Gin is my tipple of choice, but this recipe would also work with vodka. This is a delicious Christmas drink you can serve cold over ice and tonic or also warm/mulled. In this picture I’ve used the gin as the base for a festive cocktail, something extra special for this time of year.
Ingredients:
• 750ml unflavoured, good quality gin
• 150g white caster sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 30g fresh ginger sliced (no need to peel)
• 50g of cranberries or blackberries
• 3 large pieces of orange peel
• Half lemon (juice only)
Method:
Pour the gin into a large Kilner jar or airtight container, add in the sugar then all other ingredients and lightly shake. Leave in a dark, cool place for 2-3 weeks, shaking gently every 4-5 days. When ready, place through a fine sieve so only the liquid remains.
Your gin is now ready to drink, however if you want a clearer finish with no sediment you may want to consider passing through a clean muslin or through coffee filters. Decant into a bottle and serve with premium tonic, plenty tonic and a slice of orange.
Christmas G cocktail
• Gin 50ml
• 25ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml orange juice
• 25ml Cointreau
• 1tsp caster sugar
• 1 egg white
Method:
Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice. Shake well, strain and serve with a twist of orange or a maraschino cherry and a small dusting of grated nutmeg. Perfection.
Gary Townsend is head chef at One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin, Glasgow. See www.hotelduvin.com or phone 0141 378 0385 to book.
Twitter @Chefgtownsend
Instagram- @chef.g.townsend
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here