"First Blood" Martini

I’m always looking for interesting recipes to simplify. To strip them down to a maximum of 3 to 4 ingredients, without losing too much flavour. 

For this recipe, I changed the combination of vodka and grape juice into “Grape vodka”. One less ingredient, but still the same flavour profile. The original was called the Blood Martini because the colour is very dark red. It’s often served at Halloween parties. Because of the combination of liqueur and syrup, it’s a rather sweet drink. Balance with care! 

"First Blood" Martini

Ingredients

60 ml Grape Vodka

30 ml Ginger Liqueur

5 ml Blackberry syrup

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 15 seconds, fine strain in a Martini glass. Garnish with a fresh blackberry.

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Peat, smoke and a kick of ginger

For me, cocktails based on dark spirits really connect to autumn and winter. But what if you are very passionate about peated whisky and aren’t really into highballs? I think real classics like a whisky sour are recipes for all seasons, and probably the most adapted recipes around. 

Let’s do something with whisky and ginger. Let’s revisit that magical and powerful combination of peat, smoke and ginger. This drink is not for everyone, but if you like peated whisky, this is certainly yours!

This time we picked Dzjing Classic for the ginger touch. It’s a 100% organic mix of ginger, lime and herbs. You can just add soda to create ginger lemonade or add hot water for a healthy tea. 

The spirit of choice for this drink is Big Peat. This is a blend by Douglas Laing, combining the best malt-flavours from Islay. In the mix you’ll taste great malts from Ardbeg, Coal Ila, Bowmore and even the legendary Port Ellen. 

Is Big Peat a true ginger? Taste this drink and find out for yourself…

Peat, smoke and a kick of ginger

Ingredients

50 ml Big Peat

20 ml Dzjing Classic

10 ml Lemon juice

10 ml Simple syrup 

1 egg white

Method

For this drink, I’m trying a new technique I recently picked up from my friend Hannah van Ongevalle. It’s certainly faster than the technique I used before. 

We add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake for 15 seconds. Remove the ice from the shaker (if you use a Boston shaker, you can just strain the drink into the other half, through a strainer). Give it another hard shake without the ice. Serve in a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with a dehydrated slice of orange or a slice of candied ginger.

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.