ON a hot summer evening I can think of nothing better than heading into the garden with friends and sipping some refreshing cocktails.
The lemon, thyme and cucumber lemonade is a great virgin cocktail with just the right mix of sweet and herby flavours. Sangria is a fantastic sharing drink and this white version is crisp and refreshing and so easy to make – simply pop everything into a big jug and serve!
For something with a little more punch, try these delicious orange martinis. Served in martini glasses, with sugar or salt around the edge, they will definitely impress your friends.
You can’t go wrong with a classic mojito – just make sure you really muddle the lime and sugar together to release all the flavors. Cheers!
Lemon, thyme and cucumber lemonade
What you need:
5 lemons, washed and scrubbed to get rid of the waxy coating and cut into slices
1.5litres hot water
75g caster sugar – you can add more to suit your taste
8 sprigs of thyme
Quarter of a cucumber, cut into slices
PUT the lemons into a heatproof glass jug. Add the water and the sugar, stir together and leave to cool completely.
Once cool, stir in a little more sugar if needed, then add a couple of handfuls of ice, the thyme and the cucumber and serve.
White sangria with peaches, limes, mint and apples
What you need:
1 bottle of white wine
150ml of vodka – or just use lemon squash or apple juice for a non-alcoholic version
Half a lime, cut in to slices
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into eight wedges
1 x 410g tin of peaches and half the juice
2 lemon grass stalks bashed at the end
Half a bunch of mint
Ice cubes
PUT the wine, vodka, lime, apple, peaches and juice and lemon grass into a jug.
Leave to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Then add a few handfuls of ice and the mint, and serve.
Classic Mojitos
What you need:
3 limes cut into quarters
8 tbsp demerara sugar
400g crushed ice
1 bunch of fresh mint,leaves only
200ml rum — or for a virgin mojito replace the rum with 300ml of soda water or lemonade
DIVIDE the lime quarters between four glasses, put 2 tbsp of sugar into each glass. Use the end of a rolling pin to squish the lime and sugar together.
Divide the crushed ice and the mint between each glass.
Finally, top each glass with rum and then the soda water or lemonade and serve.
Orange Martini
What you need:
Salt or sugar
150ml white tequila
100ml Cointreau
The juice of 3 oranges
A couple of handfuls of ice cubes
SPRINKLE some salt or caster sugar on to a plate. Wet the rim of four martini glasses and dip into the salt or sugar and set aside.
Put the tequila, Cointreau, orange juice and ice cubes into a container you can pop a lid on, then shake vigorously for a minute or so.
Strain this liquid into a jug, then divide between the four glasses.