It's Cocktail Time!!

And keeping up with the theme of posting things out of season I thought I would share two recipes of my favourite summer time / BBQ cocktails!






Caipirinha

One lime
2 tsp caster sugar
50ml (two shots) cachaça
Crushed ice

For those readers in Dubai cachaca can be bought in MMI (not A&E) and the brand is “51” which is apparently quite a good one. You can also get it at the Barracuda in UAQ.

I make my caipirinhas in a cocktail shaker but you can make it directly in the glass, just make sure the glass is quite sturdy! Use a whiskey tumbler type glass. Take a lime in the palm of your hand and gently roll to loosen the skin. Cut across the middle and divide each end into quarter wedges. Divide each wedge into two. Put the lime into the cocktail shaker or glass along with the sugar. Some places use brown sugar in this recipe (Vu’s in Emirates Towers is one) but I don’t really like it. For a start it doesn’t dissolve very well and can be a bit gritty and secondly it changes the colour to a slightly murky green/brown.

Take a big wooden spoon and gently pound the lime until the juice is released and the sugar has largely dissolved. You need to be a little rough here (which is why I use the shaker) because you want to release some of the oil in the skin to give it a more intense flavour. Add the cachaça and stir. Top up with crushed ice, stir again and pour into glass.


Mojito

12 leaves of fresh mint
1 tbsp sugar syrup (heat 100ml water, stir in and dissolve 100g of caster sugar, leave to cool)
Crushed ice
50ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
50ml Havana Club three-year-old Cuban rum or something similar. NOT BACARDI

I first had this drink on holiday in Bali. The rest of the holiday was a complete blur as a result. I love this drink, it is so fresh tasting.

Put the mint and sugar syrup into a chunky tall glass. Muddle (crush) the mint into the syrup with a long spoon. Half fill with crushed ice and pour in the lime juice. Add the rum and stir. Add more ice, mix again and top up with soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint and drink through a straw.

Salute!