I had a little windfall of red currants from the garden. There were not enough for jelly but enough to have some fun. I decided to amp up my favorite gin with some fruit and sugar. Time for summer cocktails.
Summer Cocktails with fruit from the garden
My son planted a currant bush a few years ago. Last summer we got less than 1/2 cup of berries. This summer, after treating it with some homemade compost in the fall we got over 300 grams of fruit. This is a lot from a single bush. Currants are mostly skin and seed so we generally, use only the juice. My mother used to make a summer pudding with bread soaked in the red currant juice and custard. I was never a fan.
I was struggling with finding a way to use them and then, when I was doing something else, the idea hit me. I guess my subconscious is better at solving these problems than my conscious.
Infuse gin with the fruit!
Red currants with all the stems removed and washed. Approximately 250 grams
In for a penny, in for a pound. I decided to use up some of my blueberries too.
I used Bombay Sapphire Gin as I like the flavour and it is not so heavily flavoured that the fruit would be lost. Vodka would also work. I had a partial bottle of gin so I added about 250 grams of berries and 1/8 cup of white sugar and then filled it up with gin from a new bottle. I did the same with the next bottle. I was left with one partial bottle and two bottles of gin with fruit and sugar.
Red Currants, Sugar and Gin
I agitated the bottles then put them in the liquor cabinet. After one week I checked them and agitated them. The sugar had completely dissolved and the color was beginning to develop.
I checked them at two weeks. It was time to give them a taste.
Red Currant Gin after two weeks.
Blueberry Gin after two weeks.
Both liquids are a reddish pink but taste distinctly different.
Red currant gin, undiluted
Undiluted the gin was very strong. We found that the best way to bring out the fruit flavor was to shake the gin with crushed ice then strain into a glass and 2 or 3 parts sparkling water to 1 part fruited gin is also delicious and the fruit flavor comes across very nicely. It is also very nice with sprite or ginger ale.
Once you have made a bottle the only limit is your imagination for delicious summer cocktails.
Here are some products from Amazon to add to the fun.
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