I’ve been looking for a cocktail which is sort of a contradiction. I wanted something light, fizzy and fruity, yet (since it’s nearly december) I wanted it to be Christmassy and festive. Couldn’t find anything which fit the bill, so I sorta made one up.
I love bourbon (it’s also helpfully quite easy to find vegan bourbons!) and since I got engaged in Stockholm, I also love all things Scandinavia. My mum grows shed loads of berries in summer so at this point my freezer is always full of frozen little dudes. My fave? Redcurrants! I remember having a soda in Sweden called Vinbärssaft and I wanted to make it seriously hard core.
The bourbon, redcurrants and the cloves make this drink Christmassy, but the ginger and the bubbles make it refreshing and light. A perfect balance, I’d say!
Wanna make it VIRTUALLY non alcoholic? Switch the ginger beer for kombucha and leave out the bourbon! Oooooh mama!
Ingredients
For the Vinbärssaft (redcurrant syrup)
- 100 g redcurrants fresh or frozen
- 3 cloves
- 35 g caster sugar
- 1/8 tsp citric acid or 1tsp lemon juice
- Put the berries cloves and sugar in a saucepan with 120ml water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the berries are all burst (around 7 minutes).
- Put the berries into a muslin bag and strain out the juice into a measuring jug being careful not to burn yourself. Add the citric acid and stir. Allow to cool.
- Makes one drink
For the Cocktail
- Ice cubes
- Lime slice to garnish
- 1 tbsp Vinbärssaft redcurrant syrup
- Juice of half a lime
- 50 ml vegan bourbon Bulleit or Woodford Reserve are great
- 200 ml ginger beer or to taste
Instructions
To Make The Cocktail
- Pop the ice and the lime slice into a rocks glass or small tumbler.
- In a cocktail shaker add the Vinbärssaft, the lime juice and the bourbon. Pour over the ice into the glass. Top up with ginger beer.
Leave a Reply