COPYRIGHT

HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2019

Copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers

Colleen Graham asserts her moral rights as the author of the text.

Written by Colleen Graham

Illustrations by Ruby Taylor

Cover design by Gareth Butterworth

Interior design by Jane Lanaway

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN 9780008340292

Ebook ISBN 9780008354732

Version 2019-05-22

DISCLAIMER: This book features recipes that include the optional use of raw eggs. Consuming raw eggs may increase the risk of food-borne illness. Individuals who are immunocompromised, pregnant or elderly should use caution. Ensure eggs are fresh and meet local food-standard requirements. Please drink responsibly.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

What Is Rosé?

Tips for Perfect Cocktails

Syrups

Infusions

The Recipes

Index

Credits

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

Rosé isn’t a wine that fits conveniently into one category in terms of style, grape or flavour profile – it’s a complex group that includes sweet, dry, still and sparkling wines produced all over the world!

There are, however, three things that rosés do have in common: they’re pink (although they vary from pale to surprisingly dark), they pair well with food, and they’re fabulous cocktail mixers, the latter being the focus of this book. I won’t boggle your mind with the ins and outs of rosé (although you will learn a bit about how it’s made and what to expect from certain regions or grape varietals) – there are plenty of books out there that cover all of the finer details. Instead, I want to invite you on the journey of discovering rosé cocktails! Rosé is one of the best wines for mixed drinks, with its flavour of strawberries or watermelon. It works perfectly with many spirits (whisky, gin, vodka, tequila, rum) and almost any additional flavours, from fruits to herbs and spices. And although seen as a summer wine, it’s a great fit for cocktails at any time of year.

My goal is to give you some basics on mixing up great cocktails, and to inspire you to explore some unusual flavours. This book includes some incredibly simple drinks – like the Pink Wine Spritzer – as well as a rosé twist on familiar drinks like the mojito and the gin and tonic. There are some very special cocktails that display unique flavour combinations, such as the Lychee Ginger Martini and the Rosemary & Basil Fizz. And you’ll find that I love to use homemade ingredients. Of course, given the topic, there are also plenty of frosé and sangria recipes. I’ve found inspiration in the drinks that others have created, and hope to inspire you to take these to a new level. I’m not a wine critic or expert, but a writer who has spent over a decade studying mixed drinks and is grateful to be able to share that knowledge with others. Cocktails are meant to be fun, and wine should be fun. When the two come together, you know a party’s on its way!

WHAT IS ROSÉ?

In nature, there are red grapes and white grapes, and within those, hundreds of varietals are used to make red and white wine, respectively. There are, however, no pink grapes, so how does one get the pink wines designated as rosés?

Rosé is not defined by the grape, but by the method. The catch is that since rosés are not varietal-dependent like other styles of wine, they offer a vast range of different flavour profiles. There are sweet rosés, a surprising number of dry rosés and plenty of sparkling rosés to choose from. Rosés are made in every corner of the globe, although there are areas in major wine-making countries that specialise in it. You will notice regional differences at times, just like with other wines, and you will encounter bottles that are a complete gamble. Will it be sweet or dry? Sometimes it’s very hard to tell, but that’s part of the fun!

If your experience with rosé has been limited to white zinfandel (yes, the sweet wine that captures the attention of many young drinkers is a rosé), then you’ll be delighted to know that there really is a rosé for every wine drinker.

HOW IS ROSÉ MADE?

There are a few different methods for making rosé. The most common method used today begins with the juice of red grapes remaining in contact with the grape skin for a few days before the skin is removed. This short period of maceration results in a blush-coloured wine.

A few rosés use a direct pressing method whereby the grapes are pressed with the skins, which are then removed straight away, leaving behind a light pink juice.

A third approach is the saignée process (pronounced sehn-yay, French for ‘to bleed’). In this case, a little of the red wine juice is ‘bled off’ early in the maceration process while the wine is still pink. The result is both a useable rosé and a red wine.

Used less often, a fourth technique involves blending a red and white wine together. Some wine-making regions frown upon the method, and many don’t regulate it, but a number of rosé Champagnes rely on it.

STYLES OF ROSÉ

Rosé is French for ‘pink’; Spanish and Portuguese wines are labelled ‘rosado’, and Italian wines ‘rosato’. However, rosé is definitely not limited to these countries. Understanding the complex maze that is rosé’s many flavour characteristics is complicated, so we’ll only touch on this briefly to make navigating wine labels a little easier.

Rosé comes in many shades of pink. On the lightest side, you’ll find the drier rosés of Provence. This French region primarily makes rosé, offering zesty, refreshing wines that have long been held up as the standard. Following these are the pinot noir rosés, which are slightly earthier, with a bright, acidic fruitiness. Spain’s favourite grape – the tempranillo – produces a slightly darker rosé with a brilliant spiced-berry flavour and a slightly darker hue. Surprisingly, when it comes to the rosé colour spectrum, California’s famed white zinfandel falls right in the middle. If you’re looking for a sweet wine, a bottle of white zin is what you want.

As you move through the remaining red wine grapes, the rosés produced by them tend to get darker. From merlot and sangiovese to cabernet sauvignon and shiraz (or syrah), the pink begins to resemble red wine. The darkest rosés come from Tavel, a small area in France’s Rhone Valley that produces nothing but rosé. These offer the best choice for red wine lovers, with the perfect display of tannins against spicy berry flavours and an unusually dry palate.

All of the other styles of rosé produced throughout the world fall somewhere within that spectrum. There are great options from Germany (roséwein or Weissherbst), France’s Loire Valley (rosé d’Anjou) and the Austrian state of Styria. The Spanish rosados (including sparkling cavas) are light and fresh, while Portugal tends to produce rosados that are sweet and inexpensive, with a hint of sparkle. Moscato wines are sweeter, and Italy’s prosecco rosatos are known for their vivacious bubbles. Beyond all that, there are many rosés that don’t fit into any easily defined idea of regional or varietal characteristics.

Before we finish, there are just a few more simple notes to bear in mind. The driest rosés often come from the driest red wine grapes, such as grenache, cinsault and shiraz. Any rosé can be a blend of grapes or use a single varietal, so don’t rely on that. A sparkling wine with a label saying ‘frizzante’ is gently sparkling, and ‘brut’ means ‘dry’. When in doubt, simply read the winemaker’s notes on the label. And, if you’re intrigued by a bottle (even just the catchy label), try it! If you don’t like it on its own, there’s bound to be a cocktail that will doctor it up.

DRINKING ROSÉ

Despite all the variations, rosé always has a generalised flavour profile of strawberries or watermelon. It contains fewer tannins than red wines and is very easy to drink. Rosés are typically best when young, too, so drink them up, don’t store them!

For the most part, you’ll want to chill still rosé before drinking it, and sparkling rosés are best when ice-cold. You are free to stick to your own preferences, but since we’re mixing up cold rosé cocktails here, keeping bottles cold will definitely help the drinks along.

You will also be delighted to hear that rosé is the most versatile wine for food pairings. Don’t stress over which wine is best with steak or seafood – rosé can cover the entire gamut of foods, cuisines and courses, from canapés to dessert. Likewise, the cocktails you make with rosé will be a splendid match for any meal.

TIPS FOR PERFECT COCKTAILS

Here’s the secret to mixing up a great cocktail: have fun! There are lots of tricks that bartenders use to create spectacular drinks, but anyone can learn the basic techniques (they’re not difficult), so the most important thing is to have a good time. You might make mistakes – we all do – and that’s okay. It’s just a drink that will be gone in a few minutes; the real joy in mixing cocktails is the exploration, discovering what you like and don’t like.

That said, a few tips will help you make the best cocktails possible:

• Use premium-quality spirits that you wouldn’t mind drinking on their own. There’s no need to pay for a super pricey bottle of rosé, though, as wine is typically a cocktail mixer that allows you to save a bit of money.

• Fresh ingredients are best. This is particularly true of citrus juices, but if you have the ability to juice other fruits, say with an electric juicer, that’s even better. And don’t be afraid of homemade mixers like Simple Syrup – they’re easy, cheap and fun.

• Chill your glassware, especially if the cocktail recipe doesn’t include ice in the glass. Your drinks will stay colder longer and be more refreshing.

If you find a drink that you think needs to be tweaked, by all means do it! Cocktail recipes are meant to be adjusted according to personal taste, and everyone’s tastes are different. After all, I’m not drinking it – you are.

BAR GEAR

There’s no need to buy a full bar kit unless you’d like to. With just a few of the essentials, you can mix up a great variety of drinks.

A cocktail shaker is a must. A standard three-piece shaker with a built-in strainer will do most home bartenders just fine. Stainless steel shakers are the best and will last a lifetime. If you go the pro route and pick up a Boston shaker (one piece is a shaking tin and the other a mixing glass), be sure to buy a Hawthorne strainer as well.

A bar spoon is also a good investment because the long, twisted handle makes stirring a breeze, especially in tall glasses. For precise measuring, a jigger (a two-ended cup that measures shots and half-shots) is invaluable and allows for the greatest control of flavour balance. Finally, add a muddler to your shopping list. The freshest cocktails – mojitos and juleps included – require this handy stick, resembling a miniature baseball bat. (More on this here.)

ICE

It’s a given that high-quality ingredients will produce better-tasting mixed drinks, and the same rule applies to ice. It is the one ingredient that almost every cocktail has in common, so it’s extremely important!

You will use a lot of ice, both in the serving glass and/or the cocktail shaker. Make your ice with distilled water for the best results, and do always have a fresh stock of ice in the freezer so that you don’t run out. If there’s a tray that’s been sitting there for a couple of months unused, toss it away and start again. Try to avoid storing ice near fish and other pungent frozen foods, too, because it will absorb some of their flavours. Fishy drinks are definitely not good!

For a drink like the Berry Rosé Julep, you’ll need shaved ice (okay, it’s not necessary, but it is really nice). If you don’t have an ice maker that has that capability, toss some ice in your blender and give it a few whirls, then get rid of any excess water. Another fun way to crush ice (a little chunkier than shaved ice) is to whack it with your muddler. Put some ice cubes in a sealable plastic bag or a Lewis bag (made of cloth just for this purpose) and whack it into smaller bits. It’s also an activity that provides great stress relief!

A couple of the recipes also utilise novelty ice cubes as part of the drink. The Rosé Parade freezes wine into ice cubes, while the Sparkling Borage Cocktail and the Blushing Fizz both freeze flowers inside the ice.

SHAKING AND STIRRING

There are two primary methods for mixing cocktails: shaking and stirring. They’re both easy, but there are tricks to doing it right. For the first, fill the cocktail shaker with ice (about five or six cubes). Shake for at least 10 seconds or until the outside of the shaker gets nice and frosty. Some drinks are stirred and you’ll want to do this with a smooth, steady turn of the wrist (keep your elbow still, it’s not cake batter!) for at least 30 seconds.

With either technique, always strain out the mixing ice unless the recipe indicates otherwise. The agitation during mixing breaks down the ice so it will melt faster, resulting in a drink that quickly becomes watered down. For drinks served on the rocks, use fresh ice in the serving glass.

MUDDLING

The fresher the drinks you want to mix up, the more you will fall in love with muddling. It’s a fantastic mixing technique used to juice the majority of fruits and to extract the essence from herbs, creating a flavoursome crushed base for a drink out of fresh ingredients. Once you learn the value of a muddler, you’ll wonder where this amazing tool has been all your life!

The process of muddling is incredibly simple: place the ingredients to be muddled in the bottom of a mixing glass or shaker and press them with the flat end of the muddler until well mixed (a minute or two usually does it). Use a twisting motion with your wrist as you push down to accentuate the mixing.

Fruits that are to be muddled should be cut into small pieces (a few centimetres). Citrus fruits work well as half slices and wedges, and there is no need to remove the peel. For leafy herbs like mint and basil, tear the leaves or slap them between your palms before dropping them into the glass to maximise the flavour. Other herbs (such as lavender and rosemary) and spices can be tossed in whole, as long as any stems have been removed beforehand.

SPARKLING ROSÉ

Quite a few of the recipes you’ll find in this book call for sparkling rosé. If you already have a bottle of still rosé open, don’t rush to the shops for a bottle of bubbly; you can mimic sparkling rosé by adding a little soda water to still rosé. Just a couple of splashes in a glass or so of wine will give a nice effervescence without overly diluting it. The other option is to add a splash of soda water directly to the drink after pouring the still wine.

SANGRIAS AND PUNCHES

We’re dealing with wine recipes here, so you should expect to find a few sangrias and other wine punches. Each recipe was written for 170ml (6fl oz) servings, and the number of servings each recipe produces is indicated. If you need more or less punch, simply increase or decrease each ingredient accordingly, as long as you always keep the ingredients in proportion.

You’ll also see that the sangria recipes suggest ‘marrying’ the flavours by chilling the drink overnight. This is the best way to create punches that use fresh fruits. As they sit, the liquids absorb the taste of the fruits, giving you a concoction the following day that is one beautiful blend of flavours!

IN THE BLENDER

Yes, even rosé can end up in a frozen cocktail! If you haven’t enjoyed a frosé yet, you’re in for a real treat. For the best blended drinks, chop the ice and any fruits in the blender before adding the liquid ingredients.

Most recipes call for around a cup of ice, which is five or six average-sized cubes. After blending, if the result is a little too thin for your taste, add one or two more ice cubes and blend again. And if the cocktail is too thick? Add a splash of one of the drink’s liquid ingredients.

DRESS IT UP

Garnishes are often an afterthought, especially if you’re just mixing up a drink for yourself. But they do look pretty, and they can help to make a good impression when serving guests, so it’s a good idea to practise creating them as often as you can. Additions such as citrus slices and twists, as well as herbs, can add to the flavour of a drink, too. You can squeeze a little juice in as you drink, gently press a lemon twist over the cocktail to express its essence, or drop in something like rosemary and let the herb’s flavour slowly infuse into the liquid. The smallest touches often take a cocktail from okay to spectacular.

Rimming a glass is another fun option that can be used with almost any cocktail. In these pages, for example, you’ll find the No Way Rosé Margarita, which calls for a sugar rim. Begin by wetting the rim of the glass with a liquid in the recipe (with many cocktails, a citrus wedge works perfectly). Then roll the rim of the glass around in a small dish filled with white granulated sugar until it’s coated evenly. Still holding the glass upside down, gently tap off any excess sugar and you’re ready to pour the drink. This fancy little trick goes a step further with the Birthday Cake Mimosa, in which you’ll dip the rim first into some delicious icing, followed by some coloured sprinkles!

SYRUPS

As much as I love to muddle, my fascination with Simple Syrup is even greater. It is the one ingredient in the bar that you have absolute control over, and it’s the perfect sweetener for cold drinks because the sugar’s already been dissolved before it is added to the drink.

Many of the recipes in this book rely on homemade syrups with bespoke flavour infusions that you’ll be hard pressed to find in the shops. All of these are made using Simple Syrup, and details of these are given here. And plain Simple Syrup itself is used even more often; once you learn its dirty little secret, you’ll never waste your money buying it again!

What is Simple Syrup? Water and sugar! It’s really that simple. In a pinch, you can even combine the two ingredients in your cocktail shaker, shake it up, and voilà. That’s called ‘bar syrup’, and it will do, but there is a standard Simple Syrup recipe that you’ll turn to time and again on your cocktail adventures:

In a small saucepan, bring 250ml (8½fl oz) of water to the boil. Add 225g (8oz) of sugar and stir constantly until it has dissolved completely. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and then simmer for 15 minutes. Let the syrup cool before bottling it in a tightly sealed jar. This will produce 250ml (8½fl oz) of syrup, which will keep well in the refrigerator for a week or two.

Now that you know the secrets to Simple Syrup, it’s time to add flavour! The possibilities are endless, and you can make single-ingredient syrups or create custom blends with complementary flavours. These homemade syrups provide a great way to get the taste of fresh ingredients into an easy-to-mix sweetener.

The additional ingredients you’ll need to add to the basic syrup recipe in order to create each of the homemade syrups mentioned in this book are provided opposite. The individual recipes will then guide you through the process of making them.

For all syrups, the general technique is to add the flavouring ingredient (chopped fruit or whole herbs and spices) after turning the syrup down to a simmer, then let it steep in the syrup until it has cooled down completely. Before bottling, strain out any solid pieces so that you are left with a clean flavoured syrup.

Use the syrup for the intended cocktail, then explore its potential in other drinks – any syrup can be topped with soda water for a homemade soft drink, many will work as a sweetener for lemonade or iced tea, and some are perfect for hot drinks like coffee and tea (especially the cinnamon syrup).

Three recipes call for honey syrup, which enables you to add the flavour of honey to a drink in a form that is easier to mix. Honey syrup is made with equal parts of honey and water, stirred until they reach a uniform consistency. You can make just enough for each cocktail.

FLAVOURED SYRUPS USED IN THE RECIPES

Lavender syrup: used in the Lavender Pink Lemonade; add 3 tablespoons of lavender flowers.

Rose syrup: used in the No Way Rosé Margarita; add 120ml (4fl oz) of rose water.

Strawberry syrup: optional in The Frosé; add 3 large strawberries and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional, but recommended).

Basil syrup: used in the Watermelon Frosé; add 20g (¾oz) of basil leaves.

Borage syrup: used in the Sparkling Borage Cocktail; add a handful of borage flowers and young leaves.

Rosemary syrup: used in the Rosaquiri; add 1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary.

Thyme syrup: used in the Rosé Sour; add 5 large sprigs of thyme.

Vanilla–lavender syrup: used in the Blushing Fizz; add 7g (¼oz) of lavender buds and 1 vanilla pod.

Sage–lime syrup: used in the Sage Gimlet; add a few sage leaves and the juice of 1 lime.

Lychee syrup: used in the Lychee Ginger Martini; add 85g (3oz) of hulled fresh lychees.

Rosemary–basil syrup: used in the Rosemary & Basil Fizz; add 1 sprig of rosemary and 20g (¾oz) of basil leaves.

Cinnamon syrup: used in the Poinsettia Sangria; add 1 cinnamon stick.

Plain honey syrup: is found in the Sweet Honey Rosé and the Rosé Collins recipes. The Tea for You & Me recipe adds the juice of a lime to honey syrup.

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