Gin Mondays: Caorunn Gin and Rosy Cheeks Cocktail

Last Thursday and Friday, the garden of The Imperial in Chelsea was transformed into an edible 'Gin Garden' filled with plants, fruits and botanicals ready to be picked and used to flavour and garnish a delicious gin cocktail. 

The garden was created by Caorunn (ka-roon!) and they invited me along to sample some of the cocktails and take in the atmosphere of the garden. After tasting the yummy gin I felt it only appropriate to make Caorunn the latest gin to feature in Gin Mondays, along with a cracking cocktail recipe I've developed for you to try at home.

We arrived at The Imperial and walked straight through into the beautiful garden. Unfortunately, it took a while for one of the waiting staff to notice I was trying to get their attention and when someone did eventually come over, she told me she couldn't help with the gin and had to get someone else! 10 minutes later and a waiter arrived; unfortunately, he could barely speak English so trying to explain why we were there and order drinks was a challenge... However, eventually we did manage to order two G&Ts to start with; I always try new gin in a G&T first so I can really taste the flavours. They arrived garnished with sliced apple which really enhanced the flavours.

Caorunn is the Gaelic word for the rowan berry, which is just one of the 5 unique botanicals foraged in Scotland and infused in the gin during the distillation process. As well as rowan berry, Caorunn is also infused with bog myrtle, heather, coul blush apple and dandelion leaf. They give the gin a really nice, earthy and slightly 'wild' flavour which I really love! 

Once the G&Ts were gone (I don't know what happened to them, honest...), we ordered two of the gin cocktails. Adam went for the 'Goodness Rose' and I opted for the 'Mint Julep'. Both arrived looking great but we had a lot of fun picking more botanicals to compliment the flavours in the cocktails.

Goodness Rose: Caorunn Gin, Raspberry Jam, Rose Water, Orange Bitters, Pink Grapefruit Juice.

Mint Julep: Caorunn Gin, Sugar, Mint Leaves, Peach Bitters, Dandelion & Burdoch bitters.

The cocktails provided delicious combinations of flavours I've never really tried before and most definitely a cut above the usual cosmopolitans and mojitos available in most 'cocktail bars' these days. I've always been a little scared of using rose water in recipes; it's really easy to overdo it and end up with something that tastes like grandma's potpourri dish. Not good.

However, inspired by the Goodness Rose, I set out to create a rose-flavoured cocktail at home that could be created by anyone with just a basic cocktail cabinet and a few fresh extras. Leaning on the collective wisdom of Google and Twitter, I decided on my flavour combo of rose, cucumber and pomegranate and spent an evening blending them to achieve what I felt was the perfect combination for a sophisticated yet delicious drink. The Rosy Cheeks was born!

So, want to learn how to make your own Rosy Cheeks? Here we go...

print recipe

Rosy Cheeks Cocktail

by Kevin Chambers-Paston May-30-2016

A fun yet sophisticated cocktail, blending the delicate flavours of rose and cucumber with juicy pomegranate.

Ingredients

• 1 handful whole ice cubes
• 1 long slice of cucumber
• 50ml Caorunn gin
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 0.5tsp rose water
• pomegranate juice
To serve:

• 1 long slice of cucumber
• 1 glass lightly crushed ice
• A few pomegranate seeds

Instructions

1. Using a vegetable peeler, take a long slice from the whole of the side of a cucumber. Place the ice cubes and cucumber into a cocktail shaker and, using either a muddler or the end of a rolling pin, smash the cucumber into a pulp. The ice will help with this process. 2. Add the gin, bitters, rose water and a splash of pomegranate juice to the shaker, add the lid and shake until mixed and a mist of condensation has formed on the outside of the shaker. 3. Take another slice of cucumber and twist around the inside of a glass; the moisture from the cucumber will help it stick to the glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice. 4. Strain the cocktail over the ice into the glass and top up with more pomegranate juice if required. Sprinkle over the seeds and serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 5m Cook time: 0m Total time: 5mYield: One cocktail

I hope you've enjoyed this instalment of Gin Mondays. Stay tuned for more gin-related fun!

Disclaimer: Caorunn invited me for complimentary cocktails at The Imperial and supplied a bottle of gin for recipe preparation and photography. As always, I wasn't expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.

Vegetarian BBQ Recipe Roundup

When a reader recently asked me for some veggie recipes for the BBQ, I must admit I was a little stumped. My BBQs tend to be pretty meat-heavy affairs... However, I'm trying to eat more vegetarian food in general these days so I decided to do a little research and some fab bloggers came to my rescue with their brilliant recipes.

My first stop, of course, was with the brilliant Tinned Tomatoes. If I ever want a veggie recipe for something, Jacqueline's blog is the first (and usually the last) place I look. She has a number of veggie BBQ recipes, but my absolute favourite has to be these Cajun Spiced Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers. Don't they look delicious?!

Laura's Moroccan-Inspired Halloumi and Vegetable Kebabs over at Knead Wine also provide a brilliant alternative to the usual chicken kebabs I would serve.

Back over at Tinned Tomatoes, there are more veggie kebabs and more halloumi. One look at these Falafel & Halloumi Kebabs with Spiced Peanut Butter Marinade and my mouth is watering already. Mmmmm!

I'm always amazed at the range of recipes Sus over at Rough Measures cooks as she lives on A BOAT! How cool is that?! This Beetroot and Orange Salad she's created is the perfect accompaniment to a veggie BBQ.

Another brilliant side dish comes from Tinned Tomatoes in the form of these BBQ Apricots with Goats' Cheese. *drools*

Of course, we mustn't forget dessert and these BBQ Waffle S'mores from Claire at Foodie Quine would certainly fit the bill for me.

Our final recipe comes from Fab Food 4 All. Bananas and chocolate are a classic flavour combination and Camilla shares her version of Banana S'mores with us.

So, I hope you've enjoyed this round up of Vegetarian BBQ recipes. I know I have! I now have loads of insiration for my next BBQ get together with family and friends!

REVIEW: Glorious! Cuban Creamed Corn Soup

When I sat down to plan my latest post for Glorious! Soup, I took a look through their range once more. As soon as my eyes fell on the big yellow car and bright, cheery colour of the Creamed Corn Soup I just knew that was the one to review this time.

It's almost 8 years since I went to Cuba on holiday for the first time, but I can still remember certain parts of the trip like it was yesterday.

Several things stuck out for me during my visit:

• The people; I met so many people during the course of my 2 week holiday. Some were extremely poor, some a bit better off but almost all of them were incredibly welcoming and friendly. The Cuban people welcomed me into their country, they were appreciative of the money spent by tourists and I'm pretty sure the rum added a certain amount of happiness too!
• The vehicles; since the U.S. placed a trade embargo on Cuba in the 60s, the Cuban mechanics had to come up with new and innovative ways to keep the old cars and trucks moving. This, combined with the hot and dry climate, meant there were lots of old classics to be seen. At the time I was a big fan of VW Beetles and it felt like I found one parked on every street in Havana. I loved it!
• The hurricane (eek!); that's right, I did say hurricane. You see, I didn't earn much back in 2008 but I wanted a big adventure. I found that Cuba was pretty cheap in September and promptly booked a holiday. A couple of weeks later I discovered precisely why it was cheap: September is the heart of hurricane season! Oh well, I thought, a hurricane is possible but it's never going to happen to me. It did. 
  
  
  2008 was the year that Hurricane Ike hit the shores of Cuba and passed right over the resort of Guardalavaca where I was staying. As the hurricane approached, the women and children were shipped off to local 5* hotels which had secure hurricane-proof shelters. However, us men were piled into a disused kitchen store room, with the door nailed shut. All there was to do was to sit in the darkness and wait until the hurricane passed. Quite simply, the most frightening thing I have ever been though up to that point and even since. Screaming, glass smashing, the winds ripping the boards off the door and total darkness. Not nice!

Despite my brush with Ike, I loved Cuba and I'd really like to go back there someday. I think I would even like to go back to the same hotel, Club Amigo Atlantico, though maybe not during hurricane season this time...

Anyway, back to the soup. Not only did the vintage car and cheery colour of the soup remind me of Cuba, the flavours were very evocative too. I ate a lot of pulses when in Cuba, including a lot of sweetcorn, and sweet potato and cayenne pepper were also prominent features on the menu. So, when I tasted this soup and closed my eyes I could almost imagine myself there once again! It is delicious and is made better by the fact there are just 300 calories in the whole pot. YUM!

I've come to the end of my time reviewing Glorious! Soups now, but I hope you've enjoyed reading about them. The links below will take you to my other reviews. As I've said before, if I buy a pre-made soup then it is ALWAYS fresh and ALWAYS Glorious! and I hope yours will be from now on too.

Disclaimer: Glorious! sent me some of their soups to try and compensated me for my time in writing this review. As always, I wasn't expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.