Cocktails and Punches III

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Vodka Red Squares

1 cup strawberry jelly
1 cup Lemon Peel Vodka (see recipe below)
Fresh mint to decorate
Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Mix the gelatin in a medium bowl with 2 cups boiling water, or as per the instructions on the packet, until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Stir in half the Lemon Peel Vodka and pour into a 5 x 8-inch pan. Refrigerate until firm - about 4 hours.

Dip the bottom of the pan and a small knife into warm water for about 15 seconds. Use the knife to cut the gelatin into 1-inch squares. Serve in chilled martini glasses garnished with mint. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Lemon Peel Vodka

4 lemons
3 cups vodka

Wash the lemons. Using a zester of vegetable peeler, peel the skin to create narrow ribbons. Scrape away any remaining pith. Put the peel into a large jar and add the vodka. Store in a dark, dry place for about 2 weeks, shaking the jar occasionally. Strain through cheesecloth, discard the peel and store in a bottle ready for use.

Margarita Popsicles

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup fresh limejuice
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons tequila
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 tablespoon lime zest

Combine sugar, through orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add tequila, orange liqueur, and lime zest, mix to combine. Pour moulds and cover with foil. Place the popsicle stick in centre and freeze until hard, preferably overnight.

Champagne Cocktails

By the mid 1800s the Champagne Cocktail was all the rage at dinner parties and soirees in genteel society.

Champagne
Drop of Angostura Bitters
1 Sugar Cube

Place a drop of angostura bitters on a sugar cube and drop into a champagne flute. Add champagne.

Black Velvet

Black Velvet was invented at the Brooks Club in London in 1861 and was served as the nation mourned the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort. It’s rather suitable for racing fans given that Guiness is used in it – the Irish love it!

A Black Velvet is made by filling a tall champagne flute halfway with chilled stout (usually Guiness) and floating the Champagne on top of the Stout. The differing densities of the liquids cause them to remain largely in separate layers.

Bellini

The classic Bellini was invented at Harrys Bar in Italy in 1931 in honour of the painter Geovani Bellini. Giuseppi Cipriani was the inventor. The original recipe was made with fresh pureed white peaches with a bit of raspberry or cherry juice to give them a pink glow.

It will take you back to a time when Ernest Hemingway, Orsen Wells and Sinclair Lewis enjoyed this drink canal side in Venice while the USA was locked in Prohibition.

1 parts Peach Scnapps
3 parts Champagne