RECIPES by CHRISTIE FYNN MORGAN | IMAGES by SHARA PHOTO
Your Christmas sundowner soiree won’t be complete without some summer cocktails! In the warm weather, there’s no better way for your guests to hydrate than by having some cold beers, G&T’s and a cocktail or two ready for when they arrive. One of our firm favourites is Amarula with coffee ice cubes and we recently learned that a dash of Vanilla Vodka gives it an extra festive kick. We’ve also ‘South Africanised’ a classic champagne cocktail and added a little flare to a lemon jelly martini.
Enjoy!
Amarula with Coffee Ice Cubes and Vanilla Vodka
Ingredients
- Coffee ice cubes
- Amarula Cream
- Vanilla Vodka
Method
- Freeze coffee as ice cubes and toss in a cup of Amarula together with a dash of Vanilla Vodka
Classic Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 sugar cube
- 1 tot of brandy or 3 drops Angostura bitters
- Champagne
Method
- Soak the sugar cube in brandy or bitters and drop into a champagne flute. Top up with a champagne or sparkling wine.
- To glam up your glass of bubbly you can also add some crushed mint and blueberries for a fresh twist!
Champagne Lemon Jelly martini with frosted grapes
Ingredients
- 1 pack lemon jelly powder
- 1 small bottle of champagne
For the frosted grape decoration:
- 110-150 g seedless grapes
- 1 egg white
- castor sugar
Method
- Make the lemon jelly with half the amount of boiling water recommended, and substitute the other half with champagne. Pour into glasses and allow to set.
- Just before serving, top each glass with with frosted grapes.
To make the frosted grapes:
- For the best effect, try to separate the grapes into clusters of two or three depending on their size, leaving them still attached to the stalk.
- Then wash and dry them thoroughly and dip them first into the egg white and then into the sugar, making sure each one gets an even coating of sugar.
- Spread them out on baking paper to dry for a couple of hours before using.
