Summer Cocktails with Catherine

This Summer season, we invited Catherine to create fruity and flavourful recipes for you to drink all summer long.

Watermelon Crush

You can’t get a more refreshing summer fruit than watermelon, serve this on hot summer days whilst you cool down in the shade.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 120g fresh watermelon, you can de-seed if so inclined, extra to cube for garnish
• 50ml pink lemonade
• 40ml Vodka
• 25ml Cachaça – or Rum
• Juice of ½ lime
• 3 handfuls ice
• Mint leaves garnish

Add all the ingredients (except for the garnish) to a blender, pulse until you have a textured consistency but all the ingredients are combined. Pour into glasses, garnish and serve immediately.

Grapefruit Sunset

I forget how delicious the bitter-sweetness of a truly ripe grapefruit can be and it makes a great base for this cocktail. To take it a step further, create your own dried grapefruit garnish.

Serves 2 

Ingredients

• Fresh grapefruit juice, squeeze and strain 1 grapefruit (another for garnish)
• 60ml Gin 
• 50ml Apersol
• Tonic 
• 2 handfuls ice
• To garnish edible flowers and dried grapefruit slices

To dry the grapefruit slices, pre-heat the oven to 120C Fan, line a baking sheet with parchment and add grapefruit slices. Cook for 1 hour, remove and allow to cool on a wire rack

For the cocktail, squeeze the grapefruit, strain and divide between two glasses. In a cocktail shaker add a handful or two of ice, the gin and Apersol. Shake and add to the glass. Top with tonic a few extra ice cubes and garnish with the dried slices and/or edible flowers.

Summer Fruit Fizz

Summer in a glass, peach, raspberry and strawberries bathed in Prosecco.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 50ml Peach Liqueur
• 2 scoops raspberry sorbet
• Prosecco
• Fresh Strawberries and sprigs of basil to garnish

Add the peach liqueur to each glass along with a scoop of sorbet. Top with the Prosecco and serve with a Strawberry on the side and sprig of fresh basil.