THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
If you read my article about elderflower cordial last week , managed to go out foraging and actually make a batch, then you deserve a reward. An elderflower cocktail! My hands down favourite (or is that face down?):
The night before, split 2 Bird’s eye chilies and add them to 300 ml tequila. Strain it before you make the margaritas. Chilies vary greatly in strength, so taste it before mixing. If it’s too hot, dilute it with more tequila until you are happy. Remember, it will get diluted with the other ingredients as well. I’ve tried various methods of infusing tequila with chili. None have failed but I found that 24 hours is ample. Once I filled a mason jar with jalapeños and tequila and left if for 6 weeks. Holy moly! If I could remember it, I would never forget it!
Mix the infused tequila with equal parts lime and elderflower cordial. Shake it with ice and strain or serve on the rocks as you prefer. For me, a salted rim is a must. Run a lime around the rim of each glass and dip in fine sea salt.
This makes nearly a litre of margaritas…
Serves 2
For my house cocktail, you’ll need to make elderflower sorbet. To make the sorbet, you will need an emulsifier (stick blender).
Put 500 ml elderflower cordial in a deep plastic container and put it in the freezer. Check it every 30 minutes. When the rim around the edge has started to freeze, take it out and blend it, pushing the icy bits down into the liquid. Place it back in the freezer and repeat the blending every 30 minutes (or so) until all the cordial is frozen. This is amazing on its own so it may not even make it to your cocktail glass!
Put 200 ml gin, 200 ml Cointreau, the juice of 1 lemon and a handful of ice cubes in the blender. Blend until the ice stops crunching. Add half of the elderflower sorbet and pulse until it’s just blended. Sugar the rims of your glasses using lemon and preferably golden granulated sugar. Put a scoop of the remaining sorbet in each glass and pour in the cocktail.
A grown up slushy!
Serves 4
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