I am a big soft drinks person.
I’m that person who, when you all go out for a group dinner, more often than not orders a juice not a glass of wine. Usually because I have been too lazy to walk/ get the bus to dinner so I drive there – to avoid any form of cold air or exercise.
My friends half joke/half deadly seriously ask me when will I grow up and drink adult beverages, whilst I sit there with my little straw in my fizzy drink. We are talking Coca Cola, J20 (thats a bad one to order when you are out pretending to adult – people give you funny looks), orange juice (I will always add in the ‘Notting Hill’ quotation of “Lets go crazy, I’ll have an orange juice” and my number one soft drink, Appletiser.
Always has been always will.
So as the drinking festive season is upon us and I was thinking of ways to not be quite so bullied for my soft drinks obsession, by showing you a few fabulous cocktail recipes that include my true love of Appletiser.
I have chosen vodka for my spirit of choice however I am pretty sure these would also be amazing with gin.
(PLUS for those of you who want to drink cocktails but are driving home from parties etc – these do taste amazing without alcohol as well!)
So I got a few ingredients and have written a couple of ideas for cocktails – please share any other recipes you have in the comments!
1) The Cucumber and Celery Chiller
I made this one non-alcoholic but just swap in vodka/gin for the water and you should be good to go..
Ingredients :
·½ a cup of chopped cucumber
· ½ a cup of chopped celery
· 5 mint leaves
· 1 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 ½ cup of water
· 30ml Appletiser
· Crushed ice
Firstly, blend the cucumber, celery, mint, lemon juice and water using a juicer.
Secondly, sieve the ‘mush’ into a jam jar/cocktail glass over some crushed ice.
Thirdly, top it up with 30ml of Appetiser and then lastly decorate with whatever fruit you have left over. Plus some pretty straws to make yourself feel like a professional.
2) The Pink Lady
Ok so I thought pink, and I just knew a flamingo would have to be involved somewhere.
I love this cocktail. I swapped out the original Appletiser for the delicious Apple and Pomegranete Appletiser and hey presto, you have a pretty in pink drink.
Ingredients:
· 50ml vodka
· 1 tbsp honey
· 1 tbsp lemon juice
· 30ml Apple & Pomegranate Appletiser
· Crushed ice
· Pomegranate seeds to garnish
Firstly, shake together the vodka, honey, lemon juice and ice in a cocktail shaker if you have one. If you don’t, I highly recommend going out and buying one as it is a LOT of fun to act like you know what you are doing. But please remember to say “shaken not stirred” when pouring.
Secondly, strain the mixture into a jam jar/cocktail glass
Thirdly, top up with 30ml of Apple & Pomegranate Appletiser and then go crazy garnishing it with pomegranate seeds.
And there you have it – soft drinks that can be twisted into being perfect cocktail party drinks. Ideal for everyone, adds a nice bit of fizz to your evening and they look so beautiful.
What is your favourite soft drink? Or do you have any Appletiser recipes I could steal?
xx
