Christmas is a time for fun and experimenting with new things, so try these cocktail recipes from Maldon Salt for something to put a zing in the festive season!
Flaming Old Fashioned
Makes: 1
Prep: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sugar syrup
- 2 dashes of bitters
- Pinch of Maldon Smoked Sea Salt
- 60ml whisky or bourbon
- 1 orange slice
- Soda water (optional)
- Garnish: Rosemary and cinnamon stick, soaked in a high proof spirit for a couple of minutes before burning carefully
Start by soaking the rosemary and cinnamon stick in some high proof spirit for a few minutes – this will be the flaming part of the cocktail.
Take a tumbler and add the sugar, bitters and Maldon Smoked Sea Salt, stirring together. Then fill the glass with ice and add the whiskey or bourbon and stir again. Add a splash of soda water if you like and a slice of orange.
Then take the soaked rosemary and cinnamon stick and carefully balance on the rim of the drink. Use a lighter or matches to ignite them – they should flame and smoke. The smell of the smoked rosemary and cinnamon add Christmassy notes to your cocktail.
Clementine Pisco Sour
Makes: 1
Prep: 5 minutes
- 10ml sugar syrup
- 15ml lemon juice
- 50ml pisco
- Pinch of Maldon Original Sea Salt
- 15ml egg white
- 30ml freshly squeezed clementine juice
- Ice cubes
- Wheel of clementine
- A few fresh cranberries or pomegranate seeds
- 1 sprig of rosemary
Place the sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker along with the lemon juice, pisco, Maldon Sea Salt, egg white and clementine juice.
Add some ice to the cocktail shaker, close firmly and shake well for 30 seconds.
Strain this into your martini or nick & nora glass.
Garnish with a wheel of clementine, a sprig of rosemary and some pomegranate seeds, if you like.
Blackberry & Thyme Margarita
Makes: 2
Prep: 5 minutes
- 50g Maldon Original Sea Salt flakes
- 1/2 Tsp thyme leaves
- 1 Lime wedge
- 6 Blackberries, plus 4 for garnish
- 5 Sprigs of thyme
- 150ml Reposado or silver tequila
- 30ml Agave syrup
- 75ml Lime juice
- Ice
Mix together the Maldon Sea Salt flakes and the picked thyme leaves on a small plate. Set aside.
Rub the rim of a lowball glass or short tumbler with the wedge of lime so it is wet. Then, turn the glass upside down into the salt and thyme mix and press, turning it so that there is a good even coating of salt around the rim of each glass.
In a cocktail shaker add the 6 blackberries and 3 thyme sprigs. Muddle these well by pressing the the blackberries so that they burst and break down.
In the same shaker add the tequila, agave and lime juice.
Fill the shaker half full of ice, then pop the lid on and shake well for a minute until the shaker is cold to touch.
Add some ice cubes into your salt rimmed glasses.
Pour the margarita through a fine strainer into each glass.
Garnish with the remaining blackberries and a sprig of thyme in each glass.
Loaded Bloody Mary
Makes: 2
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
- 2 rashers of streaky bacon
- 2 large shell-on prawns
- 2 sticks of celery, trimmed
- 2 cherry tomatoes
- 2 cornichon
- 2 green olives
- ½ lemon
- Maldon Chilli Sea Salt
- Ice
- 100ml vodka
- 400ml spiced tomato juice
- Cracked black pepper
- Splash of tabasco (optional)
- Splash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Place a large frying pan on the heat. Add the slices of streaky bacon and cook for 3 minutes on each side until crispy. Remove from the pan and set onto a plate with some kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
Turn the heat down in the pan slightly and then add the two large prawns. Cook these for a couple of minutes on each side until bright pink and cooked through. Remove these from the pan and set aside too.
To assemble the Bloody Marys, start by creating the chilli salt rim for the glasses. Rub a little lemon juice around the top rim of each highball glass. Place some of the Maldon Chilli Sea Salt into a small plate and then turn the glass upside down onto the salt and press it in, so the salt sticks along the top.
Fill each glass with ice. Then pour in a 50ml measure of vodka into each. Next pour in the spiced tomato juice to fill up the glass. Splash in some tabasco and Worcestershire sauce at this stage, but this is up to your taste.
Finally garnish each glass with a stick of celery, some crispy bacon, a prawn, and a skewer with a cherry tomato, cornichon, and olive on. Drink and enjoy immediately.
See also: Anna Fidler’s Crayfish Linguine With Chilli And Parsley
