SPRING is here, which means bright and sunny weather and great outdoor activities. It also
means that the barbecue season is not far away. Here are a few gin-based cocktails.
HENDRICK'S DREAM TIME MARTINI (serves 3): Worthy of a Mad Hatter's tea party, Hendrick's Gin (around £26 in most supermarkets) suggest serving their new spring cocktail in a teapot to 'escape the humdrum of the ordinary'. A Scottish gin with infusions of cucumber and rose petals, the floral aromas are perfectly in tune with the flowering bulbs outside. 150ml Hendrick's Gin, 60ml lemon juice, 33ml lavender honey syrup, your favourite vintage teapot.
To make the lavender honey syrup: infuse 20ml honey with 10ml boiling water and a teaspoon of dried lavender, stir until honey dissolves completely and mixture has infused lavender Half-fill the teapot with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice and syrup, stir briskly and allow to sit for approx one minute. Stir again before pouring into chilled tea cups without ice (can always use a tea strainer). Garnish with lemon zest. GREENALL'S GIN FIZZ WITH a gin distilling history going back 250 years, this classic thirst quencher from Greenall's The Original London Dry Gin (around £17 in most supermarkets) is just the tonic, but made with soda water. Serve it in a high ball and the citrus juice in this sour based cocktail will be nice and frothy when shaken and bring out the juniper and coriander in the gin. 50ml Greenall's, 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml sugar syrup, soda water, lemon wedge. Half-fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup, shake well and strain into a high ball glass half-filled with ice. Top up with soda water and garnish with a lemon slice and mint sprig.