4 New Orleans cocktails for Mardi Gras

If you want to celebrate Mardi Gras in style you can do no better than go for one of the classic New Orleans cocktails which, according to my learned friend Jared Brown of Mixellany, are the Ramos Gin Fizz, Hurricane, Vieux Carré and the Obituary.

The Ramos gin fizz is basically a creamy sour with a dash of orange flower water though it’s reputedly quite tricky to master.

The Hurricane dates from the 1940s and is basically a rum punch - a mixture of light and dark rums, passionfruit juice, orange juice and a dash of grenadine. It’s actually not named after a hurricane - though in New Orleans that would be justified - but the hurricane lamp-shaped glass it’s served in.

The Vieux Carré, named after New Orleans French quarter, is a heady mix of rye whiskey (or bourbon in some versions), cognac, sweet vermouth and Bénédictine with a dash of Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters. Stirred rather than shaken it's similar to a Manhattan

And the Obituary? A simple if deadly mix of gin, dry vermouth and absinthe - and a beautiful pale green unless you use white absinthe. There’s a good account of its history here.

Image by 12019 on Pixabay

Strawberry 'Pimm's'

I invented this recipe for my alcohol-free book How to Drink without Drinking. It started life as a Pimm's drinkalike but was so delicious with just strawberries I gave up on the other fruit

Strawberry 'Pimm's'

If you miss your Pimm’s in the summer months, I promise you this is at least as good if not better. Note that you will need to brew the tea and macerate the strawberries in advance.

SERVES 4–6

2 breakfast tea bags

300ml (10fl oz) cold water

250g (9oz) strawberries

1 tablespoon caster sugar

15ml (1 tablespoon) balsamic vinegar

700ml (1¼ pints) clear lemonade (use one of the good-quality brands made with real lemon)

generous handful of ice cubes

2 sprigs of mint, to garnish

Put the tea bags in a jug, pour over the measured water and leave to infuse for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, hull the strawberries, removing any unripe white fruit around the stalk, and slice thickly. Put in a shallow dish and sprinkle with the sugar and vinegar. Turn the fruit over with a tablespoon and leave to macerate while the tea infuses.

Fish the tea bags out of the jug, add the strawberries with their juice and the lemonade and stir to mix. Add the ice cubes, garnish with the sprigs of mint and serve.

Extracted from my book How to Drink without Drinking published by Kyle Books. Photo ©Nassima Rothacker

Kaffir Lime Mojito

One of my favourite recipes from my new book How to Drink without Drinking. I absolutely adore the flavour of kaffir limes which are wonderfully fragrant in comparison to ordinary limes – a bit like a bergamot is to a lemon. They more than make up for the lack of rum in this classic cocktail.

If you can’t find fresh kaffir limes, you can use the more widely available frozen ones, but the flavour of the rind is not quite so intense. I suggest garnishing the drink with a wedge of ordinary lime, though, because the pith of kaffir limes is so thick.

SERVES 1

about 10 mint leaves, plus 1 sprig to garnish

pinch of coarse sea salt

30ml (2 tbsp) Kaffir Lime Syrup (see below)

wedge of lime

crushed ice

chilled soda water, to top up

Put the mint leaves in the bottom of a wide, heavy-based tumbler, sprinkle over the salt and lightly crush with a muddler or the end of a rolling pin. Pour in the kaffir lime syrup, then squeeze over the wedge of lime, drop it into the glass and stir.

Fill the glass halfway with crushed ice, top up with chilled soda water and stir. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

For the kaffir lime syrup

Makes 300ml/10 fl oz

3-4 kaffir limes

200g (7oz) caster sugar

300ml (10 fl oz) water

Using a vegetable peeler finely peel the rind of the kaffir limes, taking with it as little of the white pitch as possible. Juice the limes and set aside.

To make the syrup put the sugar in a saucepan and add the measured water. Place over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring to the boil and add the lime rind then simmer for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Stir in the lime juice then strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a wide-necked jug or bowl. Pour through a funnel into a sterlised bottle or jar, seal and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cordial

With elderflowers in full bloom you might be thinking of making your own elderflower cordial but try this version from my latest book How to Drink without Drinking to give it a bit of a twist.

With their delicate creamy-coloured blossoms, elderflowers are so pretty and pleasurable to harvest – the essence of summer. Pick them early on a fine day, not when it’s been raining, and use them as quickly as possible.

You can make the cordial without citric acid if you’re not intending to keep it for long, but don’t overdo the lemon, otherwise it will just taste like lemonade.

MAKES 1.5 LITRES (2¾ PINTS)

10–12 freshly picked heads of elderflower (or more if you pick smaller florets)

600g (1lb 5oz) granulated sugar

600ml (20fl oz) water

250g (9oz) green gooseberries, topped and tailed

2 unwaxed lemons, or 1 unwaxed lemon and 20g (¾oz) (maybe less) citric acid

soda or sparkling water, to serve

Pick over the elderflower heads, trimming the flowers away from the stalk and shaking out any insects.

Put the sugar in a large saucepan and add the measured water. Heat over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring to the boil and add the gooseberries. Simmer for 7–8 minutes, then take off the heat.

While the gooseberries are simmering, finely pare the rind of the lemon(s) and slice the flesh. Swirl the elderflowers gently in a bowl of cold water.

Remove the elderflowers from the water and add to the sugar syrup along with the lemon rind and slices and the citric acid, if using. Stir, lightly cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a cool place overnight.

Strain the cordial through a fine sieve into a wide-necked jug or bowl. Pour the cordial through a funnel into 2 x 75cl) sterilized glass bottles and seal. Store in the refrigerator and consume within a month. You can also freeze the cordial in plastic bottles, though remember to leave some headspace to allow the liquid to expand.

To serve, dilute to taste with soda or sparkling water.

Extracted from my book How to Drink without Drinking, published by Kyle Books. Photograph © Nassima Rothacker. You can read more about it here.