It’s been a while since my last Ginspiration post. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been drinking or discovering any new gins – far from it. In fact, this month I spent far more on gin than I did on clothes, which is a bit startling and entirely the fault of Aldi for having a gin festival!! No, sadly the reason I haven’t written a gin themed post is because I have had to reduce my posting schedule somewhat while we navigate remodelling the house, my driving lessons and general work manicness, and frankly, I’ve got a hell of a load of Summery outfit photos to post before everything gets dark and drizzly here in the UK (which will be in approximately 5 minutes if my guess is correct…) so gin has taken a backseat!
On the subject of the rapidly fading Summer, todays ginny offering is the perfect thing to help you make the most of the last few drops of sunshine before the never ending gloom of Winter descends (can you tell I don’t like Winter much…?) so get your blender out and give these a go quickly before it’s too late (FYI it is never really too late – I’d drink them in the snow to be honest….)
As a pre-warning, don’t expect this to be a well measured recipe…. I’ve always had a bit of a slapdash approach to cooking and when it comes to drinks I always think it’s in the hands of the maker to decide how strong they like their tipple! I know someone somewhere is likely to tell me that is all wrong because it will throw out the balance of the flavours or something, but come on, it’s a slushie, not a finely tuned Negroni, so just go with it. Plus, I made it up on the fly, and was half cut by the third one so my memory is a little blurry on the subject of measures!
So, now that we’ve established that I’m neither a skilled mixologist and may possibly have a drinking problem, let’s proceed with the recipe!
Firstly you need gin. What gin is entirely up to you – this would work nicely with most gins and even flavoured gins if you wanted to get a bit creative. But I chose to use this Mint & Cucumber gin – which I picked up from Marks & Spencer’s for just £11.25 – as I thought it would give it a classic, Summery taste. Sadly, it appears it’s no longer available online, however you might still be able to pick up a bottle in store, and if not, Gordons do a nice Cucumber gin which would work just as well, or you could use Hendrick’s, or Aldi’s Hendrick’s inspired Harrison’s (see what they did there??) Pour a generous glug into a blender – personally I like to taste the gin, so I would always use at least a double shot, but you could go with less if you wish. Next add an equal measure (or more to taste if you like) of elderflower tonic. I managed to grab myself a couple of bottles from Aldi’s gin festival, most of which seem to have sold out now, but as well as the big name brands, most Supermarkets have an own brand tonic in this flavour. Alternatively you could use elderflower cordial or a flavoured sparkling water. Next add a little splash of apple juice for a little tartness – not too much or it may be too sticky sweet – and throw in a generous handful of ice. I find the perfect consistency comes from having the cubes poking just over the top of the liquid, but I’d always underestimate rather than overestimate as you can add more, whereas if it’s too thick you’ll need to add more liquid which will dilute the drink. Then blitz!!
And voila! There you have the perfect Summer refresher! Once you get going you’ll find you get all sorts of ideas for variations and flavours to try – I even made Dan a rum and coke version so he didn’t feel left out! Just go nuts! One word of warning though, these are incredibly easy to drink, so just be careful not to overdo it on a hot day! Other than that – enjoy!
What flavour would you try?
Love,
Picking the Day 