Continuing our adventure on bottles for the festive season which can be
procured for less than the cost of a Premier League match at Chelsea and will
last you longer than one of their managers, our journey so far has taken us
from beer to Scotch, via Japanese whisky, and now we end up somewhere totally
different, yet with another of the stalwarts in our cabinet every festive
season.
Whenever Christmas comes around, there are key flavours which we all
associate with the festivities. From sherry to dates and figs, cranberry to
hazelnuts and marzipan, one of the key protagonists in the festive flavour
character list is ginger. Not too easy to use as it can be very overpowering,
there is one amazing product which can add a huge Christmas hit to any
cocktail.
Monin have for years made sugar syrups which much of the drinks industry
have embraced in various forms. You'll see their products behind the stall in
your local coffee shop as well as in your local cocktail haunt. Their
Gingerbread Syrup, not even near the £10 mark, is pretty much Christmas in a bottle. The moment you take the
cap off and the smell of condensed gingerbread hits you, you'll be in woolly
socks by the fireside.
Our tip is to add this, in small measures, to your fav cocktail. It'll
turn an "Old Fashioned" in to an "Old Lang Syne" and a
"Whiskey Sour" in to a "Whisky Hug". Even a drop in a hot
toddy will turn heads as you walk past with the cup filling the room with a
whisky and gingerbread aroma.
Number 4 in our 18 Under 30: Monin Gingerbread Syrup
Caskstrength's Gingerbread Whiskey Sour:
Take a rocks glass and will with ice and water and leave to one side.
Next, fill one half of a classic Boston shaker with ice, four quarters
of a small lemon, squeezing the juice in first, 5ml of Four Roses Small Batch
(or similar bourbon),15ml of Monin Gingerbread Sugar Syrup and a dash of
Angostura bitters. Add in the white of one egg and shake. Hard.
After a good 20 seconds of shaking, pour the water and ice out of the
rocks glass, refill with fresh ice and slowly strain the mixture from the
cocktail shaker into the glass. Garnish with dash of the bitters on top and, if
you have any, a small slither of crystallised ginger. Refreshing yet festive,
this is a winner of a cocktail for this time of year.