A range of drinks from ‘All Day Cocktails’ by Shaun Byrne and Nick Tesar has arrived to ensure that your summer refreshments are sorted.
54 MANGOES
Kombucha is fermented tea, so one could say that it is funky tea. Since this cocktail contains mangoes, ‘funky mangoes’ would have sufficed for a name, but that doesn’t sound inviting, does it? Something funky that has always appealed, to me at least, is Studio 54, and this funky cocktail pays homage to that nightclub.
Combine all the ingredients in a highball glass and stir to combine.
Top with ice, garnish with mango and funk the night away.
- 45 ml (1½ fl oz) Mango vermouth (below)
- 45 ml (1½ fl oz) kombucha
- 15 ml (½ fl oz) Lemongrass syrup (page 217)
- 5 ml (1/8 fl oz) ginger juice
- 2 drops of natural blue food colouring
- ice cubes, to serve
- dehydrated mango to garnish
Mango vermouth
I wrote this recipe for my first book, The Book of Vermouth (no prizes for guessing the topic), and thought it was such a good prep recipe that I would steal it for this book. It has so many applications and can be used as a substitute for dry vermouth in any classic cocktail that would benefit from a tropical edge. Mango skins are key to this recipe; that’s where all the aroma is, and we want to bring that to the vermouth. You’ll need to start this recipe the night before you want to enjoy it.
MAKES 700 ML (23½ FL OZ)
- 1 mango
- 750 ml (25½ fl oz/3 cups) dry vermouth
Peel the mango skin with a knife, leaving as much flesh on the stone as possible. Trim the ends of the mango skin to flatten. Add the skins and ends to an airtight container.
Next, cut the mango flesh. Place the mango horizontally on
a chopping board and, with a knife, start in the middle and run the knife down the side of the stone, removing as much flesh as possible. Rotate 90 degrees and do the same for the sides. Scrape the remaining mango off the stone with your teeth and enjoy – it’s the only way to eat it. Discard the stone in your compost.
Cut the mango flesh into 2 cm (¾ in) slices and add to the container with the skins. Pour in the vermouth, seal and leave to sit overnight in the fridge. The next morning, strain the vermouth and transfer to a sterilised glass bottle. Add the skins to the compost and dehydrate the mango flesh (see page 14). The vermouth will last for up to 3 months in the fridge.
SAKE SNOWCONE
Sake doesn’t have to be one of those things that you only have when visiting a Japanese restaurant. It actually makes for a great cocktail as it offers something that is not commonly found in any other liquor: umami. This rich ‘meatiness’ can vary between different varieties, but it’s great paired with grapefruit and salt, as it contrasts well with the flavour of the sake. Believe it or not, sake is produced in countries other than Japan. It might take a bit more digging, but they are out there, so see if you can find a local one.
- 30 ml (1 fl oz) sake (see Note)
- 15 ml (½ fl oz) sparkling wine
- 4 drops of Saline solution (below)
- 2 tablespoons Grapefruit granita (below)
- Rosemary sprig, to garnish
Combine the sake, wine and saline solution in a small glass. Top with the granita and garnish with the rosemary sprig.
Serve with a spoon and a straw (not a plastic one!).
Something dry, light and local is best here.
Saline solution
Potatoes aren’t potatoes without a little salt. Salt has a magical power to just make things taste better – in the right quantities, that is. To make a saline solution, simply dissolve one part salt in five parts water, no heat required. Flaked salt is best here, and there is a world of salt varieties to experiment with.
Grapefruit granita
A granita can be as simple as freezing fruit juice and scraping the solid mass every half an hour or so. The scraping helps to aerate the frozen juice, making it lighter to eat. In this recipe, we’ve added some egg white to help with this process. We also use a cream charger to get as much air into the granita as possible (we’ve included instructions on how to make this without one, but it will take a little longer). It is important to note that, depending on the sweetness of the grapefruit, you may need to adjust the quantity of sugar, adding more juice or more sugar to taste. Once you have added the quinquina but before adding the egg, taste the liquid and adjust, but bear in mind that the sweetness will drop off a little once the granita has frozen. You will need to start this recipe at least three hours ahead of time (seven hours if you’re not using a cream charger).
MAKES APPROX. 500 G (1 LB 2 OZ)
- 250 g (9 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- 5 grapefruits
- 150 ml (5 fl oz) quinquina
- 1 egg white
Start by dissolving the sugar in 250 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) water in a saucepan over a low heat. Once dissolved, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Zest and juice the grapefruits.
If you have a 1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cup) cream charger, put the zest and juice into the canister. Add the quinquina, then double charge the canister and shake for 5 minutes before expressing the gas. Strain the contents through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the grapefruit zest, and return the liquid to the canister with the sugar syrup and egg white. Double charge the canister again, shake for 2 minutes, then discharge onto a baking tray.
If you don’t have a cream charger, combine the zest in a bowl with the grapefruit juice and quinquina, and leave to soak in the fridge for 4 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the grapefruit zest, then combine with the sugar syrup and egg white. Whisk for 2 minutes and transfer the mixture onto a baking tray.
Transfer the tray to the freezer and leave for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes, remove the granita from the freezer and scrape it with a fork to aerate so that it doesn’t freeze in chunks. Covered, the granita will last for 2 months in the freezer.
VIRGIN MARY
The non-alcoholic version of the infamous brunch staple. One of the funniest things I have seen in recent times is the lengths some venues will go to when it comes to garnishing their mary variations. These garnishes have ranged from the usual suspects of celery and cucumber to extravagant fried chicken and sliders. This book simply isn’t long enough to list all the ‘inspirational’ ideas people have come up with over the years, but I encourage you to have a look on the internet (or the opposite page!) for inspiration. This recipe does not contain alcohol, but if you do need a little hair of the dog, 30 ml (1 fl oz) sweet vermouth will do just fine.
- 120 ml Passata (see below)
- 30 ml (4 fl oz) fresh orange juice
- 15 ml (½ fl oz) verjus (see note below)
- pinch of smoked paprika salt and pepper, to taste ice cubes, to serve
- Basil oil (page 165), to float
Combine all the ingredients except the oil and ice in a highball glass, then season to taste.
Top with ice, stirring to combine and chill. Float as much oil on the top as you like. Go crazy with your garnish and take a selfie with your creation.
Passata
Passata is, essentially, just tomatoes that have been cooked down to liquid form. Every summer at Gin Palace, we would make large batches and bottle it up into individual portions, forty or fifty serves at a time.
Personally, I much prefer passata-making as a family activity – a point in summer when you get everyone together to form a production line and churn out a year’s supply of future pasta sauces.
MAKES APPROX. 800 ML (27 FL OZ)
- 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) tomatoes
- 10 g (¼ oz) bird’s eye chilli
- 20 g (¾ oz) sea salt
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and blitz with a hand-held blender until smoothish. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1 hour.
Strain through a chinoise, pushing as much pulp through as you can. Transfer to a sterilised glass bottle (see page 15).
Ask for second-grade tomatoes, which usually come with a few blemishes but are often riper.
If making larger quantities, sterilise bottles and fill them while the passata is hot. Seal and put aside to last the year.
Verjus
This is something I have never made, which is a bit embarrassing, as I have quite a lot of access to grapes. Verjus is essentially unripe grape juice. It acts as a very light vinegar and is wonderful in beverages. Nick and I are quite fond of it as you will no doubt notice in this book. You can get white verjus, red verjus and even the named grape variety for the more premium ones. Buy a couple, experiment, find your favourite, and then look for some more.
