What could be better on 'Christmas Tree Hunting Day' than a gorgeously Christmassy drink!
I stole the idea from a Nigella Lawson book, but as I didn't have any of the gingerbread syrup she mentioned, I went about making my own (which I'm guessing probably made it nicer - more spices, less sugar!).
Gingerbread Cocktail
Make a gingerbread flavoured sugar syrup - 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar & 1 Tablespoon of honey, with as much crystallized ginger as your tastes require (mine required a whole lot!), 8-10 cloves, a big piece of cinnamon, 10 or so black peppercorns, a few gratings of nutmeg, and a tablespoon of whole allspice berries. Bring to the boil then simmer gently until the mixture has reduced & turned syrupy rather than thin. Strain off the spices through a muslin cloth - otherwise the nutmeg will end up in the syrup! Let it all cool down & pop it in the fridge.
Put a little syrup in the bottom of a champagne flute, and top with sparkling wine. Nothing too fancy or sweet, if it's too grapey flavoured I don't think it would taste so good. I used a trusty bottle of Lindauer!
Best sipped under a Christmas tree with lights twinkling, whilst listening to music which makes you smile.
wowie zowie... sounds delishuss
ReplyDeleteI'll have to give that a try when I'm back on at the restaurant - cheers!
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