FRUITY FIRESTARTER MOCKTAIL
Inspired by the idea of a winter cocktail to fire up the Agni — or digestive fire — I decided to conjure up something fruity and spicy using some of the non-alcoholic spirits I shared pre-Christmas — focusing on the gin alternatives. At this time of year, with so few fruit on the ground, my attention turns to the oranges, clementines and tangerines (mmmh, and making marmalade) that grow in the hotter parts of neighbouring Europe, and one of my favourite of these has to be the blood orange. Hard to find, but so beautiful when you do — with all shades of pink and red speckling the pulp — the flavour is somewhat more raspberry-like compared to a standard orange you might try, but honestly any type of orange works well here. Oranges are according to Ayurveda very Pitta (and therefore heating) in nature, with their sour citrus tang. Add to this a blast of ginger and this mocktail really starts heating up. Playing with some new spice extracts by Spice Drops that I’ve discovered, I intuitively went for Tridoshic cardamom (actually it was Nick who suggested it but I’ll take the credit here!) and this absolutely brought the cocktail up a level.
So in experimenting with what my friends and I now call The Fruity Firestarter, I ended up with two variations that I couldn’t pick between, as they both do slightly different things. While both still have the warm taste going on, one is more tangy and light and one is more sweet and grounding — just with the adjustment of adding lime or using ginger cordial as opposed to fresh ginger. I would suggest that if you’re planning to serve both or try out both then definitely taste the lime version first.
If using fresh ginger then I can’t recommend a microplane more for avoiding stringy bits and also getting max ginger flavour. If you can’t find spice drops then simmer some broken cardamom pods in a little water to get a concentrate - strain and use. Ice cubes look the business but to be honest, fridge cold juice is cool enough for me. Use them if you like and consider a dash of sparkling water if you want to dilute the flavours a little more.
INGREDIENTS
The Refresher (no added sugar)
1 flat tsp/big pinch of microplaned fresh ginger
1 drop cardamom extract (I used Spice Drops)
60ml blood orange juice
60ml measure of a non-alcoholic spirit of your choice — I used Clean Gin by Clean Liquor which has cardamom notes that work brilliantly with this recipe
Juice of half a lime
Rosemary sprig to decorate and 2 slices of orange
The Relaxer
2 tsp ginger cordial (I used Belvoir)
1 drop cardamom extract (I used Spice Drops)
60ml blood orange juice
60ml measure Clean Gin (or your favourite)
Rosemary sprig and 2 slices of orange to decorate
METHOD
Mix everything together, but go easy on those extracts — they’re so concentrated that they can make or break your drink. Taste and adjust if needed. Pour into a short glass with a large ice cube if needed and decorate with a sprig of rosemary and a twist of orange.
East by West tip: Make a twist with two orange slices for decoration — check out some instructions here.