have it - our five top recommendations for simple summer cocktails. We like to think there is a bit of everything for everyone in that list. We have vodka cocktails, rum cocktails, champagne cocktails and gin cocktails - a little something for all of your summer scenarios.
Happy sipping - and make sure you come back to the Tobacco Import blog for even more recommendations and information about our alcohol brands.