Valentines Day Cocktail
Okay so it’s Sunday and Valentines day which should mean fun and frivolity. Unfortunately, the day for lovers to show explicit declarations of love and affection has been somewhat stymied because we are going through a third COVID lock down. So disappointing to be back here but I am feeling more sympathy for all the frustrated florists and restaurant owners who in a cruel twist of fate have wasted 30 million dollars of food and lost revenue over this normally busy weekend.
To all the emotionally battered Melbournians who have lived through 6 months of lockdowns in 2020 and a Christmas staycation here is something special to raise your spirits on Valentines day 2021.
Time to Reconnect
Staying within my 5 km restricted zone to buy “in season” strawberries will be the hardest part of the day but absolutely necessary to make a couple of perfect Love drunk cocktails to have with my partner Will this afternoon. Because he is already 2 drinks ahead of me so I need to finish this post pronto and start whittling my strawberry roses. Weather permitting, outside away from computers, TV screens, stale air and painted walls we will take precious time to reconnect. Just him me and a couple of cocktails.
Perfect Pink Gin Drink
This Valentines day cocktail is the mixology equivalent of a rose gin. Muddling strawberries and lemons to achieve blush pink colour and fruity acidity. Although I am reasonably adept with kitchen utensils, using a paring knife to carve the delicate fresh strawberries into a lovely roses for garnish will be trickier than the odd lemon curl. It will probably require a punnet to achieve perfection. The recipe is stunningly simple like everything here at Botanikos. Simple is always best. So be prepared to see double as one of these cocktails will never be enough, thus the name for this wonderfully perfect pink drink “Love drunk”. I recommend snacking on pistachios and enjoying the tipsy talk that will follow.
Love Drunk Recipe
Ingredients:
- 45 ml gin
- 2 medium strawberries
- 30 ml lemon juice
- 30 ml rose simple syrup
- 60 ml soda water
- medium length bamboo skewer
Instructions:
- muddle 1 strawberry and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker
- add rose syrup and gin and shake vigorously for 30 seconds
- strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and top with soda
- garnish with a strawberry rose