Hi, Friends of Cocktails! I promised strawberry cocktails so today we’re making strawberry cocktails - 8 of them, to be precise. Stirred, shaken, built, blended, we’ll cover it all. As for the strawberries, we have Syrup, Liqueur and fresh, but frozen would work as well. We’ve already covered Strawberry Shrub, Strawberry Cordial and Strawberry-basil Pureé cocktails, so make sure to check those out if you haven’t yet. But with that, let’s start straight away with a twist on a classic: The Negroni!
You’ll need gin, sweet vermouth, Campari and Strawberry Liqueur before you’re ready to jam - and don’t worry, this post won’t be full of strawberry puns.
Strawberry Negroni
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz London Dry Gin
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz 9diDante Inferno
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Campari
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
We’ll build this cocktail straight into the glass, so pour the ingredients over a tempered clear ice block in a chilled lowball glass. Now stir with a barspoon to mix, chill and dilute the cocktail. For garnish I’m adding half of a strawberry right on top of the ice, and let’s finish it off with a spray of essential oils from an orange peel, discard the peel, and that’s the Strawberry Negroni. This Negroni is bitter, sweet, with strong strawberry and hints of chocolate. Bookmark this one for Valentine’s Day.
We started with a variation of the #1 Bestselling classic cocktail, according to Drinks International, so let’s continue with #2, the Old Fashioned. For this one I’ll use Liber&Co’s Pacific Strawberry Syrup, which gives you the option of turning any cocktail into a strawberry dessert. And since that’s made with the best, sun-ripened strawberries from America's West Coast we’re not mixing it with a classic bourbon, but a single barrel expression from Four Roses, along with bitters and saline.
Berry Old Fashioned
● 60mL · 2oz Four Roses Single Barrel
● 7.5mL · 0.25oz Liber & Co. Pacific Strawberry Syrup
● 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
So start with a chilled mixing glass into which we’ll add our ingredients. Add plenty of ice, stir to chill and dilute, then pour it over a clear ice cube. Garnish with the other half of the strawberry, add orange essential oils once again, and that’s it. You can’t go wrong trying the Berry Old Fashioned - boozy, sweet, rich, and fruity. But after two stirred cocktails let’s make something shaken.
This one will be made with something that some people call a Cognac, but it’s not. So instead of the Sidecar we’ll call this cocktail the Strawberry Chariot. The base will be Ararat Ani 7, a 7-year-aged Armenian Brandy, made with only indigenous Armenian grapes. I’ll mix it with strawberry liqueur, lemon juice, gum syrup and saline.
Strawberry Chariot
● 45mL · 1.5oz Ararat 7 Armenian Brandy
● 30mL · 0.5oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
● 7.5mL · 0.25oz Gum Syrup
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
As mentioned, I’ll be shaking this, so into a chilled shaker add the ingredients, then add ice, shake hard, to chill, dilute and aerate the drink. This one will be served in a coupe glass, and I think we won’t need a garnish for the Strawberry Chariot. Strawberry-forward, fresh, and well-rounded and perfectly balanced. One of the best cocktails of the day.
We’ve done stirred and shaken cocktails, now let’s make a blended one. And instead of going the obvious route and doing a strawberry Pina Colada I’ll make.. a Frozen Berry Negroni. A Froberoni. Sorry, Italy.
The Froberoni
● 90mL · 3oz Malfy Rosa Gin
● 90mL · 3oz 9diDante Inferno
● 90mL · 3oz Campari
● 67.5mL · 2.25oz Fresh Orange Juice
● 9-12 Strawberries
● 6 drops 20% Saline Solution
● 540g Pebble Ice
This one is as simple as placing the ingredients into a blender and blending until you get the perfect consistency - also if you need a good blender that doesn’t break the bank try this one. Now all that’s left is to pour into chilled lowball glasses, and garnish with a strawberry or an orange slice. The Froberoni is orangey, bittersweet, floral and berry-like.
With 4 cocktails down you might need a little pick-me-up, so let’s make Strawberry Espresso Martini. Strawberry and chocolate go well together, so why not strawberry and coffee?
Strawberry Espresso Martini
● 45mL · 1.5oz Absolut Elyx Vodka
● 30mL · 1oz Fresh Espresso
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 15mL · 0.5oz Coffee Liqueur
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
Into a shaker add the ingredients, followed by plenty of ice and shake hard to chill and dilute. Double strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish like you would an Espresso Martini, with 3 coffee beans. The Strawberry Espresso Martini is fruity, sweet and has a great coffee-berry balance, but it’s even better when using a light roast coffee with berry notes.
OK, I think we’re ready for 3 more, with the first one being a Sour, with a Berry Big Foam. We’ll again use gin, strawberry liqueur, lemon juice, but add in egg white to give us that nice foam and texture.
Berry Big Foam
● 60mL · 2oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 30mL · 1oz Gin
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
● 15mL · 0.5oz Egg White
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
Start by separating the egg white and giving it a quick blitz with a milk frother to make it easier to measure out. Then combine the ingredients in a shaker along with plenty of ice, and just like before, shake hard to chill and dilute. Then double strain into a chilled coupe glass to keep out all the small bits of ice and that’s it. The Berry Big Foam - a dry, tart, strawberry version of White Lady.
Now for a simple build-it-in-the-glass cocktail, a Highball with strawberry Liqueur. Let’s make the Berry High.
Berry High
● 120g Soda Water
● 60mL · 2oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 1 barspoon Balsamic Vinegar
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
Start with achilles highball glass with a tempered ice spear. We’ll add the soda water first, and if you want to be precise with bubbly ingredients, it’s easier to do it with a scale. Now add the rest before gently mixing the cocktail with a bar spoon and it’s ready for the garnish - a lemon balm bouquet, which you place on the top. A refreshing, light, acidic, strawberry highball.
And for the last cocktail of the day, with a few added red ingredients, let’s make the cocktail I’m calling Seeing Rouge. It’ll be made with strawberry liqueur, Lillet rouge, lime super juice, but fresh works as well, of course, purple basil, which is also known as red basil, and saline solution.
Seeing Rouge
● 30mL · 1oz Strawberry Liqueur
● 30mL · 1oz Lillet Rouge
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lime Super Juice
● 8-10 Basil Leaves
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
We’ll first get the flavor of the basil in Strawberry Liqueur and Lillet Rouge, so add them to a shaker and muddle well. Then add the rest of the ingredients along with ice. Shake hard to chill and dilute. Then double strain over a clear ice sphere, to keep out any small parts of basil, and garnish with a fresh red basil leaf. The Seeing Rouge is herbal, fresh, light and with plenty of berries, but with that we’ve reached the end.
These are too many cocktails to get to the Bottom of The Glass straight away, but if you’d like to make even more strawberry cocktails you can also try the Strawberry Margarita or the Antiguan Daiquiri, with recipes from our friends from Liber&Co. I’ll see you next week. Cheers!
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