INGREDIENTS

• 60ml Ester Dry Gin
• 20ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml honey syrup (2:1 honey:water)

METHOD

1. Measure all into a shaker and shake,shake,shake. Strain into a frozen cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Variation: Sub out 15ml of the gin with Americano vermouth for more elevated flavour.

The Strawberry Letter 23

There’s a lot to love about vermouth,and few bars boast a collection as impressive as Botanik in Kyneton,Victoria. Co-owner Melissa Macfarlane suggests making an elegant Strawberry Letter 23 usingHepburn Distillery Strawberry Gin,Mancino Sakura (cherry blossom) Vermouth,and Sirene Aperitivo Americano Bianco (an aperitif with notes of rhubarb,orange blossom and rosehip made by Elisa Carta in Italy’s Lake Garda). “It is a cool Mother’s Day cocktail for a cool mum,” Macfarlane says. “It is soulful,sweet,but not too sweet,a touch of funk and earthiness and finished with a drift of strawberry perfume.”

INGREDIENTS

• 30ml Hepburn Distillers Strawberry Gin
• 45ml Mancio Sakua Vermouth
• 10ml Sirene Aperitivo Americano Bianco
• 2 dashes of grapefruit bitters
• pinch of strawberry dust

METHOD

1. Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass,add lots of ice,stir until it’s very cold.
2. Place a large ice cube in a 1930s-style Old Fashioned glass and strain the mixture into the glass.
3. Add grapefruit bitters and add a pinch of strawberry dust to the ice cube.

Foret Noir

Head to new Surry Hills hauntArmorica Grande Brasserie in Sydney and the offering is proudly Parisian. When she created the Foret Noir,bar manager Charlotte Belvisotti was inspired by French ingredients,the likes of which are often served with a cheese plate or foie gras. Serve it as an arrival drink,with a cheese platter,or solo as a dessert.

INGREDIENTS

• 45ml fig leaf vodka (see below)
• 10ml Mr Black Coffee Liqueur
• 30ml raspberry vinegar and balsamic shrub (see below)
• 20ml egg white

Fig leaf vodka

• 700ml Belvedere Vodka
• 3 fig leaves

Raspberry vinegar and balsamic shrub

• 600g plums
• 400g white sugar
• 30ml balsamic vinegar
• 200ml raspberry vinegar
• 1 pinch of salt

METHOD

1. To prepare the fig leaf-infused vodka, combine 700ml Belvedere Vodka and three fig leaves in a sealed bag and sous vide at 55 degrees for one hour. Place in an ice bath and let it rest,then strain,bottle and refrigerate.
2. To make the shrub, cut plums and discard pits. Combine all ingredients in a Thermomix,cook at 55 degrees for 15 minutes at speed 10. Strain through chinois,bottle,label and refrigerate.
3. To make the cocktail,shake all ingredients and double strain.
4. Make a fig leaf coin by cutting a leaf into a circle with a cookie cutter.
5. Garnish drink with a fig leaf coin.

Prosecco Hugo Mocktail

Five minutes of prep is all it takes to make Edenvale’s non-alc version of the twist on the classic aperitif. The South Australian brand makes some of the most decent alcohol-removed wines on the market and a bottle of the fizz is just $10.50,so it’s an affordable option that serves up to eight people.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle of Edenvale Sparkling Cuvee
• glass (or two!) half-filled with ice
• good splash of elderflower cordial
• several mint leaves
• lime wedge
• soda water

METHOD

1. Pluck several mint leaves into a wine glass,squeeze over a lime wedge and drop it in.
2. Add a generous teaspoon of elderflower cordial,before topping up the glass with prosecco and a splash of soda water.
3. Throw in some ice-cubes,mix well and enjoy.

Flat White Martini

When Garcon Bleu bar manager and resident mixologist Aaron Sunny channels brunch vibes at Adelaide’s French restaurant,he can’t go past the Flat White Martini. “A lot of mums love this,” he says. “Serve it with a beautiful croissant – fresh out of the oven.” The simple,but memorable concoction is best served in a martini glass.

INGREDIENTS

• 20ml Baileys
• 30ml vodka
• 20ml Kahlua
• shot of espresso

METHOD

1. Shake and strain with loads of love.