Cocktails?

October 1, 2008

Spring is here and with it the local spring racing carnival. That tends to put people in a party mood and what better way to entertain than with a few cocktails. Besides being a fun way to entertain, a cocktail party gives everyone a chance to give their race-day finery another airing.

If you’re hosting a cocktail gathering, one of the cardinal rules is to make sure you also offer plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

To get you started, here are three ideas from a great new title, My Little Cocktail Book, which is being released this month by Murdoch Books. They’ve kindly let me reproduce them here.

Shampoo

Recommended for internal use only, this frothy formulation is guaranteed to leave no tears.

15 ml (1/2 oz) gin
15 ml (1/2 oz) lemon juice
dash of Pernod
dash of blue curaçao
chilled Champagne or sparkling wine
lemon twist

Pour the gin, then the lemon juice, Pernod and blue curaçao into a chilled champagne flute. Slowly top up with Champagne or sparkling wine and garnish with a twist of lemon.

Turkish Martini

Raise a toast to the Ottoman empire and dream of glories lost.

ice cubes
45 ml (1 1/2 oz) vanilla vodka
30 ml (1 oz) white crème de cacao
10 ml (1/4 oz) rosewater
small cube of Turkish delight

Add a scoop of ice to a cocktail shaker, then the vodka, crème de cacao and rosewater. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cube of Turkish delight.

Japanese Slipper

Reorient yourself and slip into something really comforting.

ice cubes
30 ml (1 oz) melon liqueur
30 ml (1 oz) Cointreau
15 ml (1/2 oz) lemon juice
maraschino cherry

Half-fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the melon liqueur, Cointreau and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

My Little Cocktail Book, Murdoch Books, ISBN 978-1741962840, has a recommended retail price of $24.95 and contains 200 party drinks including a tempting range of mocktails.

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