Mixology ideas with Barbury Hill
Here at Barbury Hill we’ve taken to making our own cocktails and we’ll admit to acquiring quite a taste for a freshly shaken Mojito or an elegant Old Fashioned. While nothing beats a skilfully shaken Martini in an elegant bar, there’s something to be said for crafting your own evening tipple, carefully selecting the spirits and getting creative with the garnish. Barbury Hill’s growing range of exciting British-made spirits have added more than a dash of interest to our repertoire and we thought we’d share some of our favourites with you.
Bitter Union
Just a few drops of Bitter Union’s imaginative aromatic bitters transform our cocktail hour drink into an altogether more tantalising treat, whether we’re adding them to a green tea or a G&T. When we feel like making more of an effort, we’ve been known to whip up a Lemon, Hops and Herbs Gin Sour, an invigorating cocktail with a zingy, refreshing edge that perfectly showcases the zest of their Lemon, Hops and Herbs bitter. A G&T is lifted with a few splashes of Spiced Orange bitters, taking it from the everyday to the exotic with just a flick of the wrist.
Lemon, Hops & Herbs Gin Sour
Ingredients:
- 50ml gin (we’d recommend River Test)
- Half an egg white
- 25ml sugar syrup
- 25ml lemon juice
- 4-5 dashes of Lemon, Hop and Herb Bitters
River Test
We’ve found the meadowsweet botanicals in River Test’s award-winning gins to be the perfect base for a French 75, where champagne, lemon juice and sugar syrup combine into a refined, graceful cocktail. One sip and we’re transported to Paris in the roaring twenties. For something a bit fruitier, the floral notes of their award-winning London Dry Gin pair beautifully with a the zest of a Cranberry Gin Fizz, while nothing beats the timeless elegance of a Dry Martini.
French 75 (with an English twist)
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar syrup
- 50ml River Test gin
- English Sparkling Wine
Method: Put the lemon juice, sugar syrup and gin into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well before straining into a flute and topping up with champagne. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel.
Penrhos Spirits
One of the many things that drew us to Penrhos Spirits was the versatility of their gins. Whether adding a summery twist to a French 75 with their Apple and Elderflower gin or a rhubarb kick to a G&T, their gins are a welcome and much-used addition in our drinks cabinet. But in the cooler months we’re partial to a Hot Spiced Gin and Apple Punch, a warming boost on a dark night.
Hot Spiced Gin and Apple Punch
Ingredients:
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A couple of cloves
- A generous grating of nutmeg
- 200ml Penrhos Apple & Elderflower Gin
- 800ml Apple Juice
- 50g Demerara Sugar
- Juice of half a lemon or orange
Method: Heat all of the ingredients with the exception of the gin in a saucepan and warm through for five minutes. Add the sugar to taste, depending on the sweetness of your apple juice. Remove from the heat and add the gin and lemon/orange juice before garnishing with a slice of apple and a cinnamon stick. Serves four.
With so many cocktail recipes to try, and such a wonderful selection of British spirits to experiment with, you’ll find us shaking up a storm at Barbury Hill HQ. What’s your favourite cocktail? Drop us a line and let us know how you’re mixing Penrhos, River Test and Bitter Union at home.
by Dan Smith, Barbury Hill Founder
Dan founded Barbury Hill and he is the man behind our mission to shine a light on the best of British food and drink. He loves wine, cider and small batch cheese. And every producer on Barbury Hill.