Ibiza Sour

A few years ago, I had the chance to experiment with Hierbas de las Dunas, a stunning liqueur created by Michelin-starred chef Syrco Bakker. So it was definitely time to finally get creative with the original Mari Mayans Hierbas de Ibiza.

On a sun-drenched May 1st, I found both the time and inspiration to craft a refreshing low-alcohol cocktail using the authentic Hierbas de Ibiza.

Ibiza Sour

• 30 ml Hierbas de Ibiza
• 30 ml Amontillado Sherry
• 30 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
• 15 ml Cane Sugar Syrup
• 0,5 Egg White

Add all ingredients to a shaker. Shake vigorously without ice first to create a rich foam. 

Next, add plenty of ice and shake again until the shaker feels ice-cold. Serve in a tumbler over fresh ice cubes. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Enjoy!

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

 

Birmingham Sour

If you visit cocktailbars once in a while, the New York Sour won’t be a complete stranger to you. It’s a perfectly crafted whisky sour with a float of bold red wine. It takes some skill and experience to serve this drink Instagrammable. You need a good layer of egg whites (or a substitute) and the red wine can’t mix too much with the rest of the drink. 

I can easily imagine that such a delicate serve wasn’t really possible in speakeasy bars, during the prohibition. It would be more likely something like this drink, the Birmingham Sour. 

This drink contains the same ingredients, but with a completely different cocktail as a result. 

Yes, you should read that again. 

While the New York Sour gives you a separate taste experience between the wine and the rest of the cocktail, the Birmingham Sour mixes the flavours from the start. This means the typical notes from the wine are strongly diluted but added directly to the flavour profile of the cocktail. Interesting at least.

Since my wife and I are both Italy fans, I picked a bottle of good quality Chianti Classico for the red wine. And of course, we enjoyed the rest of the bottle with a good meal. 

Birmingham Sour

Ingredients

60 ml Rittenhouse Rye whiskey

30 ml Freshly s6queezed lemon juice

20 ml Cane sugar syrup

10 ml Perano Chianti Classico 2019 (Red wine)

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake hard and fine strain in an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice. 

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.

The Garrison

Happy New Year to all our readers and followers. 

As promised this year I’ll be focussing on speakeasy, prohibition, and roaring 20s Gatsby-style drinks. The Peaky Blinders Cocktail book will be my most important source of inspiration, but I’ll adapt the recipes to my personal taste and story. 

I think that in the prohibition period, drinks were mostly made with local products. You had to use what was available and what wouldn’t attract too much attention. 

The first drink I’ll try for this series is the flagship drink of the book: The Garrison, named after the famous bar of the Peaky Blinders.

In the book, this recipe is basically a Gin Sour upgraded with blackberry liqueur. Since I’m out of blackberries and blackberry liqueur (in summer we have these in our garden), but our city is known for its blueberries (Blueberry Fields is worth a visit in summer)… I swapped the liqueur. The result was satisfactory, but it wouldn't hurt to use slightly more gin. 

The Garrison

Ingredients

40 ml Gin (I used Arduenna Gin)

15 ml Cane sugar syrup

15 ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice

20 ml Blueberry liqueur

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and double strain in a coupe. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. 

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.

Anguria Sour

Most years my wife (Italian roots!!!) produces home-made limoncello and arancello. But have you ever heard of anguriacello? The guys from ‘The Natural Limoncello’ have sent me a bottle. It’s more or less the same thing, but made from watermelon. Now, that’s a fruity flavour we can work with. 

Anguria Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Hendrick’s Gin
20 ml The Natural Anguriacello
20 ml lemon juice
10 ml Simple Syrup

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain over fresh ice in a tumbler. Garnish with a dehydrated blood Orange slice. 

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.

New York Sour - The Capian Edition

The New York Sour is a semi-classic variation on the Whisky Sour (or Bourbon Sour). It’s basically a normal whisky sour with egg white foam, with an extra float of red wine which settles more or less below the foam layer. 

I have tried several New York Sour recipes in the past years, but often for me, it’s slightly too bitter. That of course depends on the red wine used for the float. When my friends at PresentDa launched a campaign for Château Prieuré Sainte Anne, I was immediately intrigued. Could this 90% Merlot wine be the perfect wine for my New York Sour float? 

Château Prieuré Sainte Anne is full of red fruits, the 10% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes add more tannins and a slight smokiness. The wine had aged for a year in oak barrels to add that slight note of wood. Château Prieuré Sainte Anne is served at several Michelin star restaurants. 

New York Sour – The Capian Edition

Ingredients

50 ml Whisky / Bourbon

30 ml Lemon juice

10 ml Honey Syrup

Egg white (or aquafaba)

Château Prieuré Sainte Anne (Merlot wine)

Method

Add the egg white, whisky, lemon juice and syrup to a shaker without ice. I recommend adding the spring of a hawthorn strainer (it works like a whisk). Give it a good shake for 10 seconds. Open the shaker and add a few ice cubes. Shake again for 12 to 14 seconds. Strain over fresh ice in a tumbler. Hold your barspoon just above the foam layer and carefully add some red wine. Garnish with dehydrated orange.

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.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2021 - Les Canailles Rhum Punch

Another intriguing bottle in this years’ Xmas Gifts Parade: Les Canailles Punch au Rhum Marseillais – Café Vanille. Not a rum, not a spiced rum, but a rum-punch that’s still being infused with coffee and vanilla. 

Say that again? Yes, it’s still being infused. When we hold up the bottle against the light we can see coffee beans and a nice big vanilla pod inside the bottle. It’s one of many flavours in the special series of Rhum punches at 32° alcohol.

When I pour myself a glass of punch, I experience mixed feelings. In the nose, I get mostly the typical “rubber and oil” aroma of the Rhum Agricole from Martinique. The coffee and vanilla are very subtle, almost hard to detect. But when I taste the punch, it’s an explosion of rum and vanilla in my mouth. I immediately know I want to mix a basic sour with this weird spirit. 

Coffee Canaille Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Les Canailles Rhum Punch Café Vanille
30 ml Fresh lemon juice
10 ml Simple syrup

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake, but not too long. When the shaker feels cold enough, fine strain into a tumbler with fresh ice. No garnish, serve with Christmas cookies.

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.

Pineapple Sour

Pineapple is just an ingredient for tiki-rum cocktails, isn’t it?

That’s probably a fixed idea in many people’s minds. But actually pineapple mixes very well with lots of spirits. I love to add a splash to my whisky sour. It adds a nice fruity touch. 

I picked a special kind of whisky for this drink: Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon, probably the most unique bottle from Heaven Hill Distillers. It's a Bourbon, which means the mashbill needs to have at least 51% of corn. But instead of using rye as the secondary grain, for this whiskey they use wheat. From all wheated Bourbons that exist today (actually just a handful), this one is probably the "most wheated".

Most other wheated Bourbon: 70% Corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley.

Larceny wheated Bourbon: 68% Corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley.

This results in a softer and rounder character. 

Bottled at 92 Proof this a spirit that works very well in cocktails. 

• Aroma: Bread, butterscotch.
• Taste: Butter, caramel, honey.
• Finish: Long gentle finish.

Pineapple Sour

Ingredients

50 ml Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon

10 ml Simple syrup

15 ml lime juice

15 ml pineapple juice

Method

Add everything to a shaker with enough ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Add a cocktail cherry. 

Note: No real need for egg white or aquafaba in this sour. The pineapple will automatically create a natural (thin) foamy layer on top of your drink.

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.

Amaretto Sour

In the European soccer competition tonight Belgium plays against Italy. Personally I don’t watch sports on TV at all, but I suppose most of you could use a recipe for a "quick and easy" cocktail… and why not, I’ll add some Italian flavors.

In my box with bottles that I still have to test, I found this nice bottle of Amaretto Florence. This Amaretto, produced at the Franciacorta Distillery has a very delicate profile. I compared it with other Amaretto bottles I had in my stock and the difference was very clear. Less overwhelming and more almond. More flavor is always good.  

A sour is one of the most popular base recipes, and it also works great for the Amaretto Sour. This is a low alcohol, slightly sweeter sour cocktail. 

Amaretto Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Amaretto
30 ml Lime juice
10 ml Simple syrup
1 dash of Angostura aromatical bitters

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with orange.

Tip
You can choose to have this cocktail with or without eggwhite foam. I prefer this one without a foam layer. 

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.

Father's Day Sour - The London N°1

Next Sunday is Father’s Day in Belgium. You might have considered the classic choice for a boozy present (Gin of bubbly for women, but mostly dark spirits for men), but why not do the opposite this year? Men also like a refreshing and good quality Gin & Tonic to wet the appetite before firing up the BBQ. 

Of course a G&T might be a bit too easy for a new festive blogpost, so I tried to make it a bit tastier by adding some fruity sours. Don’t let the color fool you, this is not a sweet drink. This sour is a bitter and boozy aperitif most men will certainly appreciate. 

The base for my drink is The London N°1 Gin, distilled in copper pot stills in the heart of London and a stylish brother of the popular Mom Gin range. Gonzalez Byass is the brand owner. 

Father’s Day Sour

Ingredients
50 ml London N°1 Gin
30 ml Grapefruit juice
15 ml Maraschino liqueur (Max. 20 ml, for me 15 ml was already enough)
A dash of citrus bitters
Fever-Tree Premium Soda Water

Method
Add everything but the soda water to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake hard until the shaker feels really cold. Fine strain into a big coppa glass with fresh ice. Top with soda water. Garnish with grapefruit. 

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.

Port of New York

My foodblogging better half loves to cook and bake. Some days she shouts from the kitchen to ask if I can use an eggwhite… That calls for a nice sour cocktail. 

A well-known variation of the Whisky Sour is the New York Sour. It’s more or less the same whisky sour, but with a red wine float carefully added on top. I mixed up another variation, switching the red wine for a nice and fruity red port. 

This absolutely is not the same drink as a New York Sour. Port is a bit heavier and richer than red wine, so it won’t stay on top as a nice float… it will turn your drink into something that almost reminded me of a psychedelic 70s lava lamp 😉. 

So, this drink might not look like a million dollars, but the taste is excellent. At first I was in doubt to use it for the blog, but my wife actually loved the strange look of it. So here it is…  

Port of New York

Ingredients
50 ml Douglas Laing Timorous Beastie
30 ml Lemon juice
10 ml Honey syrup
Eggwhite
A splash of Graham’s Six Grapes Port

Method
Add everything but the port to a shaker without ice. Give it a good dryshake. Add some ice and shake again to cool the drink. Double Strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Add a splash of port wine on top. 

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.

Not a Daiquiri

In earlier recipes I have already made connections between cachaça from Brazil and rum from the Caribbean. Cachaça and rum have similar roots, but the result in the bottle is pretty different. Somehow I really love the combination of the typical warm sweetness of rum and the more ‘grassy’ notes of cachaça. Another spirit which also has that ‘grassiness’ is Tequila. Let’s try a sour with a mix of Tequila and rum. To keep a link with Brazil, I’m using Weber Rum, produced by one of the better cachaça distillers. The result is something in between a Daiquiri and a Caipirinha 😉 

Not a Daiquiri

Ingredients
25 ml Sierra Antiguo Plata (100% Blue Agave)
25 ml Señor Weber Rum Blanco
25 ml Fresh Lime juice
10 ml Simple Syrup

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 15 minutes and strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel. 

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.

Costa Sour - Duingin

This week I got a nice introduction to the gin-range headed by Duingin. Today I’ll focus on the leading bottle of the range, which is Duingin itself. This distilled gin is a real terroir product based on a maceration of Sea Buckthorn (in dutch: Duindoorn). These bright coloured berries grow in the dunes at the Belgian/Netherlands coast and have a very specific coastal flavor. I’ve seen lots of them at the Zwin Nature Parc between Knokke (B) and Cadzand (NL). 

On the nose this gin has the refreshing smell of Sea Buckthorn and Juniper berries. The very typical sweet-sour taste of the berries is well balanced in the mouth and is supported by a complex mix of herbs and spices. Primary botanicals are Sea Buckthorn and Lavender. 

Perfect serve: 5 cl Duingin, 15cl neutral Indian tonic and a slice of lime. 

When I read the story of this gin, I immediately wanted to mix it with Hierbas de las Dunas, the herbal liqueur produced by Michelin star chef Syrco Bakker. This Ibiza-style liqueur has a salty-sweet flavour and is made with the same Sea Buckthorn as one of the primary botanicals. The Duingin range also has 3 other gins (Ginger, Ginius and Oxygin). We’ll return with a couple of those later on. 

Costa Sour

Ingredients
40 ml Duingin
30 ml Hierbas de las Dunas
30 ml Lime juice
10 ml Simple Syrup
1 eggwhite

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker without ice. Shake hard to create some foam. Add ice and shake gently for 10 more seconds. Double strain in a pre-chilled coupe or cognac glass. No garnish needed. 

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.

 

Magical cocktails with Illugin Gin

In the glass, most gins look pretty much the same. But they all have a very different bouquet of tastes and aromas. This Gin is different in every possible way. It’s not a London Dry Gin and it has a very sexy color, which changes while you mix your drink. 

Illugin is a new gin by a small company located at The Belgian coast. In a market that’s swamped with small batch gins, they wanted to launch a new Belgian gin. But it had to be a special one. A real eye catcher with a wonderful taste.  

The most important difference with the average gin in your supermarket : This is an Old Tom Distilled Gin. Slightly sweeter than a London Dry Gin, dryer than a Dutch Genever, but certainly not so sweet as some sticky Spanish gins. 

Illugin contains a selection of botanicals such as coriander, caraway, angelica root and blueberries. And here comes the magical part - Among the botanicals used to produce this gin, there’s also a flower that adds “color changing magic” to your drinks. Illugin markets this flower as a secret, but this isn’t the first color changing gin I’ve seen. The flower that’s responsible for this party trick is the Clitoria Ternatea, also known as the Blue Pea or Butterfly Pea, originally grown in Asia and used mainly in tea.

It’s really fun to play with and it will amaze your guests. The color changing happens easily by adding some citrus or tonic to your drink. This colorful gin doesn’t contain any artificial colorants, only natural botanicals. 

So this might not be the first Butterfly Pea Gin I’ve seen, it’s definitely one of the tastiest. I really love the taste and aroma of this Old Tom Gin and had lots of fun playing around with it. I used it in three serves this week, which were all pretty and delicious: I mixed up the obligatory Gin & Tonic (watch the cool video on Facebook and Instagram, it’s made with my smartphone by my 9y old daughter !!!). 

After that I also mixed up a Gin Sour and a Martinez. The Martinez is a classic recipe that really needs an Old Tom gin to get it 100% right. For the Gin & Tonic I used a 1/3 ratio with a neutral Indian Tonic. For both cocktails I’ll add the recipes below. 

Magical Gin Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Illugin Old Tom gin
30 ml Fresh lemon juice
10 ml Simple syrup
1 egg white

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with just ONE single icecube. Shake hard for 10 seconds.
Add more ice and shake again for 10 seconds to cool it down. Strain in a pre-chilled coupe. 

Magical Martinez

Ingredients
50 ml Illugin Old Tom Gin
25 ml Starlino sweet vermouth
7 ml Leonce Extra Dry vermouth
7 ml Maraschino liqueur
1 dash Angostura bitters

Method
Stir all ingredients together in a mixing glass with lots of ice. Strain into a pre-chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry. 

If you can handle a slightly more difficult bar-skill, also express a piece of orange peel above the glass to spread some of those fantastic oils. Throw away the peel, don’t put it in your drink. 

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.

Gold Rush

We always try to stay focused on the mission of this blog : Easy to make cocktails, that you can make at home. If you already enjoy a refreshing Gin & Tonic now and then, you can also mix up these easy cocktails. It’s just ‘the next step’. For this purpose I often ‘simplify’ recipes I discover online or in old cocktail books. 

This ‘Gold Rush’ is a very tasty variation on the Whisky Sour. The recipe below is also slightly simplified, but I can promise it’s delicious. The honey always hits you in the aftertaste and the grapefruit bitters give it another direction compared to the original Whisky Sour. 

Are bitters hard to find? You can get them at most liqueur stores or order them online.

Gold Rush

Ingredients
50 ml Jack Daniel’s Old Nr. 7
30 ml fresh lemon juice
15 ml Honey syrup
2 dashes of grapefruit bitters
1 egg white

Method
Add all ingredients to your shaker with just one (1 !!!) ice cube. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds to develop some lovely foam. Open the shaker and add more ice. Shake gently for 10 more seconds until you feel the shaker getting really cold. Double Strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. 

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.

Autumn Gin sour

Temperatures are dropping, Saint Nicolas and Santa Claus are already on their way to bring your presents. Let’s do some more autumn drinks, before winter comes knocking on the door. 

Are you also looking forward to this festive season? We are in our final preparations to start the photoshoots for our annual end-of-year series. 

This Autumn Gin Sour is a tasty variation on Salvatore Calabrese’s Breakfast Martini.

Autumn Gin Sour

Ingredients
50 ml London Dry Gin
25 ml Lemon juice
25 ml Grand Marnier (or Cointreau Noir)
10 ml Simple Syrup (careful with this, depends on the sourness of the lemon)
1 bs Orange Marmalade (You need a good quality marmalade with lots of flavour)
1 egg white

Method
Put all ingredients in a shaker without ice. Shake vigorously to create foam. You can always add the spring of a strainer to really whisk up the foam. Add ice and shake again until the shaker is freezing cold. Double Strain in a fancy coupe. Garnish with edible flowers. 

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.

Elephant Sour - Satao Gin

Well, this certainly put a smile on my face. Elephant Gin (=Satao Gin in the Benelux countries) has sent me a bottle of Gin with my name on it. Cool !

We’ve tested this brand before and remember the unusual African botanicals and the great story about the founders and the fact they still support organisations protecting wild elephants. 

Let’s do a tasty and simple cocktail which adds some extra fruit to the taste of this spirit. 

Elephant Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Satao Gin
15 ml Lime juice
15 ml Blood Orange juice
10 ml Simple Syrup

Method
Keep it very simple. Shake everything with lots of ice. Serve in a cocktail glass with fresh ice and a fresh cut of lemon. 

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.

Ardbeg Sour

 

In the past weeks we joined two great online Ardbeg events : Ardbeg Day and Ardbeg Hour (=whisky tasting). During the last event Brendan McCarron also shared his favourite Ardbeg cocktail recipe. Brendan calls it his own version of the Daiquiri, but for me that name really connects to rum. I’ll just call it the Ardbeg Sour.   

Ardbeg Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Ardbeg 10
20 ml cloudy apple juice
20 ml lime juice
10 ml Vanilla syrup

Method
All ingredients into the shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 30 seconds and strain into a tumbler with a big block of ice. Slainte !

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.

Blood Drop Cocktails

 

Each year I buy a bunch of blood oranges, to make some home-made dehydrated slices for my cocktails. When I have a few extra, I squeeze them for the delicious bloody red orange juice.

When juice of blood oranges is used in cocktails, they often use too much. I like cocktails with max. 15 ml of this juice in them. I call them ‘Blood Drop cocktails’. They work best in sour style cocktails.

Blood Drop Margarita

Ingredients
5 cl Tequila silver
1,5 cl Lime juice
1,5 cl Blood orange juice
3 cl Cointreau Blood Orange
Optional : ½ bsp Agave syrup

Method
Shake with lots of ice. Double strain in a Margarita glass. Add a cocktail cherry.

Blood Drop Sour

Ingredients
5 cl Deanston 15y whisky
1,5 cl Lemon juice
1,5 cl Blood orange juice
1,5 cl Honey syrup
1 dash Blood orange bitters

Method
Shake with lots of ice. Double strain in a tumbler with a big block of ice.
Add a dehydrated slice of blood orange.

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.

Siropen en Sours - Met House of Broughton Gembersiroop

Wie deze blog al wat langer volgt weet dat ik steeds op zoek ben naar manieren om zo eenvoudig mogelijk lekkere cocktails te maken. Soms kan je met een kleine wijziging aan het recept een wereld van verschil maken. Ik hou er ook rekening mee dat niet iedereen zelf aan de slag gaat om siropen te bereiden, dus ik zoek steeds naar de best mogelijke alternatieven zodat je de keuze hebt tussen zelf bereiden of gewoon het ingrediënt aanschaffen.

Toen de invoerder van Fentimans me vertelde dat ze een reeks van premium siropen op de markt zouden brengen, was mijn interesse uiteraard gewekt. Hun producten zijn immers steeds van een zeer hoge kwaliteit.

Laat ons eerlijk zijn, met bekende merken als Monin en Marie Brizard is er in België al een ruime keuze aan siropen verkrijgbaar, maar je moet wel het geluk hebben dat jouw supermarkt of drankenhandel de siropen in stock neemt die je nodig hebt. Om een voorbeeld te geven, de dichtstbijzijnde Horeca-groothandel waar ik regelmatig over de vloer kom, heeft een groot rek met Monin-siropen, maar heeft vb. nooit gembersiroop van dit merk in voorraad. Ik merk ook op dat kleinere drankenhandelaars vooral een selectie van smaken in voorraad nemen die je ook in warme dranken kan toevoegen omdat ze daar gemakkelijker meer stuks van kunnen verkopen.

De nieuwe Fentimans-reeks met natuurlijke siropen noemt “House of Broughton Finest syrups” en volgende smaken zijn verkrijgbaar :

• Simple Syrup (gewone suikersiroop)
• Raspberry (Framboos)
• Elderflower (Vlierbloesem)
• Cucumber (Komkommer)
• Rose (Roos)
• Ginger (Gember)

Vandaag gaan we aan de slag met één van mijn favoriete siropen : GEMBERSIROOP

Fentimans geeft zelf aan dat het gaat om siropen met ‘High Flavour strenght’ en dat is zeker niet gelogen. Geen suikersiroop met een toegevoegd vleugje van iets anders, maar een pittige siroop waarin de smaak zeer stevig aanwezig is. Hier moet je wel mee opletten bij het bereiden van cocktails. Vergeleken met doorsnee siropen heb je van deze echt wel iets minder nodig om tot hetzelfde gewenste smaakresultaat te komen.
Gembersiroop is een suikersiroop met een extra pittige kick, waarmee je een eenvoudige cocktail zoals een whisky sour onmiddellijk naar een hoger niveau kan tillen. Uiteraard kan je dit ook door eerst enkele schijfjes verse gember in je shaker te muddlen, maar de smaken zijn dan veel minder geblend en het geeft ook wel wat meer troep bij de afwas.
Je kan natuurlijk ook zelf gembersiroop maken met dit basisrecept : je start met het blenden van 150 gram verse geschilde gember. Voeg dan eerst 250 ml water en 500 gram rietsuiker samen in een steelpan. Verwarm tot de suiker gesmolten is. Voeg de gemberpulp toe en verwarm langzaam tot tegen het kookpunt. Laat afkoelen en zeef (desnoods meerdere keren) tot de meeste stukjes eruit zijn. Bewaar in een afgesloten fles.

We deden uiteraard de test met de gembersiroop uit de nieuwe Broughton-reeks en het resultaat was ronduit verbluffend. De verhouding tussen zoet en spicy was perfect in evenwicht. De smaak is ook veel complexer dan bij een gewone suikersiroop : aardetoetsen, citrus, spicy, een echte heath-kick. In onze sour-cocktail kwam alles onmiddellijk in een perfecte balans. Het zoete van de suiker, de heath-kick van de gember en het zure van de citroen, perfect gecombineerd met een heerlijke bourbon.

De Penicillin blijft één van mijn favoriete cocktails. Voor mij is dit echt een “verbeterde versie” van de klassieke whisky sour. Bij dit artikel krijg je twee smaakvolle varianten die er misschien bijna hetzelfde uitzien, maar toch een heel verschillende smaaksensatie teweeg brengen.

Als versiering voor deze cocktails kies je ongetwijfeld voor een schijfje gember. Thuis zal je wellicht gemakshalve kiezen voor een vers afgesneden gemberschijfje wat uiteraard enorm veel aroma geeft, of een gedroogd gemberschijfje als alternatief (je kan dit zelf drogen of aanschaffen in de drankenhandel vb. Botanic & Fruits DryGinjer). In cocktailbars zal deze cocktail meestal geserveerd worden met een gekonfijt gemberschijfje. In tegenstelling tot verse of gedroogde gember zal je deze ongetwijfeld ook lekker opsnoepen. Gekonfijte gember is superlekker en eigenlijk niet eens zo moeilijk om zelf te maken.

Wat heb je nodig ? Gember, water en suiker (rietsuiker voor de siroop en gewone kristalsuiker voor de coating). Met de hoeveelheid rietsuiker kan je spelen, in recepten lees je hoeveelheden van “evenveel als de gember” tot “driemaal zoveel als de gember”. Het ligt er dus maar aan hoe zoet je het wil hebben. Eerst en vooral snijden we dunne schijfjes van de gember met een scherp mes of mandoline (opletten voor de vingers !). De gemberschijfjes mogen in een pannetje. Bedek met water en laat koken tot ze lekker zacht zijn. Afhankelijk van de warmtebron kan dit 20 tot 30 minuten duren. Haal de schijfjes eruit. Daarna gaan rietsuiker en water samen op het vuur tot de suiker gesmolten is. Ik doe dit een beetje op het gevoel. Ik gebruik evenveel suiker als water en voldoende om de schijfjes helemaal onder te zetten. Je kan ook het water van daarnet opnieuw hiervoor gebruiken zodat je nog wat extra gemberaroma krijgt, maar je zal alleszins vers water moeten toevoegen om een voldoende hoeveelheid te hebben. Voeg de gemberschijfjes opnieuw toe. Breng terug naar het kookpunt en laat opnieuw 20 a 30 minuten op het vuur staan. De gemberschijfjes moeten lekker zoet en zacht worden. Haal de schijfjes eruit en laat ze drogen op een rooster met bakpapier tot ze afgekoeld zijn en nog plakkerig, maar zeker niet meer heet of nat. Haal ze dan door kristalsuiker. Het is de bedoeling dat de suikerkorreltjes op de gemberschijfjes blijven plakken, maar ze mogen dus zeker niet smelten. Laat verder drogen en bewaar ze dan in een afgesloten doos.
De siroop die overblijft in het pannetje hoef je zeker niet weg te gooien. Beetje water toevoegen, terug opwarmen, goed doorroeren en in een flesje gieten. Dit is een iets zwaardere gembersiroop die je zeker nog kan gebruiken. Tip : Een lepeltje in een tas thee kan wonderen doen !

Geen zin om zelf in de keuken te staan? Bij Pit & Pit kan je gekonfijte gemberblokjes kopen. Steek zo’n blokje op een prikkertje en serveer bovenop je cocktail (zie foto van Ginger Whisky Sour). 

Ginger Whisky Sour

Ingrediënten
50 ml Bulleit Bourbon
20 ml House of Broughton Gembersiroop
20 ml House of Broughton Suikersiroop
30 ml Vers citroensap

Bereiding
Shake alle ingrediënten met ijs. Dubbel zeven in een tumblerglas met vers ijs. Versieren met sinaasappelzeste en gekonfijte gember. (Foto: Fentimans)

Penicillin

Ingrediënten
50 ml Blended Scotch whisky (vb. Dewar’s 12)
20 ml Honing-Gembersiroop of House of Broughton Gembersiroop
30 ml Vers citroensap
Barlepel geturfde whisky (vb. Laphroaig 10)

Bereiding
Het originele recept voor deze cocktail is met Honing/Gembersiroop (dus gemaakt met honing i.p.v. rietsuiker), maar minstens even lekker is absoluut deze pittige House of Broughton Gembersiroop. Je zou eventueel ook kunnen opteren voor een combinatie van 10 ml House of Broughton Gembersiroop en 10 ml Honingsiroop.

Shake de whisky, citroensap en siroop met ijs. Dubbel zeven in een tumblerglas met één groot ijsblok. Bovenop het ijsblok voorzichtig een barlepel geturfde whisky toevoegen voor extra aroma. Versieren met sinaasappelzeste en een schijfje gekonfijte gember.

Amaroweek : Campari Sour

Nog eentje voor de #Amaroweek. Wie deze blog al langer volgt weet dat ik wel hou van een stevige ouderwetse Bourbon-cocktail zoals een Bourbon Sour. Hierop maken we ook een variatie voor deze themaweek, de Amaro Sour, voor de gelegenheid gemaakt met Campari.

CAMPARI SOUR
Ingredienten
4 cl Campari
6 cl Bulleit Bourbon
2 cl Honingsiroop
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 eiwit

Bereiding
Alle ingrediënten mogen samen in een shaker ZONDER ijs. Krachtig shaken om een mooie dikke schuimlaag te creëren.

Daarna voegen we ijs toe en gaan we opnieuw krachtig shaken om de cocktail te koelen.

Strainen in een Old Fashioned glas met een groot ijsblok. Versieren met een bloemetje of cocktailkers.